Oh yes, and he was the boys and girls golf coach at Lebanon High School for many years.
James had a debilitating stroke stroke five years ago and spent the rest of his days at a nursing home.
He was 77 years old when he died on Aug. 31. His friends will hold a memorial gathering Sunday from 1-3 p.m. at Harmon Golf Club.
James caddied at Harmon as a teenager and began to work there in 1957. He spent more than 40 years at the club. He was an excellent player who participated mostly in tournaments sanctioned by the Cincinnati PGA Section.
Among his victories, however, was the 1998 Southern Ohio PGA Seniors Championship at Columbus Country Club.
May he rest in peace.
Team Invitational
at NCR Country Club
The 23rd annual Miami Valley Team Invitational, a competition between several eight-member teams from area country clubs, will be held on Sept. 29 at NCR Country Club.
The defending champion is Sycamore Creek, which won last year with Dave McNerney, Neal Rankin, Paul Stone, Bob Stephens, Steve Ruehlman, Matt Buse, Dave Clancy and Rob Berry on the team.
Each team can include one professional affiliated with the club. There are three separate nine-hole competitions – better ball, alternate shot and singles.
Greene Country Club, which won seven straight from 1996-2002, has the most victories in the event. NCR Country Club is second with four championships while Miami Valley, Browns Run, Sycamore Creek and Country Club have two each. Springfield Country Club and Walnut Grove have won the title once.
Ohio Am returning
to Springfield CC
Springfield Country Club will host the 2017 Ohio Amateur Championship July 10-14. It will be the sixth time the club has been the Ohio Am site. The club last hosted the tournament in 2007 when it was won for the second straight year by Jason Kokrak of Warren.
The only club that has hosted more Ohio Ams than Springfield CC is Toledo’s Inverness Club, which has had it nine times.
Of the Dayton clubs, Dayton Country Club has been the host twice, Miami Valley five times, Moraine four and NCR three. Moraine is scheduled to host again in 2019.
The Ohio Golf Association will stage one of its events in Dayton next year. The 2017 Mid-Amateur Championship will be held at Miami Valley Golf Club June 19-22.
Moraine getting
some attention
Moraine Country Club has been nominated for Golf Digest magazine’s annual “Renovation of the Year” award for its dramatic course improvement project.
Ron Whitten, Golf Digest’s senior editor for golf course architecture, took a tour of the Moraine course in May and several of the magazine’s course raters have played at Moraine this summer.
Chip Shots
The City of Dayton continues to operate without a head professional at Community Golf Course where Chad Walther was placed on indefinite suspension early in the season. No acting head pro has been appointed. Assistant pro Tom Kenney continues in his role.
Moraine Country Club’s course and NCR Country Club’s South course were closed for a few days last week as green superintendents Jason Mahl (Moraine) and Jim Campion (NCR) supervised core aeration and top-dressing of the fairways and greens.
Jeff Scohy has accepted an invitation to play on the Ohio team in the USGA State Team Championship at The Country Club of Birmingham (Ala.) Sept. 28-30. His teammates will be Bill Williamson of Cincinnati and Brandon Pluchinsky of North Lima.
Scohy and Williamson are 39 years old. Pluchinsky, runner-up in this year’s Ohio Am, is 22.
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