August Review: NOGA Great Lakes Auto Player of the Year
Through the end of July, there is a significant difference between the two divisions in the chase for the 2021 NOGA Great Lakes Auto Player of the Year title: the main Division has a leader not previously seen at the top in a race that is as tight as it can be; the Senior Division is led by a player who has earned the POY title many times and his lead is significant.
Jeff Blechschmidt of the Mayfield Sand Ridge Club currently leads the Player of the Year race by a scant 35 points over Aaron Crewse of NOHIO.GOLF Club.
Crewse led for much of the early part of the season based on a victory in May at Elyria Country Club in the Four-Ball Championship, and a pair of T2s at the Stroke Play Championship at Westwood and the Four-Ball #2 at Congress Lake.
But Blechschmidt, who won the Stroke Play Championship by one where Crewse finished T2, recently took over the top spot based on his three Individual Match Play victories.
The race is much deeper than the top two players, however. Doug Barber (NOHIO.GOLF Club), Chris Okeson (Stonewater), Tim Skufca (Avon Oaks), Brian Polick (Weymouth & Fox Meadow) and Shaun Kloetzer (NOHIO.GOLF Club) are all still within striking distance, ranging from 144.5 to 167.5 points behind the leader. Loads of golf left to play, too.
On the Senior side, Signature of Solon’s Monty Guest took the early lead with his victory in the Senior Division of the Northeast Ohio Amateur. He then added a T1 at the Stroke Play at Tippecanoe, a third place finish at the Four-Ball Championship, and a couple of T4s as well. Plus, he has parlayed both Individual and Four-Ball Match Play wins worth 200 points in total thus far.
Chasing Guest from 285.2 points behind are Nick Lambos of Canton Brookside, Allen Freeman of NOHIO.GOLF Club (310.45 behind) and Mark Guadagni of Silver Lake (377.5 points back). Those three will need a serious run of finishes between now and year’s end to catch Guest, as he will likely continue to add significant points to his current total as well.
But the race in both divisions is far from over. Still to come are the the Stroke Play #3 at Canton Brookside, the Stroke Play #4 at Oberlin, the points-heavy Great Lakes Auto NOGA Tour Championship at Firestone, and both sets of Match Play titles. That makes for many points still up for grabs, and the potential for some huge shifts on both leaderboards.
