ASHLAND, Ohio — Beau Bayerl doesn’t like to talk about himself much, but his résumé speaks for itself.
Ashland’s senior ace capped arguably the greatest career in Ohio Cardinal Conference history by winning his second Player of the Year award at the OCC Tournament last week at Mohican Hills Golf Club. Bayerl shot a 74, good for a tie for second behind Wooster’s Brent Dillon (73).
His finish at the conference tournament coupled with his play in dual matches throughout the season propelled Bayerl to his second POY award in four years. He was the league’s top player in 2014 and narrowly missed out on the honor as a freshman, finishing second behind Lexington’s Matt Barkett in 2013.
In addition to his two Player of the Year awards, Bayerl was the OCC tournament medalist in 2014 and again in 2015 when he edged Lexington’s Kaleb Smith in a one-hole playoff after both players fired 71s. Smith was last year’s OCC Player of the Year while Bayerl was a first-team selection, as he was in 2013.
The Richland Bank Athlete of the Week, Bayerl was more excited to talk about Ashland’s OCC team championship than any of his individual accomplishments. The Arrows broke Lexington’s four-year stranglehold on the team title thanks to an unbeaten dual match record and a runner-up finish at the tournament.
The Arrows beat Lexington at last year’s OCC Tournament but finished second in the final standings.
“The whole thing is we’ve come back hungrier than ever,” Bayerl said. “We’ve really worked our butts off and I’ve been really proud of the guys and how they’ve worked.”
In addition to its unbeaten dual match record, Ashland has won five invitationals this fall. The Arrows shot a blistering 290 earlier this season at the McLean Invitational at Oak Tree. Bayerl and teammate Johnny Peck shared medalist honors with matching 2-under 70s.
“The chemistry on this team is just right,” Ashland coach Dave Chapman said at the time. “They play for each other.”
The Arrows have a couple of remaining regular season invitationals before teeing it up at the Division I sectional tournament at Mohawk Golf and Country Club in Tiffin on Oct. 4. The top five teams will advance to the district tournament at Red Hawk Run in Findlay on Oct. 13. Only one team will advance to the state tournament from the Northwest district tournament.
“We only get one spot. It was like that last year, too,” Bayerl said. “The way it’s looking with our team, I think we’re strong enough as long as we keep everything together mentally I think we’ll be just fine.
“I think we could potentially win our district and get into state, which would be huge for us.”
