Westfield Center, OH – The inaugural Junior Ohio Cup took to the South Course at Westfield Country Club. 16 juniors from the Southern Ohio PGA took on 16 juniors from the Northern Ohio PGA in this team event being contested for the first time.
A cold and wet morning at Westfield Country Club welcomed Team NOPGA and Team SOPGA for the Junior Ohio Cup. These 32 juniors qualified for their respective teams as a result of their play in the summer of 2023.
In the first match out of the day, Andy Steed paired up with Griff turner to take on Ryan Dinan and Aryan Ahlaway. Steed and Turner fought hard all day long, but were defeated 1 up thanks to a great chip in by Dinan on the 18th hole.
Cameron Phillips and Lucas Massa took on the team of Sion Park and Ryan Czenszaak. Phillips and Massa played a great round of golf and won their match 3 and 2, scoring the first ever point in Junior Ohio Cup History.
“It was so much fun today,” noted Massa, “Cameron played so well and I was able to feed off it all day long.”
Zach Hartley and Owen White had plenty of fireworks in their match. A huge putt by Hartley on the 16th hole pulled the match back to all square where it would remain as both teams secured a half point in match #3.
The final boys match saw Colin Cleary and James Wei square off with Trey Lautenschleger and Dexter James. Despite their best effort, Cleary and Wei would fall 3 and 2.
Leading the way for the girls were the 16-19 Player of the Year Paige Weiss and runner-up Katelyn Miley. Gracyn Vidovic and Kristina Chill from Northern Ohio played an exceptional round of golf to claim another point for NOPGA.
Fresh off a team state title, Addie Yarbrough was ready to go with her partner Rebekah Hartley. The girls fought hard but were defeated by Brooklyn Millard and Julia Van Bokkelen.
Next up was Grace Boone and Abby Haywood. The vibes were high for Boone and Haywood and they played a very solid team round of golf. Unfortunately, the ladies from Northern Ohio brought their best stuff to the course and were able to grab another point.
The final match of the day saw Cadence Monroe-McCoy and Ava Bressler take on Emily Burling and Alex Vardon. After an early 5 hole deficit, Monroe-McCoy and Bressler kicked it into gear and brought the match back to 1 down through 16 holes. Unfortunately, their par putts on 17 would narrowly miss, leading to another point for Team NOPGA.
With the four-ball matches coming to a close, Team NOPGA holds a five point lead heading in to Sunday singles at 6.5 to Team SOPGA’s 1.5.
“These kids may not realize it now, but they will look back at how amazing this event was.” Noted Captain Ben Chandler,PGA. “For an inaugural season, this is probably the best junior event I’ve seen run.”
Play will conclude Sunday morning at 10:00 AM for the honor of hoisting the Junior Ohio Cup for the first time.