Suitca Wins a Third and Troy is close to same in NOPGA Professional Championships

CANFIELD: It’s a tired, worn-out and mundane cliché that’s been repeated way too often in way too many stories.

But a cliché probably never sounded better to Tannenhauf Golf Club professional Mary Suitca on Tuesday and barring a total collapse the same can hold true for Jim Troy, a teaching pro at The Golf Dome, on Wednesday.
 

“The third time was the charm.”

There, we said it. It might be tired, worn out and mundane to us but it was anything but for Suitca during the final round of the fourth Northern Ohio PGA Ladies Professional Championship at Tippecanoe Country Club.

Suitca shot a final-round 2-over 74 for a 36-hole total of 154 and a three-stroke victory over defending champion Emily Heikkila (79-78=157).

It was Suitca’s third victory in the four-year history of the event and she has won it at three courses, adding Tippecanoe her win at Lakewood in 2021 and Westfield in 2022.
She finished second in 2023 when she was eight months pregnant with son Elias, who was part of Suitca’s personal gallery on Tuesday, along with older sister, Rylee (5) and Suitca’s mother, Laura.

“Rylee is my good-luck charm,” Suitca said after getting her round off to a rousing start with birdies on two of her first three holes and adding an eagle on the 462-yard seventh hole that capped a turning point in what had turned into a two-player race. “She told me stay focused, make good swings and make good practice swings.”

Obviously, mom listened and followed the instructions.

The third time can be the charm for Troy, as well, barring a total collapse or a miraculous, off-the-charts final round by one of his pursuers.

Troy, winner of this event in 2022 at Westfield Country Club and in 2021 at Beechmont Country Club, was one of the last players off the course during Tuesday’s second round but stood first after a stunning, bogey-free, 7-under 65 that gave him an eye-opening 8-stroke lead heading into Wednesday’s final round.

Windmill Golf Center professional Randy Dietz posted a second straight par-72 and stands alone in second place at even-144 while four others – Toledo Country Club head pro and 2020 champ Jaysen Hansen (74-71), Kirtland head pro Mark Bixler (72-73), 2020 champion and PGA Life Member Tom Waitrovich (73-72) and Portage Country Club pro Steve Parker (71-74) share third place at one-over 145.

On a perfect day for golf, Tippecanoe was as challenging as any course the Section members have seen this year. Only four players – Troy (71-65), Hansen, first-round leader Mike Stone (70-76) and Parker have had sub-par rounds.

Dietz, Waitrovich, two-time winner Tom Atchison (76-72), Youngstown Country Club assistant Jon Jones (72-74), two-time champ Mitch Camp (78-72) and Canterbury assistant pro Anthony Panepento (80-72) have been able to match par at least once.

That’s just 12 rounds at par or better over 36 holes by 58 players.

The field was cut to 32 players who posted the low 30 scores and ties for Wednesday’s final round.

Can anyone catch Troy, who posted the only bogey-free round of the day?

“It’s mid-August and I feel like I have found something in my game,” said Troy, a four-time NOPGA Player-of-the-Year. “The day was so nice (weather-wise) I never felt uncomfortable. There was very little wind and I wasn’t afraid to get a little aggressive.”

He pulled into a tie with first-round leader Stone with a birdie on the first hole by making a 6-foot putt. He birdied the 209-yard fifth with an 8-footer and made the turn at 4-under when he chipped in for birdie on the par-3 ninth.

A 12-foot, down-hill putt for birdie got him to 6-under and he reached the 549-yard 14th in two and two-putted to got to 7-under. He also birdied the 17th after making one of his three bogeys there during his opening round.

Dietz, runnerup in this event in 2022, made nine straight 4’s on the front and eventually made 4 on 12 of first 13 holes in putting together his second-straight even-par round.

Hansen, playing in the third-last group of the day, was four shots out of the lead but birdied two of his first four holes, knocking his third shot from 50 yards to four inches and making a 2-footer on the short par-4 (311 yards) fourth.

He made a rare double-bogey on the par-3 13th but retaliated with three straight birdies, highlighted by a 30-footer on the 15th when his putt hit the stick and dropped in.

“The three straight birdies was a big deal,” said Hansen, who has found a comfortable home at Toledo Country Club after a long stint at Beechmont.
Like everyone else he’ll need a bunch of big deals to catch Troy.

This is the 745th edition of the NOPGA Professional Championship and the top four finishers will gain entrance into the 57th PGA Professional National Championship to be held at the PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Fla, April 27-20, 2025.