Northern Ohio is blessed each year with a significant number of competitive golf tournaments open to amateurs and professionals. Nearby regions don’t have the same abundance of high-quality events, as evidenced by the fact that players from those regions often travel here to compete. Many of these events have histories dating back 80 or 90 years or more, giving them additional cachet.
Let’s look back at the results from the Northern Ohio tournaments conducted in 2025, and the many worthy champions who deserve recognition again.
[NOTE: each event name links back to its final results game story.]
Northern Ohio Golf Association
In 2025, in addition to its own Great Lakes Auto Scratch Series and PrimePay Net Series events, NOGA also conducted five Women’s Ohio State Golf Association events, ten USGA qualifiers, six match-play championships, the Northeast Ohio Amateur, the Interclub Team Championship, the Tournament of Champions, the Lewis Cup, and the Ohio Adaptive Open. In total, a whopping 2,240 golfers competed in these NOGA-run tournaments – a 33% increase from 2024.
NOGA Great Lakes Auto Scratch Series
Four-Ball #1: Griffin Todd + Garrett Frank shot a better-ball 68 at Tippecanoe to win by one shot. Kurt Peterson + Nick Lambos tied with Jeff Semple and Jeff Thrams for the Senior Division title at 70.
Stroke Play #1: Daniel Mosher made four birdies at challenging Shaker Heights Country Club, shooting 74 to win the title. Defending Senior Player of the Year Rob Schustrich matched that 74 to win the Senior Division by three shots.
Nolan Haynes shot 69 on Sunday morning at Windmill Lakes to back up his Saturday 64, on his way to winning the 2025 Northeast Ohio Am.
Northeast Ohio Amateur: Barberton’s Nolan Haynes raced to a Saturday afternoon 64 at Windmill Lakes. He then navigated a rainy Sunday morning 69 to earn a two-shot victory over Ajay Morris of Cortland in the weather-shortened event. Defending champion Vaughn Snyder finished at 4-under-par 136 for third overall and won the Mid-Am Division. Howard Clendenin posted a pair of even-par 70s to win the Senior Division by two shots.
Four-Ball #2: Adam Pry + Joe Albrecht tied with Jack Garswood + Andrew Grayson for the title at Stone Oak, as both teams shot 68. In the Senior Division, Brian Schubert and Shayne Fischer shot 69 to win by one shot.
Stroke Play #2: The Lake Club’s Brandon Pluchinsky posted a sizzling home-course 66 to win by two shots. Brian Vincelette shot 72 to win the Senior Division by one shot over four players, sealing the victory with a birdie at the last.
Cole Smith, Chris Okeson, Jeff Blechschmidt, and Timothy Moore of Mayfield/Sand Ridge, 2025 Interclub Champions
Interclub: The teams from Mayfield Sand Ridge and Quail Hollow Country Club both shot 5-over-par in the three-individual-scores-of-four format. This forced a tiebreaker using each team’s fourth score. Cole Smith, Chris Okeson, Jeff Blechschmidt, and Timothy Moore of the host Sand Ridge Club claimed the Interclub honors when Moore’s 76 bested Quail Hollow’s fourth player. Individually, Okeson shared first-place with Trevor Cohen from Quail Hollow at 1-under-par 71.
Stroke Play #3: Ian Hardesty and Chris Okeson shared the top spot in the Championship Division with a 67 at Eagle Creek. Allen Freeman won the Senior Division title with 69.
Foursomes: Brian Smith + Christopher Brown started slowly in alternate-shot format but finished strong. They went birdie-eagle on holes 16 and 17 at Ellsworth Meadows to shoot 68 and win going away. Howard Clendenin + Jeff Semple overcame an early triple-bogey with four birdies to win the Senior Division by two shots.
Stroke Play #4: Chris Okeson, Colin Burns, and Jack Garswood all finished at 3-under-par 69 at Glenmoor to share the title. Greg Myers and Paul Krueger tied atop the Senior Division with 72.
Ian Hardesty shot 68 at Firestone South on Monday to win the 2025 NOGA Tour Championship.
Tour Championship: Seven shots behind after opening with 74 on the Fazio course, Barrington’s Ian Hardesty shot 68 at Firestone South to secure his third NOGA Tour Championship by two shots over Lucas Liberatore. In the Senior Division, Firestone member Howard Clendenin cruised to a six-shot win over fellow member Jeff Semple.
Match Play Championships: Trevor Cohen from Quail Hollow won the Individual Scratch Match Play title by defeating Oberlin’s Ben Hogan in the finals. In the Senior Individual Scratch finale, Club Walden members Greg Myers and Tom Laubacher vied for the championship, which Myers won in 19 holes. Brett Dubin + Lucas Liberatore took the Scratch Four-Ball Match Play victory. Nick Lambos + Kurt Peterson captured the Senior Scratch Four-Ball bracket. Greyhawk’s Jim Crandall topped the Net Individual matches, while the 46th-seeded team (of 47!) of Dan Pyle + Seth Severin won the Net Four-Ball Match Play crown.
Tournament of Champions: Medina Country Club’s David Laib earned the TofC title with a 1-under-par 71 at The Country Club. Steve Blackburn Jr. from Quail Hollow won the Senior Division, and Mary Hird of the Country Club of Hudson won the Women’s Division.
Lewis Cup: In cold, rain and wind at The Country Club, the Senior Amateur team made a closing push to win Day 1 by a single point. When the Day 2 Singles Matches were canceled for weather, it pushed the series victory count to Amateurs 3, Seniors 2.
NOGA PrimePay Net Series
Net Four-Ball #1: Elyria Country Club’s Jay Yorty + David Routh shot a net 62 at Trumbull Country Club to win by one shot and earn the first seed in match play.
Net Stroke Play #1: David Thompson posted a net 66 to win by four shots at Youngstown CC and claim the top individual match-play seed.
Jan Taylor Mixed Couples: Hosted at Plum Brook, club member Bryan Dudash + Kamil Stephens tied with Cari + Jeff Hetler at 32 points in team Chapman Stableford for the gross title. Dudash + Stephens also earned the net win with 41 points.
Toledo Four-Ball #2: Greg Reece + Mike Distefano used their Stone Oak home-course knowledge to post the only gross score under par. They won by five shots with 69. Tom Bollenbacher + AJ Rogers topped the net results with an adjusted 63.
Emily Baumgartner hitting a tee shot at Silver Lake in the Net Four-Ball #2
Net Four-Ball #2: Emily Baumgartner + Evan McCauley cruised to a four-shot victory at Silver Lake. They made 10 net birdies against one bogey for 63. Jim Crandall + Tom Freeman won the Senior Division with a net 68.
Toledo 4-P Shamble: Brady Schroeder, Brett Eley, Eric Schaaf, and Logan Dray dominated at Belmont Country Club. The team took the top spot in both the Net and Gross Divisions with 122.
Toledo Scotch: Michael Trapp + Craig Soule, Brian Hinkle + Andrew Van Horn, and Andrew Gunn + Paul Strack tied for first place with 74 at Catawba Island Club. Andrew Grombacher + George Simon were the net victors with an adjusted 65.
Toledo 2-P Scramble: Jon Brimley + Gary Michel shot a gross scramble score of 30-30=60 at Sylvania Country Club to win by two shots. Murray Drell + Scott Sherman finished second in the gross division but won the net division with 59.
Net Stableford: Dylan Schwarz won the Championship Division on the final hole, finishing one point ahead of Andrew Peters. John Melnik and William Immler tied atop the Senior Division.
USGA Qualifying & Championship Performances
U.S. Adaptive Open Qualifier: Josh Hunke of Canada earned a wire-to-wire victory. He shot 2-over-par 72 at Portage Country Club to claim the sole available spot, winning by five shots.
U.S. Open Local Qualifying – Cleveland: Michigan amateur Jonathan Oakes posted 68 at Weymouth to earn medalist honors. Pro Nick Carlson finished solo second with 69. Also advancing in a four-way tie at 72 were amateurs Tyler Sabo, Liam Curtis, and Andrew Bailey, as well as pro Jake Kneen.
U.S. Open Local Qualifying – Toledo: Michigan’s Evan Johnson shot 66 at Highland Meadows to earn medalist honors. Amateurs Jake Ryan, Jeg Coughlin III, and Bryce Reed, along with pros Patrick Wilkes-Krier and Ben Smith, all shot 67 to advance.
U.S. Girls’ Junior Amateur Qualifying: On a rain-plagued day, Florida’s Grace Carter earned medalist honors by four shots, shooting 71 at Silver Lake CC. Lauren Timpf of Michigan advanced in solo second with 75.
U.S. Junior Amateur Local Qualifying: Columbus’ Jonas Borland made seven birdies while shooting 69 on a rainy day at Silver Lake to earn medalist honors. Shooting 71, Hudson’s Sam Fauver and Dublin’s Aaron Xu advanced from a five-way playoff, as both made birdie on the first extra hole.
U.S. Women’s Amateur Qualifying: Michigan’s Lily Bargamian made four back-nine birdies to shoot 71 at Shawnee Country Club in Lima. Sixteen-year-old Keira Yun of Elizabethtown, KY, played steady golf to post the same score and share medalist honors.
Jim Durr hitting from the bunker on the second hole at Catawba Island.
U.S. Senior Amateur Qualifying: Silver Lake’s Jim Durr shot 73 at Catawba Island Club to take medalist honors. Club Walden’s Tom Laubacher posted 74 and then won a three-way playoff to advance.
U.S. Mid-Amateur Qualifying: Oberlin GC member Brian Smith used his home-course knowledge to take medalist honors at 67. Barrington’s Casey Schrader and Cincinnati’s Nicolas Paxson shot 68 to advance.
U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Qualifying: Susan Glasby of Chesapeake, Ohio, took medalist honors at Portage Country Club with 70. Jennifer Wang and Alexandra Taylor both posted 72 to advance to Monterey.
U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Qualifying: Tom Miles + Jonathan Bowers tied with Charles Fitzsimmons + Kevin Fawcett as co-medalists and qualifiers on a rainy day at Avon Oaks. Both teams shot a better-ball 64 to advance.
USGA Championships National Performance Spotlight
– Canton native Suzi Spotleson delivered a deep run with a solid performance in the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur in Virginia. In stroke-play qualifying at The Omni Homestead Resort in Hot Springs, she shot 74–77=151 to tie for 10th and earn the 11th seed in match play. In the Round of 64, Spotleson dominated with a 5&4 win over Leigh Klasse of Surprise, AZ. She then squeezed past Adrienne MacLean of Tequesta, FL in the Round of 32, 1-up. In the Round of 16, Spotleson routed Kim Shek of Bellevue, WA, 6&4. Her run ended in the Quarterfinals as she fell 6&5 to Sarah Gallagher of Canton, GA.
Andrew Bailey tees off on the 9th vs Stewart Hegestad in the Rd of 32. (Steve Gibbons, USGA)
– At the U.S. Mid-Amateur at Troon CC in Scottsdale, two Northern Ohio players advanced to match play—only to face each other in the first round. Tyler Riley of Findlay qualified with 73–70=143, slotting into the 28th bracket position. Decorated Cleveland amateur Andrew Bailey shot 72–72=144 to take the 37th spot. The two played in the Round of 64, with Bailey winning the all-Ohio match 2-up. Bailey’s next opponent was nationally noted mid-am Stewart Hagestad. Bailey jumped out to a quick 2-up lead through four holes, but Hagestad proved unbeatable from there. He won 7 of the next 11 holes while shooting 5-under-par in that span, defeating Bailey 5&3.
– Uniontown native and former Ohio State Buckeye golfer Maxwell Moldovan earned his fourth U.S. Open appearance. He advanced to Oakmont from U.S. Open Final Qualifying at Springfield Country Club, shooting 69–66=135.
– Canal Fulton’s Justin Lower shot 68–69=137 at Kinsale G&FC in Powell to finish T-2 in U.S. Open Final Qualifying in Columbus, advancing to Oakmont.
Regional Amateur Championships
Canton’s Vaughn Snyder won his third Cleveland Amateur title at Manakiki.
Cleveland Amateur: Canton’s Vaughn Snyder won his third Cleveland Am title with a three-shot victory over Rick Deichert of Shaker Heights. After an opening 69 at Manakiki, Snyder pulled away with a second-round 71 at Sleepy Hollow. His lead grew large midway through the Sunday finale at Manakiki, but late bogeys narrowed the final margin.
Senior Cleveland Am: Phil Latsko won in his first entry into the Senior Cleveland Am. Steve Blackburn Jr. led after a first-round 66 at Big Met, but his second-round 72 left him tied with Latsko’s consistent 69-69, which included a birdie on the last hole to force a playoff. After ties with pars at the first two playoff holes, Latsko rolled in a short birdie putt on the third extra hole for the win.
Women’s Cleveland Am: Defending champion Sabrina Coffman, Lizzie Saur, Christina Nagy, and Emily Holzopfel all shot 75 at Manakiki, forcing a four-way playoff. Coffman and Saur made par on the first playoff hole; only Coffman did so on the second to defend her title. In the Senior Division, Wendy Shick topped Insook Kim with a par on their first playoff hole.
Summit County Am: In Saturday’s first round at Good Park, Nolan Haynes finished bogey-double bogey for an even-par 71. On Sunday, he played his first nine holes at just 1-under-par after making bogey at the turn. But on the final nine Haynes dominated, making five birdies to win by four shots over Justin Atkinson.
Windham’s Rob Schustrich rolled home this par putt to claim his fifth Senior Summit County Amateur Championship.
Senior Summit County Am: Ron Chapman took the first round lead with a sizzling 66. But in the first four holes of the second round, Rob Schustrich made three birdies playing along side Chapman in the final group. The pair were tied coming into the tough par-3 finishing hole; Chapman made bogey while Schustrich saved par. Schustrich made just one bogey in 36 holes to earn his fifth Senior Summit title.
Stark County Am: Akron’s Kyle Smith took a commanding lead after Saturday’s 6-under-par 66 at Ohio Prestwick, then coasted to a four-shot victory with a 2-under-par 70 on Sunday. Howard Clendenin defended his Senior Stark 50–59 title at 4-under-par. Tom Laubacher claimed his second 60–69 title with a pair of 72s. Jim Herchek earned a comeback win in the 70+ Division with a Sunday 73. Emily Liptak won the Women’s title in a blowout by 11 shots, while Alison Cress took the Senior Women’s Division in a playoff over Gail Hackett.
NOPGA & Professional Opens
Will Grimmer winds up a fist pump before his birdie putt drops on the 18th at Firestone South, closing out the 2025 Ohio Open victory.
Ohio Open: Cincinnati teaching pro Will Grimmer shot three consecutive 66s over all three of Firestone Country Club’s courses to win by two shots over Ohio State Buckeye amateur Vaughn Harber of Blacklick. Grimmer sealed the victory with a dramatic 30-foot birdie putt on the 18th green of the South Course as a hard-charging Harber looked on.
Ohio Senior Open: Dublin’s Bob Sowards posted a pair of 66s at Firestone Fazio to win the Ohio Senior Open for a record sixth time—once again by two shots over Fairlawn amateur Howard Clendenin, a Firestone member. Stow amateur Mark Borlin shot a closing 67 to win the Senior Plus Division by one shot.
Habitec Toledo Open: John Clare of Camillus, NY, shot 5-under-par 137 at Stone Oak Country Club in Holland to take the Toledo title by one shot over three players. Minerva’s Paul Wackerly won the Senior Division by two shots with a 4-under-par 138.
NOPGA Pro–1 Am Scratch: New Philadelphia pro Blake Sattler partnered with amateur Chris Miller to shoot a blistering 12-under-par better-ball score at Mayfield. They won by one shot over The Clubhouse Cleveland’s Drew Pierson and amateur Michael Keefe.
Jaysen Hansen, winner of the 2025 NOPGA Professional Championship at Tippecanoe.
NOPGA Professional Championship: Toledo Country Club pro Jaysen Hansen shot 71–69–69 at Tippecanoe CC to win by three shots over Strongsville’s Jim Troy.
NOPGA Senior Professional Championship: Painesville’s Gary Rusnak fired 68–70 at Chagrin Valley CC to win his second NOPGA Senior Professional title by three shots over Mike Stone.
NOPGA Mitchell-Haskell Tour Championship: Pepper Pike Club’s Sean McGuire shot 69–68 at his home club to win by three shots over Michael Balcar of Brandywine. Youngstown CC’s Jon Jones won the Senior Division in a playoff over Belmont’s Mike Stone.
NOPGA Denny Shute Match Play: At Portage CC, Jim Troy defeated Randy Dietz for the match play title in 37 holes. Gary Rusnak defeated his boss, 1899 Golf Managing Partner Scott Pollack by 2&1 for the Senior Division. In the Associates Division, Kyle Buzaki bested Antonio Bodziony 4&3.
2025 Tigertown Open champion Blake Sattler.
Tigertown Open: Blake Sattler captured his third Tigertown Open with a 9-under-par 63, good for a one-shot win over Paul Wackerly and Connor Curry. Entered into both divisions, Wackerly took the Senior Professional title. Jarrod Kasunick won the Amateur Division with 68, and Howard Clendenin took the Senior Am with 66.
Ohio Adaptive Open: In the Men’s Overall Division, Chicago’s Michael Came shot an opening 70 at Seneca GC to start Sunday one shot back. He jumped ahead with two birdies on the front nine and built a big lead, then struggled to close. He still came away with 147, good for a one-shot win over inaugural OAO champion Jarrett Fultz, who posted a Sunday 72. In the Women’s Overall, Arizona’s Sophia Howard became the first repeat champion in either division. She won in style, too, making birdie on her final hole with a 22-foot putt to edge Cassie Sengul—who had stuffed her final approach shot to 3 feet in a bid to tie.
