The field dodged the lightning but could not avoid the downpours.
Just before noon during the first round of the 50th Summit County Amateur Championship at Good Park Golf Course in Akron, the competition was delayed by about a half-hour due to lightning. Play resumed for about 45 minutes before it was shut down again, this time because a series of downpours made the course unplayable from standing water. Heavy rains went on for nearly an hour, stopped for about a half-hour, then started up again just as the water began to recede on the greens.
It was at that point that the Committee determined that the golf course would not be playable for the rest of the day (an evaluation later reinforced when the course superintendent shut down the property for the duration at 2 p.m.).
Since only 30 of the 122 players in the field had completed their round, and 14 groups had yet to tee off, the first-round scores were canceled — the first time that has happened in the 50-year history of the Summit County Am. The 2024 tournament has been shortened to 18-holes of play on Sunday, using the same groupings and starting times as were assigned for Saturday. GROUPINGS & STARTING TIMES >
Of course, that scenario was a tough break for the competitors who were playing well. Past champion Solomon Petrie of Akron was 6-under par through 16 holes and in the lead. Recent Stark County Amateur champion Kyle Buzaki of Stow stood at 5-under par through 15. A host of players had reached 3-under par and were challenging the leaders, including Max Crookston, Dylan Dunn, and two other past Summit County Am champions, Michael Klaric III and Vaughn Snyder.
But tournament director Larry Zimmerman has come up with a Sunday plan that should take away some of the sting.
Since only a few players finished their first round, Good Park Golf Course has agreed to allow Zimmerman to put the greens fees collected for Saturday into the Round 2 skins pot. That means the Sunday 18-hole skins pot will have a whopping $5,000 up for grabs!
A full prize payout in merchandise credit to Foxy Golf will also be made after the final standings are determined after Sunday’s play. Expect a shootout tomorrow at Good Park…
LIVE SCORING: 2024 Summit County Am >
COMMITTEE NOTE: A few competitors voiced concerns that the Committee did not execute the proper decision in canceling the first round scores. The Northern Ohio PGA faced this exact same situation earlier this year in May, at the Ohio Senior Open at the Firestone Fazio course. NOPGA Executive Director David Griffith made the exact same decision as the Committee did today, washing out the first-round scores and shortening the event to 18-holes. Amateur Bobby Spino — a competitor in this year’s Summit County Am field — went out and won that tournament.
