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The
state tournament for boys golf, started back in 1927, is
the third longest running tournament for high school
athletics in Ohio. Only the tournaments for boys track
and field (1908) and boys basketball (1923) have been in
existence longer. From 1927 thru 1970 there was only
one state championship that the boys were playing for.
From 1971 thru 1988 the schools were divided into three
Classes of A-AA-AAA, which were renamed as Div. I-II-III
in 1989.
The
tournament has always been held in the Columbus area.
From 1927-1937 the participants were instructed to meet
at Ohio State University, at which time they would find
out where in the city the tournament would actually be
played. Since 1938 the tournament has been held at Ohio
State University, with the exception of 2005, when it
was temporarily moved to the Foxfire Golf Club in
Lockbourne due to construction at the OSU course. Also,
for its first seven seasons the tournament consisted of
one round of 18 holes, but ever since 1934 it has been a
tournament that has consisted of two rounds of 18 holes
each, unless curtailed by weather.
While
75 schools, covering the width and breadth of the state,
have won golf championships, five of the eight schools
with the most championship trophies have come from the
Columbus area. This includes the state�s top winner,
Upper Arlington High School, which has won 16 titles, a
total that is fifth highest in the country for state
golf championships by a single school. Home field
advantage for those Columbus schools? One would
wonder. However, that did not seem to deter the boys
from Gilmour Academy in Gates Mills, who became the only
team in state history to win four consecutive state
championships when they captured the Division III title
in 1991-92-93-94.
Playing
�on the road� has not hampered the performances of many
of the state�s top schoolboy golfers when they
participate in the state tournament, especially when it
came to setting records. The all-time low individual
score in the tournament, 134, is shared by Jason Kokrak,
Warren J.F. Kennedy (2002), and Drew Balser, Hillsboro
High (2003). The all-time low team score of 564 was set
in 2003 by the team from University School in Hunting
Valley, just east of Cleveland.
Many
fine golfers have participated in the state tournament
down through the years, but it would be hard to top the
accomplishments of two of the best. Fred Jones, who
golfed for Youngstown Rayen High School from 1950-1952,
never saw his team take the state title, but that was
certainly not Fred�s fault. In his three years in the
tournament, Fred Jones became the first Ohio schoolboy
golfer to take medalist honors three consecutive times.
Ralph
Guarasci, playing for Columbus Bishop Waterson High
School, just may have done Jones one better. Guarasci
also took medalist honors three consecutive years,
1972-73-74, but in doing so Guarasci led his team to
three consecutive Class AA state team championships as
well.
Only 32
boys in the nation have taken medallist honors three or
more times, and Ohio can proudly boast of having two of
them.
No
story of Ohio boys high school golf would be complete
without mentioning its most famous alumnus, Jack
Nicklaus. Nicklaus attended Upper Arlington High
School, where he lettered in golf all four years and was
captain of the golf team as a sophomore, junior and
senior. Jack led Upper Arlington to its second state
championship in 1956, and he did it in grand style by
blistering the course for a then state record score of
144. Nicklaus again took medalist honors in 1957, with
a score of 148. However, this time it was not good
enough to carry his team to the championship, which was
won by Cincinnati St. Xavier, with Upper Arlington
finishing third.
Many
probably assume that Nicklaus picked up his nickname,
the Golden Bear, because of his association with Upper
Arlington, whose nickname, coincidentally, is the Golden
Bears. Such is not the case, however. Jack received
his distinguishing nickname compliments of a golf writer
who tagged him with it because of his blonde hair, his
bear-like stature and the aggressive nature of his play.
Golf
has been one of the most popular of high school sports
in Ohio, and advancing to play a couple of rounds in
Columbus has always been the goal of every high school
golfer in the state. |
