By: Fred Altvater
The Ohio Amateur Championship dates back to 1904 and its list of winners over the years is quite impressive.
The Ohio Golf Association conducts five championship events each year, including the Ohio Amateur. To qualify to compete in the Ohio Amateur a golfer must be a resident of the state of Ohio or attending a state university or college in Ohio.
Robert Servis holds the record for most wins in an Ohio Amateur with five. His first win came in 1933 with his final in 1947. Harold Weber one of Inverness’ finest golfers, won four Ohio Amateurs in 1907, 1912, 1920 and 1921.
Joe Bole and Maurice McCarthy both won three Ohio Amateur titles. T. Sterling Beckwith, DeWitt Balch, Jack Munroe, Joe Wells, John Florio, Harold Paddock Jr. Ton Blom, Randy Reifers, Robert Gerwin and Andrew Dorn all won twice.
Toledo’s Frank Stranahan, the Ohio Amateur Champion in both 1941 and 1942, was called the “Ohio Strong Man.” Other than the great Bobby Jones, Stranahan forged one of the best amateur records ever recorded. He won two British Amateur Championships and nearly won The Open Championship in 1947 and again in 1953. He finished runner-up in both the 1947 Masters and the 1950 U.S. Amateur.
Stranahan won the 1948 Ohio Open as an amateur, plus he won it again in 1960 and 1961, after becoming a professional. He also won six professional events in his career and mentored Gary Player on the importance of a stringent fitness regimen.
Before Arnold Palmer became “The King,” he won the Ohio Amateur in 1953 and 1954.
Palmer always felt that winning the Ohio Amateur against a very strong field, gave him the confidence to turn professional and be successful on tour.
John Cook grew up a California kid, but his father had ties to the Firestone Club and John was a standout Big Ten performer at Ohio State. He won in 1978 and again in 1979. Ben Curtis, 1999 and 2000, plus Jason Kokrak, 2006 and 2007 were the best amateurs in the state of Ohio, before they turned professional. Both have gone on to win on the PGA Tour. Curtis even owns a Claret Jug for winning the 2003 Open Championship at Royal St. George’s.
Robert Kepler, who became the Ohio State Buckeyes Head Golf Coach for 27 years, won the 1931 Ohio Amateur. Kepler built a winning tradition at Ohio State. His teams won the 1945 NCAA Championship and produced four NCAA individual champions, including Jack Nicklaus in 1961.
Perhaps the greatest golfer to ever come out of Ohio, “The Golden Bear,” Jack Nicklaus won nearly every amateur tournament and award available. Nicklaus even won the 1956 Ohio Open, while still an amateur, but was never able to capture an Ohio Amateur title.
Michael Bernard holds the record as the youngest to ever win an Ohio Amateur title at the age of 16 in 2010.
The Ohio Amateur Championship hosted by the Ohio Golf Association annually visits the best courses in the state and continues to include some of the best amateur golfers in the country.
For more information visit: http://www.ohiogolf.org/home.asp
