Canton, OH – The Junior Ohio Cup took to Brookside Country Club Saturday morning for the opening Four-Ball Matches.
Southern Ohio’s Casey Colton and Luke Holop led off the matches for Team SOPGA against Northern Ohio’s Wren Spires and Griffin Pickett. A back and forth match saw Colton and Holop made birdie on 16 to go to two up with two to play. Spires and Pickett birdied 17 to send the match to the final hole. Ultimately, Colton and Holop were too strong and put the first point on the board for Team SOPGA.
Isabelle Perini and Rebekah Hartley were the next team up for Team SOPGA. Perini and Hartley battled hard all day long, taking their match to the 17th hole. Ultimately, Team NOPGA won the 17th hole to win their match two and one.
The third match out saw Braylen Haney and Carter Westendorf take on Elijah Stewart and Mick Ambrose. Team NOPGA jumped out to an early lead. That’s when Haney and Westendorf kicked into gear. The pair made birdie on six of their next 14 holes to close out their match and score another point for Team SOPGA.
Emma Gebhart and Taylor Stringfield were in the fourth match Saturday morning. The pair survived an early onslaught from Kayla Knaze and Annelise Stencel and steadied the ship during the middle of the match. Unfortunately for the young ladies, they were not able to climb out of the hole and ultimately fell to Team NOPGA.
Lucas Massa and Christian Yoder went down to the wire against Northern Ohio’s Dexter James and Ryan O’Leary. Massa and Yoder found themselves three down with only six holes to play. A birdie by Yoder pulled the pair closer and ultimately closed to one heading to the final hole. After a hard fought battle, James and O’Leary emerged victorious, winning the final hole to close the match.
High school teammates Brady Reuter and Reid Seimetz had the tough task to take down Northern Ohio’s Dominic Castelluccio and Jacob Rainieri. Seimetz and Reuter kept it close, making birdie on holes 13 and 15. Unfortunately, Team NOPGA matched their birdies on those holes and closed out the match to add another point for Team NOPGA.
The final match of the day saw Aubrey Arnold and Sam Spearman take on Elena Varga and Rachel Rush. Team SOPGA jumped out to an early lead in the match with a win on the second hole. Rush and Varga came storming back, quickly picking up momentum and regaining the lead. A win on the par-4 fourteenth hole pulled the match to within three, but Team NOPGA remained steady and closed out the match, and the day.
As the sun set Team NOPGA took a 6-2 lead heading into Sunday singles. Team SOPGA will look to build momentum early in the day and mount a comeback to bring the Junior Ohio Cup to Southern Ohio for the first time.