Springfield CC to host U.S. Open sectional qualifier

Thirty-nine golfers will tee it up Monday at Springfield Country Club in the 36-hole sectional qualifier for the U.S. Open.

They will be vying for two spots in the Open June 10-16 at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa. Tee times for the threesomes will begin at 7 a.m. for the morning round and 12:30 in the afternoon. The public is welcome, but spectators are not permitted to use carts.

Contestants at Springfield include Eric Ernst of Las Vegas, winner of the PGA Tour’s Wells Fargo championship; Eric Ashley of Knoxville, Tenn., who has played in six Opens; University of Illinois junior Thomas Pieters of Nijlen, Belgium, the 2012 NCAA individual champion; and New York club pro Steve Scott, who lost the 1996 U.S. Amateur title to Tiger Woods in a memorable 38-hole match that went two extra holes.

One of last year’s two Springfield qualifiers, John Peterson, tied for fourth place in the 2012 Open.

More than 100 volunteers were culled from 300 applicants and will assist with the conduct of the tournament. “We got overwhelming support from the Miami Valley golfing community,” said Steve Jurick, executive director of the Miami Valley Golf Association,

Hogenkamp leads Ohio Am qualifiers

Ben Hogenkamp of Minster was medalist Tuesday in the Ohio Amateur qualifying round at Miami Valley Golf Club. Hogenkamp, a 21-year-old Wittenberg University senior, posted a 1-under-par 70 to lead the 20 players who earned a spot in the Ohio Am field July 8-12 at Brookside Country Club in Canton.

Hogenkamp surrounded two bogeys with three birdies and was the only golfer in a field of 70 to break par. The runners-up were Alec Tahy of Dayton and Jeff Scohy of Bellbrook, who shot 72.. Doug Gage of Dayton, former Daytonian Mark Monfort of Columbus and Ricky Denny of Germantown tied for fourth with 73s. It took a score of 76 to qualify.

Hogenkamp played in his first Ohio Am last year at Brookside in Columbus. He turned in a pair 0f 76s and didn’t make the 36-hole cut.

Lohmeyer caddying for PGA Tour rookie

Former Oakwood High School golfing star Steve Lohmeyer, who has had various jobs in the golf industry since graduating from Kent State Univerrsity in 2005, now is caddying for PGA Tour rookie Scott Langley of St. Louis.

The 30-year-old Lohmeyer began carrying Langley’s bag during the second stage of the PGA Tour Qualifying School last year and was at his side when he earned his PGA Tour card for the 2013 season. Langley promptly tied for third in his first tournament, the Sony Open in Hawaii, and earned $324,000.

Since then he has made five cuts in 14 events, tying for 24th in The Heritage on April 21 and earning $46,980. For the season the left-hander has earned $443,944 .

Lohmeyer’s father, Dan Lohmeyer, reports that Steve is “having a great time” caddying. Steve won the Ohio high school Division II golf championship in 1999 and was second in 2000.

City tournament deadlines set

The deadline to enter the City of Dayton Match Play Championship is June 2. The tournament will be held June 6-10 at Kittyhawk Golf Center. A July 7 entry deadline is in effect for the Men’s Senior match play competition July 11-14.

The deadline for both the Senior Men’s Stroke Play Championship (Aug. 8-9) and the Men’s Stroke Play championship (Aug. 8-11) at Community Golf Course is Aug. 4.

Nominations wanted for Hall of Fame

Dayton Amateur Golf Hall of Fame nomination forms are in the pro shops at many local golf courses. If you know of someone you think is deserving of this recognition, you must submit a completed form by July 1. The biennial Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held late this summer.

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