By Tim Rogers, NOPGA Media
AKRON: Will Grimmer approached his golf ball which had come to rest on the right side of the 18th fairway on the South Course of Firestone Country Club.
He was protecting a one-shot lead in the final round of the 104th Ohio Open Championship — which he had authored by playing nearly flawless golf through 17 holes — and was about 167 yards from the pin.
It was very close to the spot Tiger Woods had stood in near darkness in 2000 and pulled off one of the most memorable shots during one of his eight victories at Firestone.
In fact, Grimmer was so close to the spot he could read the commemorative plaque that club officials had placed there, acknowledging Woods’ “Shot In The Dark” that led to a victory in the World Golf Championships-NEC Invitational.
Grimmer, a self-admitted golf historian, could not resist.
“I was four paces in front of the Tiger plaque so I tapped it for a little good luck,” said Grimmer, a teaching professional from Cincinnati. “I hit the same club, a little 8-iron to 25 feet and was able to roll it in for birdie.”
Woods also birdied. But from two feet. He won that event by 11 shots. Grimmer won by two. Whose shot was more critical to victory?
The birdie, his fifth of the day and third over the last nine holes, enabled Grimmer to finish with his third straight round of 66 and a winning score of 14-under 198 in the first Ohio Open played at Firestone in 63 years.
Ohio State sophomore Vaughn Harber shot two-under 68 to finish second, two shots behind with rounds of 63-69=200 and 2021 Open champion Jake McBride (Hartville) also shot 68 and finished in a tie for third place with Westerville professional Troy Taylor II, both at 9-under 203.
“Luckily I was able to keep my nerves under control and stay within myself and execute and a high level,” said Grimmer, who owns a golf training facility in downtown Cincinnati. “So, it was very rewarding to win. And winning at Firestone and on the South Course is special.”
Grimmer, a 2019 Ohio State graduate, began the final round in a tie for fifth place, one shot behind second-round leaders Ken Keller (Youngstown), Garrett Wood (Clarksville) and amateurs Kyle Smith (Akron) and Nolan Haynes (Barberton).
The 28-year old, who has spent time on the Korn Ferry and Canadian Tours, took the lead for good with back-to-back birdies on the 410-yard 10th and 418-yard 11th.
From that point he reeled off six straight, stress-free pars before finishing with that dramatic 30-foot birdie putt on the closing hole with Harber just one-shot behind.
Grimmer, 28, earns $10,000 for his victory.
Second-round leaders Wood, Smith and Haynes were in contention until the later stages and struggled against the demanding South Course layout in the final round.
Smith, a sophomore at Xavier, finished with a 75 for a 54-hole total of 6-under 206. Wood, a University of Kentucky graduate, shot 76 to finish at 207 and Haynes, a sophomore at Kent State who had the tournament’s lowest round of 8-under 62 on Monday, shot 80 to finish at 211.
McBride, who has not played a competitive round since leaving the playing part of golf one year ago to sell golf equipment, went 69-66 in his first two rounds and was pleased with his finish.
Harber, who helped OSU win the National Golf Invitational – golf’s version of basketball’s NIT – in May, was part of a two-man tie for fifth at 10-under after the first two rounds, suffered three straight bogeys on holes 6-8 but fought back brilliantly on the back nine.
He birdied four of the first six holes to get to 12-under and one stroke behind. He nearly chipped in for birdie from behind the green on the legendary 16th hole – which played at 636 yards – but could not get any lower the rest of the way.
Wood, a University of Kentucky grad, bogeyed two of the first three holes and never seemed to comfortable.
Smith, a Green High grad, also bogeyed two of the first sandwiched around a birdie on the 526-yard second. He was in contention until suffering consecutive bogeys on the 471-yard 13th and 467-yard 14th to fall to 7-under.
Haynes also had a rough outing with four bogeys on the front and a retched triple-bogey on 16 after hitting it into the water fronting the green.
To the surprise of no one, the South Course was its usual, unforgiving self. Only 10 players in the field of 71 starters broke par in the final round.
Several local players fared well, however, as Dover’s Tyler Light birdied four holes on the front and eventually finished at 5-under 207 with rounds of 68-71-68.
Shaker Heights amateur Andrew Bailey, who will attempt to win a third straight Ohio Amateur Championship next week, also finished at 207 (67-71-69) and Akron’s Solomon Petrie, who will transfer from Kentucky to Toledo, finished at 208 (69-66-73).
GO FIGURE: Dublin’s Bob Sowards and Firestone member Howard Clendenin, who battled for the Ohio Senior Open Championship in May before Sowards prevailed, both shot final-round 69s to finish at two-under 210.
NEVER TOO OLD: Missed on Tuesday was he round fired by former Firestone and Brookside Director of Golf Gary Robison. With nines of 36-35 Robison shot his age. At 71, the NOPGA Hall-of-Famer was the oldest player in the field.
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