Troy, Dietz, Sierak, Hansen Prevail in NOPGA Professional Championship

Favorites? Not hardly.

Longshots? Perhaps.

Maybe underdogs would have been a more appropriate tag to hang on Jim Troy, Randy Dietz and Mark Sierak before the start of the 47th Northern Ohio PGA Professional Championships at Tippecanoe Country Club on Monday.

But, by Wednesday, after the final putt had fallen and the numbers had been dutifully recorded and the last handshake and tip-of-the-hat had been made, all three men wore more suitable and accurate labels.

Winners.

The numbers show Troy was a run-away, 9-shot winner, posing scores of 71-65-71 for a 9-under 207 — the only man in the original field of 58 to post three consecutive sub-par rounds — and the fourth man to win this event three times.

The numbers also show that Dietz was a solid runnerup and the field’s most consistent scorer with three consecutive rounds of 72 for a final total of even-par 216.
And, the key number for Sierak was his final-round, 2-under 70 that lifted him from a tie for ninth heading into the final round into sole possession of third place with a 54-hole score of 217.

What the numbers fail to show is what all three men have dealt with in 2024 – be it injuries, demanding off-the-course schedules that lead to a lack of practice time or just one of those puzzling, frustrating and maddening slumps.

Neither has won an individual event. Troy and Dietz uncharacteristically missed the cut in the Ohio Open. Sierak, owner of two relatively new businesses and Ohio’s lead man in the Folds of Honor Program, did not play due to his schedule. In fact, he hasn’t played much at all. Dietz walked away from competitive golf for a short time earlier this season and Troy has tinkered with swing issues and minor injuries.

Troy is a four-time NOPGA Player-of-the-Year. Dietz won the same award in 2019. Sierak won the prestigious Mitchell-Haskell Tour Championship in 2023.

All three are accomplished players and instructors. They are three of the most respected and well-liked players in the NOPGA. They tell you that 2024 has not been one of their banner years, an aberration on their career resumes.

Until this week.

This week all three men and Toledo Country Club pro Jaysen Hansen – the man sitting on top of the Rolex Player-of-the-Year race – overcame their individual adversity challenges, as well a difficult Tippecanoe Country Club, to earn qualifying spots in the 57th PGA Professional National Championship to be held in April in Port St. Lucie, Fla.

“To be honest with you I am surprised I’m here,” said the 47-year-old Dietz, who teaches at the Windmill Golf Center when he isn’t playing or caddying for his children. “I’m very surprised. I haven’t felt very good coming into this week. I’ve got some physical stuff going on. My body is breaking down and my putting has been terrible. I actually tweaked my putting two weeks ago and I think it really helped this week. Somehow, I was able to pull it together. I kinda held in there mentally.”

The 43-year-old Troy, an instructor at The Golf Dome, had a similar take.

“This is the best I have felt over the ball all year, especially with the putter,” said Troy, who admitted he has turned in a bunch of 73s and 74s. “I felt like I did back in 2011 when I was playing full time.”

They say you can’t win a tournament in the first round but no one ever said you can’t win it in the second round, which is precisely what Troy did with his bogey-free 65 while everyone else was stuck in the 70s or higher. He took an 8-shot lead into Wednesday’s final.

“My goal all week was to play every nine holes like a mini tournament, Troy said about playing with a big lead. “And I wanted to be under par in each of the nine holes.”

He was under par in four of the six nine-hole rounds and even in the other two. Simply, he was the best player in the tournament for the entire three days with six bogeys and 15 birdies on a challenging layout.

Sierak’s 2-under 70 was the best of the final round, sharing that distinction with Brookside Country Club head pro Cory Kumpf. And, it was one of just eight sub-par rounds shot by the entire field over all three days.

There were Troy’s three staunch rounds, as well as a 70 by first-round leader Mike Stone and 71s by Portage Country Club instructor Steve Parker and Toledo Country Club head pro Jaysen Hansen.

“I just haven’t been able to play much tournament golf this year, so I came into the week with no great expectations,” said Sierak, 46. “And maybe that was a good thing.”

After starting with a double bogey Sierak went on to post a final-round high five birdies and he also made several good par- saves, including a marvelous 25-foot putt on the 12th hole and a near-impossible 15-footer on the closing hole.

“You start making some birdies and things change,” he said. “And the par-save on 12 was huge. A putt like that does great things for your confidence.”

Hansen (74-71-74) and Parker (72-74-74) tied for fourth place at 3-over 219. Hansen, winner of this event in 2020, earned the final qualifying spot in a playoff on the second hole.

Parker, Belmont Country Club Assistant Professional Mike Stone (70-76-74=220), Union Country Club Director of Golf Sean Kenily (74-76-72=222) and Youngstown Country Club Assistant Professional Jon Jones (72-74-77=223) are the alternates to the national.

In his post-game comments Troy reflected on his sporadic play and was his usual gracious self in victory.

“It has been a weird year for me,” he said. “But I found something in my swing a couple of weeks ago. This is an honor to win this for the third time.”

In a year and tournament in which they probably weren’t categorized as favorites coming in, all three went out as they have done many times before. As winners.