MANSFIELD, Ohio — Some of the area’s best high school programs will measure themselves against the state Aug. 10 at Westbrook Country Club.
The first Westbrook Invitational tees off at 1 p.m. and is a who’s who of high school golf.
Reigning Division I state champion Cincinnati Moeller headlines an 11-team field that features two-time state runner-up Centerville (2011, 2012) and 39-time state qualifier and three-time champ (most recently in 2009) Cincinnati St. Xavier.
Lexington, Clear Fork, Madison, Ontario and Ashland also will be in the elite field.
“We have some very good programs in the area and we want to expose them to some of the top programs in Ohio,” Westbrook Country Club pro Greg Smith said. “We wanted our local kids to see what else is out there around the state.”
Lexington returns a wealth of talent from a team that advanced to the district tournament, including Spencer Stierhoff, Tommy Barkett, Joey Zahn (Lex coach Ryan Zahn’s son) and Kaleb Smith (Greg Smith’s son).
“This is a chance to play against some great programs on a great golf course,” Ryan Zahn said. “It should be a good day.”
Three of Clear Fork’s top five players from last year’s district-qualifying team return in Luke Watson, Devon Shortridge and Dakotah McClain.
“Our goal is to have the local kids play against the level of competition early in the season that they will encounter when they get to the district tournament,” Smith said. “We want them to get used to playing against those types of schools now, rather than waiting until the end of their (high school) season.
“It’s good for all of the local programs to go out and raise their bar. We want to show that we play some good golf here, too.”
