Are We Headed For Another Fantastic Finish? Of Course We Are Because It’s The Ohio Open

WESTFIELD: Hang on to your Titleists, boys and girls.

The 103rd Ohio Open at Westfield Country Club is headed for a fantastic finish. That you can take to the bank.

How do we know? We know we are headed for another fantastic finish to the Ohio Open because the Ohio Open always has a fantastic finish. Or, at least it has for as long as most fans, players and administrators can remember.

While records are sort of incomplete, suffice to say the Ohio Open is rarely a run-away. If ever. We can say that because since 2008 there have been eight victories by one shot, three victories by two shots and on three occasions a playoff was required to determine the winner.

Something says 2024 will add to the drama lore. No one has been able to distance themselves from the rest of the pack. When the final round unfolds today on both tees of the South Course Cincinnati’s Daniel Witterich has a one-shot lead over fellow Cincinnatian Jake Fox, Westerville’s Ali Khan and Drew Salyers from the tiny town of Howard, Ohio (2020 population: 246) near Mount Vernon.

Witterich, 27, put together a bogey-free round of seven-under 63 on the North Course and took over sole possession of first place with a 36-hole score of nine-under 131.

Fox (67-65), Khan (65-67) and Salyers (65-67) are one shot back, tied at eight-under 132.

Thanks to a superb, record-tying, bogey-free round of 8-under 62 on Tuesday, reigning Ohio Amateur champion Andrew Bailey from Shaker Heights is tied for fifth, along with Uniontown’s Maxwell Moldovan (65-68), Toledo’s Michael Balcar (65-68) and Grove City’s Trent Tipton (69-64), all at 133.

Bailey’s 62 tied the North tournament record set by 2021 winner Jake McBride, of Hartville.

Three others are three shots back and five others are within striking distance at 136 or better. That means there are 12 players within four shots of Witterich’s lead.

How can another tight, down-to-the-wire, knuckle-chewing, hair-falling-out fantastic finish not be in the offing?

Cue the drama kings. Witterich, a 2019 graduate of Ohio State, had five birdies and an eagle in his first Ohio Open appearance. He was unable to play a practice round with his only exposure to WCC came when he walked the South Course during Sunday’s pro-am. Still, the 27-year-old with Korn Ferry Tour experience was able to get the ball close most of the day and when he didn’t, he was able to make birdie putts of 15, 12, 10, 4 and 3 feet. The highlight of his round came on his seventh hole of the day – the 577-yard 16th – when he chipped in for eagle from about 17 yards.

“I think I’m in good shape no matter what, whether I’m leading or a few behind,” he said with many in the field of 288 still on the course. “As long as I can keep striking the ball the way I’ve been and can still see (read) the greens I feel I’m in good shape.”

The round of the day, however, belonged to 32-year-old Bailey, a Cleveland State graduate and former teammate of first-round leader Balcar.
Starting the day on the North’s back nine, six shots behind Balcar, Moldovan and Khan, Bailey went to work early. He birdied the par-3 11th hole by draining a 25-foot putt to get to even-par and began a permanent trip into the red numbers with a tap-in birdie from one foot on the 176-yard 13th.

“It was a good start, much different than Monday,” he said, referring to his triple-bogey seven on his first hole of the tournament. Three more birdies followed as he two-putted from 15 feet on the 552-yard 14th, two-putted from 50 feet on the 577-yard 16th and knocked his third shot from 80 yards to within three feet on 18. The birdies on 14 and 16 came compliments of two magical shots off his 3-wood.

“Those two shots on 14 and 16 were two of the most beautiful 3-wood shots I have ever seen,” said playing partner and three-time pen champion Rob Moss. Bailey, who had never played Westfield, continued his marvelous play on the front with three more birdies.

“It feels good not to have any squares on the card,” he said, referring to the scoring mark that indicates a bogey, as opposed to a circle for birdie. Bailey was four-over after four holes on Monday on the South but righted the ship and finished at just one-over. “I was kind of learning as I went along,” he said, referring to his unfamiliarity with the course.

Salyers might be from a small town but he can play big as he twice earned all-Big Ten honors while playing at Indiana University. He also had a quick start with three birdies over his first five holes on the South’s back side and added three more – while suffering his only bogey — on the front.

Fox, a University of Cincinnati graduate and former Ohio high school state runnerup at Archbishop Moeller, had nine 3’s South scorecard, five for birdie.

Moldovan, also playing in his first Ohio Open since turning professional following an outstanding career at Ohio State, started his second round on the North’s back nine and made two quick birdies to get to 7-under. But that’s where he stayed as he finished with 14 consecutive pars.

The original field of 288 was cut to the low 60 scores and ties for Wednesday’s final round. That left 63 players, who will go off on both tees on the South Course in three-somes for the final round that will start at 7:45 a.m. to avoid potential inclement weather.

The cutline was 2-over 142, meaning several fine players have been left out in the cold.

While Bailey posted the round of the day, North Canton’s Daniel Mosher pulled off the shot of the day as produced the tournament’s only double-eagle as his second shot from 199 yards with a 6-iron rolled into the hole on the South’s sixth.
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