WORTHINGTON, OH – Sixteen PGA Professionals will represent the Southern Ohio Section this week competing at Worthington Hills Country Club as part of the Ryder-cup style Ohio Cup on Tuesday and Wednesday.

“The Ohio Cup for me is the most important tournament in the Section every year,” Assistant (Playing) Captain and Director of Instruction at Kinsale Golf and Fitness Club Bob Sowards, PGA said. “It’s just the best tournament of the year and something that’s one of my goals to make this team and to play in every year.” 

Sowards will join Captain Ken Corliss, PGA Teaching Professional at the Golf Club of Dublin, and Assistant Captain Steve Groves, PGA Life Member, leading the 2023 Southern Ohio PGA team. 

The 27th Ohio Cup SOPGA team consists of 10 members on the Main Team and six participants on the Senior Team. The collection of individuals tasked with defending their two-time Ohio Cup title stands out to Corliss. 

“We think we have one of the best teams that’s ever come out of Southern Ohio,” Corliss said. “We have a lot of young players, which is nice, and our senior players are all good players. Northern Ohio has always had an advantage in the senior division for the last 10-15 years so our seniors are getting younger and they’re great players so we look forward to the challenge.”

Corliss said Northern Ohio PGA “has always had a lot of good senior players,” and he highlighted Gary Robison and Mitch Camp among others who’ve had success playing for Northern Ohio PGA. 

“They were pretty dominant up until the last couple of years and now our seniors Sam Arnold, Bob Sowards, Dave Bahr, Tim Krapfel — he’s played on almost every team — our seniors are staying young and playing great,” Corliss noted. 

Joining Arnold, Sowards, Bahr and Krapfel on the Senior Team are Dan Gage, Director of Golf at Wedgewood Golf & Country Club, and Mike Thomas, PGA General Manager at Sharon Woods Golf Course. For Bahr, Krapfel and Sowards, this will be their 18th Ohio Cup, and for Arnold his 17th. 

Corliss moved to the Southern Ohio Section in 2003 and has played with the team ever since, enjoying a 19-year career teaching in the area. The four-time Ohio Cup player spent two years as an Assistant Captain where he helped Captain Cory George lead the 2021 team to their first victory in four years. 2023 marks Corliss’ second year as Captain of team Southern Ohio. 

“I’ve had both sides of it,” Corliss said. “All the golf pros in Southern Ohio look forward to this tournament every year. It’s kind of like our Ryder Cup, which just happened last week so it makes it even a little bit better.” 

Corliss and Sowards have a history at Worthington Hills Country Club. Corliss noted the course is known for its “fast greens and well-conditioned golf course,” and Sowards has won a few tournaments there, he said, and it’s a course he’s played quite a bit. 

“It’s a golf course that’s not too stressful off the tees,” Sowards noted. “All the protection of that golf course is on the greens. It’s some of the hardest greens we play all year. They’re very fast and very undulating so that’s the strength of the golf course.” 

The course begins with a pair of par-4 holes before leading into 187-yard hole No. 3. The back nine features two par-3’s and six par-4’s including 450-yard hole No. 14 and 448-yard hole No. 16. 

Holes Nos. 4, 6 and 18 are par-5’s in the Ohio Cup event at Worthington Hills Country Club. 

“I’ve always said I would much rather go 0-3 individually and win as a team just because it means that much,” Sowards said. “It’s not an individual tournament. I know if you play well individually you help the team but if the team wins, that’s all I care about. I could care less about my individual record.” 

Corliss also is curious how some members on the Main Team such as Ben Kern, PGA General Manager at Hickory Hills Golf Club, will handle playing the course for the first time, and he’s excited to play at “a premier golf course” at Worthington Hills Country Club in Columbus. 

“Naturally we want to win again,” Corliss said. “We’re not used to winning three years in a row so we know that Northern Ohio is going to be coming after us because they’re not used to losing three years in a row. So it should be a very competitive week. And like I said, I feel like I have the best players on our team that we’ve ever had so we’re looking forward to next week.”

The 27th Ohio Cup, hosted in the Southern Ohio Section this year, is made possible thanks to partners such as Saling Simms Associates, represented by Jim Saling, Brent Simms and Jenn Berry. Southern Ohio PGA Partner Devon Holden of Holden Golf Sales supports the event on behalf of AHEAD and Sun Mountain while Todd Adams supports the team’s style on behalf of STITCH.