Though cut short by a flash storm that left in its wake nearly an inch of rain in 12 minutes, neither the spirits—nor the scores—were dampened at the 17th annual Ohio Girls Golf Foundation Showcase on July 23 at Avon Oaks Country Club in Avon, Ohio.
“Fortunately, we kicked off the tournament a half hour early knowing the forecast and were able to get 12 holes of play in,” says OGGF Executive Director Judd Stephenson. Nine high schools and individual players made up the field of girls from across the state.
Winning lowest score honors were Iris Shin, of Rocky River, with a score of four under par. Coming in second place was Olivia Swain of Uniontown with two under par, and tied for third place were Paighton Masterson of Avon Lake and Laine Hursh of Chardon, both shooting one over par. See full results below.
On the team side, Canfield High School #1 team came in with the low score of 32 strokes over par. And Avon Lake High School came in with 52 strokes over par. The high school golf season officially kicks off August 1.
“No matter what you score, or how you play, golf is a sport you can enjoy for a lifetime,” said LPGA Professional and headliner Barb Mucha, who is just coming off a 12th place finish in the Senior Women’s Open in Chicago. She is also an inductee of the Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame. “You might not know it now, but you girls are forming bonds that will last your whole lives.”
Also capping off the event was an Awards Dinner. The OGGF awarded 10 college scholarships to: Lyndsay Blum from Independence High School, Carmel Cerimele of Canfield High School, Gillian Cerimele from Canfield High School, Alyssa Drehs from Medina High School, Rachel Hetman from Magnificat, Gabrielle Horvath from North Royalton High School, Maia Mathey from Copley High School, Emily Marcavish from Warren JFK High School, Shannon Sullivan from Magnificat and Olivia Zampedro from Lake Catholic High School.
Since the formation of the Ohio Girls Golf Foundation in 1994, the number of girls’ high school golf teams in the state has grown from zero to more than 200.
The Foundation’s mission is to encourage, sponsor and support the game of golf for girls by providing college scholarships, golf training programs and financial assistance.
Applications for the 2019 scholarships, as well as applications for financial aid to attend golf tournaments are available online at OGGF.org.
