MANSFIELD, Ohio – A mixture of elite high school golf programs from around Ohio met on the links Monday, Aug. 10, at Westbrook Country Club for the inaugural Westbrook High School Golf Invitational.
The tournament teed off at 1 p.m. and featured 11 programs, including perennial powerhouses Cincinnati Moeller, Cincinnati St. Xavier, and Centerville, as well as local teams from Lexington, Clear Fork, Ashland, Madison, and Ontario.
The idea behind the tourney, according to Westbrook Country Club pro Greg Smith, was to highlight some of the state’s top golfers.
“(Lexington’s) Athletic Director Joe Roberts, myself, and (Lexington) coach Ryan Zahn wanted to showcase some of the better talent in our area, as well as outside the Mansfield area, and host it here at Westbrook,” Smith said.
Rain and wind, mixed with quick greens, played into an all-around challenging day for the golfers.
“I think the course won today,” Smith said. “It’s really dry out there, and the greens were fast and firm – it was hard to get the ball to hold.”
Taking first place as a team was St. Xavier, which tallied a 313. In second was Moeller, also with a 313.
“We love this course – this is a great track for all kinds of players, especially junior players,” St. Xavier coach Ken Schon said. “The greens were very demanding today.”
In addition, St. Xavier touted the top player in junior Zachary Pavlin, who won his first medal in a sudden-death playoff on the par-3 No. 9 hole against Moeller’s Jake Fox. The two were tied at 77 heading into the playoff.
“He’s very excited and was very nervous over that 18-inch putt,” Schon said of Pavlin, who played his initial shot on the ninth hole slightly to the right of the green, avoiding a steep hill that slopes down just in front of the pin.
“Coach just told me to take a deep breath and pick the right club, and I picked a 7-iron,” Pavlin said.
From there, he would two-putt his way to par the hole and claim victory.
“It’s exciting – I’ve cut it really close a lot of times,” Pavlin said of his first-ever medal. “It was a really demanding course out here today, up and down a lot, but I’m just really excited I could do it here.”
Coming in third as a team was Lakota East with a 319. Rounding out the scores were La Salle (324), Mason (332), Ashland (337), Clear Fork (342), Lexington (347), Centerville (347), Ontario (374), and Madison (452).
For Ashland, which was short a golfer, Johnny Peck carded the top score with a 78, while Max Watson followed up with an 83.
Clear Fork’s Dakotah McClain topped the Colts with an 80, and teammate Luke Watson carded an 81. Kaleb Smith led the way for Lex with an 81.
“Hopefully it opens up their eyes that there other kids out there who can play, and they’re very deep,” Greg Smith said of the local teams. “There are some kids I watched today whose five man could have played our one man, and that’s what they need to be exposed to.”
Helping the invitational come together were the many sponsors, for which Smith said he was thankful. He singled out Karla Rupp, a Lexington Athletic Booster, as a significant contributor.
“She went out and raised a lot of money to pay for the green fees, the food, and getting the kids here,” he said.
“Coach just told me to take a deep breath and pick the right club, and I picked a 7-iron,” St. Xavier’s Zachary Pavlin said.
