Mount Vernon News

Putt caps Ballinger victory

HOWARD — Tom Ballinger had no idea what he accomplished by sinking his last putt on the 18th hole. He knew he needed to make it in order to tie at the 79th OPGA Publinx State Amateur Championship on Friday, but didn’t realize it was enough for the win. Moments later after the crowd’s reaction, Ballinger, a Mansfield native, was ecstatic to discover he had won his first tournament title since wearing a St. Peter’s High School uniform. The Kent State senior shot 69-69-69-72 to finish 9-under-par (279) for the win.

“I knew I was tied with Josh (Anderson) and in order to at least break that tie, I had to make that putt. I’ve kind of been all over the hole all week from that distance and so I just went through the routine and knocked it in,” said Ballinger.

Ballinger’s victory added another level to his recent streak of success on the golf course. Earlier this summer, he finished third with a four-round score of 285 at the Ohio Golf Association’s Ohio Amateur. The end result gave Ballinger an extra boost heading into the Publinx.

“That (Ohio Amateur) gave me a lot of confidence and since then, I’ve been playing pretty decent,” said Ballinger. “I kind of carried that down to this week. Hopefully, I’ll carry it into these next couple weeks right into school.”

Former champion Steve Paramore of Ashland stood off to the side and watched the last three golfers come in. Before Ballinger’s putt, Paramore was in control of the leaderboard with a 280 (70-71-69-70). He knew heading into the hole it could end up in a four-way tie between himself, Anderson, Ballinger and Tyler Tarney, forcing a playoff situation. Secured to his spot on the green, he witnessed Ballinger pull ahead in the final stretch for the win.

“You just think about all of your opportunities out there to get to finish at 8 (-under) and the chance to get 9-, 10-, 11-under,” said Paramore. “The ideal round — make no bogeys and a lot of birdies. I didn’t make any putts and I had a lot of birdie putts on the back nine. I gave myself a chance and I made a birdie on the last hole to get to 8 (-under) so that was good.”

Leading the pack after both Round 2 and Round 3, Anderson’s putt rolled straight past the hole. It was a shot he had to make for a chance at the title. After his miss, Ballinger stepped in to take control, squared off and made history.

“I had my chances today and just didn’t get it,” said Anderson. “I thought I had a good putt on the last hole and I thought I was going to make it. I figured he’d make it (Ballinger) after mine and I knew we were tied and needed to make it.”

Anderson finished in second place (72-65-69-70—280) after a playoff against Paramore. This marks the third time he has received runner-up honors at the Publinx. He’s proud of his accomplishment, but striving towards the first-place trophy.

“It’s tough,” he said. “I just wanted this year to work out for me. I’ll be playing next year.”

The low-round score of the day was a 65, shot by last year’s winner Chris Miller. If it weren’t for a Round 1 3-over-par finish, he would have been in the thick of the hunt to defend his title. Teeing off 11 strokes behind the leader, Miller’s Round 4 performance elevated him to fourth place, finishing 4-under (282).

“I shot 75 the first day and that got me. You can’t do that it makes it impossible to come back from,” said Miller, a Kent State alumnus. “I played well. I had six birdies, one eagle and one bogey. I shot 15 coming down the stretch and just missed a couple puts. I almost shot 29 on the front. I had 10-foot putts on 7, 8 and 9 and didn’t make any of them.”

Mount Vernon’s Mike Crouch tied for 10th-place (290) with Brad Baker of Warsaw. Brad Crouch came into the clubhouse with a 292; Scott Savage finished at 296; Brad Shuff shot a 298; and Andy Marsell finished a stroke back at 299. Mount Vernon Nazarene University golfer Preston Knight of Westerville fired a 290. His teammates, Tim Hepner of Carrollton and Tyler Tinch of Mount Gilead, carded a 294 and 306, respectively.