Consistency key for 2023 Richland County Junior Golf Tournament champs
MANSFIELD — When it comes to the game of golf, sometimes, consistency is key.
No golfers know that better than the 2023 Richland County Junior Golf Tournament champions crowned on Tuesday morning at Oak Tree Golf Course. Of the four age group champions, only one had a more-than-four-stroke difference between their Day 1 score to Day 2. One had a 3-stroke difference, one had a one-stroke difference and the other posted the same score on both days.
Consistency at its finest.
Shelby senior Ashton Hoffbauer went back-to-back after winning the 15-16 division last year. He shot two-under for the tournament with a 70-71-141 to win the 17-18 boys division by eight strokes over Shelby teammate Will Magers and Clear Fork's Nate Lind who tied for runner-up honors with a pair of 149s. Magers shot a rebounded from a Day 1 78 at Twin Lakes with a one-under 71 at Oak Tree on Tuesday while Lind showed consistency of his own with a 74-75-149.
Galion's Nathan McMullen took fourth with a 75-76-151 and Nicholas McMullen took fifth with a 79-75-154.
Hoffbauer got his senior year started off right with a Richland County title as he will look to lead the Whippets this fall to a repeat Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference championship.
"It is nice," Hoffbauer said. "There is a lot of great local competition and it is such a great confidence booster going into the high school season where I will be playing against a lot of these guys."
Hoffbauer had a great junior season taking medalist honors at the Division II sectional tournament with an outstanding 34-36-70 but struggled in the district tournament with a 44-41-85 that didn't meet his own standards.
"I had a thing called the shanks," Hoffbauer said. "My swing was very confused at that time and I just wanted to fix it. I worked so hard this offseason and it is starting to show. I am glad it is showing."
After the district tournament, Hoffbauer went right to work and has been playing great golf all summer long. His summer season concluded with a Richland County Junior Golf championship on Tuesday.
"It started right after last golf season when I didn't play well in the district tournament," Hoffbauer said. "I wanted to make a change so I have been working with my golf coach and transformed my swing to give me more consistency. It has shown off a little bit this summer. I have played in a lot of tournaments and to win this and see the work pay off feels really nice."
Northmor junior Katelyn Miley was the most consistent golfer of the two-day tournament as she posted an 83-83-166 to win the girls' division by 37 strokes.
Brooklyn Kissling took runner-up honors with a 96-107-203 while Brooklyn Black took third with a nice rebound on Day 2 as her overall score tallied 119-99-218. Delany Moritz took fourth with a 106-113-219 and Saje Miley rounded out the Top 5 with a 111-109-220.
Katelyn Miley came in with hefty goals for herself and while she fell just short of the scores she wanted to post, all was OK when she was handed the first-place trophy.
"I am pretty proud of myself," Miley said. "I wanted to break 80, but I tried my best and that was good enough to win this tournament. It was important for me to be consistent these two days because I have worked incredibly hard all summer long on my game. I wanted to play well because I have played in a lot of tournaments this summer and this was a nice one to win."
Miley is entering her junior year at Northmor and is expecting a big year on the course after spending all summer working on her game.
"I am pretty excited for this season coming up," Miley said. "I don't want it to end."
Incoming Madison freshman Josh Maglott, the runner-up in 2022, took home the title in the 13-14 division. After shooting a solid 83 at Twin Lakes on Monday, he responded with a 79 on Tuesday to post a 162 winning the division by four strokes over Cole Bowman's 86-80-166. Ashland's Jacob Snay shot an 84-90-174 to take third while Carter Bowman shot a 93-82-175 and Jackson Durchik added a 93-83-176 to round out the Top 5.
Maglott admitted he didn't play his best on Monday despite holding a one-shot lead after the first 18 holes, but he was proud of the way he stepped up and played better on Day 2 to close out his first championship.
"It was nice," Maglott said. "I struggled a little bit on the front yesterday and responded well with a solid score on the back to set up a solid performance today. It was important to stay consistent today because it kept me in contention and helped me win."
Maglott's older brother, Nicholas, took third place in the boys' 15-16-year-old division so it was a solid day for the golfing bros. Being brothers, one would think there would be some heated rounds of golf being played but Josh isn't one for trash talk. He Knows he is going to be on the same Madison Ram team as his brother this fall and he hopes to make an impact right away right alongside big bro.
"We just go out and play and have fun with the game," Maglott said. "We just have a good time. We don't trash talk at all, we just go play and do the best we can. I am looking forward to playing with him this year. I want to play consistently, score well and help the team any way I can."
Delaware Hayes' Parker Steffani won the 15-16 division with a 71-80-151 while Lexington's Griffin Hughes took runner-up honors with an 80-78-158 while Nichola Maglott added an 84-77-161, besting little brother by one stroke. Cameron Bulakovski took fourth with an 81-82-163 and Madison's Liam Stone rounded out the Top 5 with an 85-83-168.
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2023 Richland County Junior Golf Scoreboard
Boys 17-18 years old
Ashton Hoffbauer 70-71-141
Will Magers 78-71-149
Nate Lind 74-75 149
Nathan McMullen 75-76-151
Nicholas McMullen 79-75-154
Toby Randall 78-77-155
Micha Greene 82-77-159
Canaan Slone 80-89-169
Jack Wyant 84-88-172
Hunter McCarthy 97-79-176
Mitch Riegel 89-88-177
Levi Davis 85-92-177
Andrew Cawrse 86-91-177
Hayden McDowell 88-91-179
Jerry Thompson 108-99-207
Girls All-Division
Katelyn Miley 83-83-166
Brooklyn Kissling 96-107-203
Brooklyn Black 119-99-218
Delaney Moritz 106-113-219
Saje Miley 111-109-220
Alexa Sesco 133-117-250
Addy Gilmor 124-DNF-DNF
Boys 15-16 years old
Parker Steffani 71-80-151
Griffin Hughes 80-78-158
Nicholas Maglott 84-77-161
Cameron Bulakovski 81-82-163
Liam Stone 85-83-168
Dillon Smith 87-85-172
Bailey Carmichael 87-87-174
Nathan Dawson 85-92-177
Clinton Stallard 89-89-178
Bryar Ousley 90-89-179
Grant Keep 91-89-180
Carson Walker 89-92-181
Landon Goad 93-91-184
Chase Dininger 101-88-189
Keegan Keller 97-99-196
Anthony Studer 103-105-208
Nate Riggle 111-111-222
Kendon Latore 109-124-233
Ryder Doehla 133-118-251
Boys 13-14 years old
Josh Maglott 83-79-162
Cole Bowman 86-80-166
Jacob Snay 84-90-174
Carter Bowman 93-82-175
Jackson Durchik 93-83-176
Dawson Dreibelbis 91-94-185
Jack Campbell 95-92-187
Miles Doehla 97-91-188
Kolbe Ramion 100-95-195
Carson Pigg 93-104-197
Tyler Turnbaugh 101-105-206
Ty Ellis 102-104-206
Thomas Lenanhan 108-103-211
Michael Brown 105-108-213
Owen English 111-106-216
David Crundwell 108-110-218
Branson Porter 115-113-228
Ryan Sand 113-133-246
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Consistency key for 2023 Richland County Junior Golf Tournament champs
