CINCINNATI, Ohio (July 27, 2021) – At 10-under-par, Wyatt Worthington, PGA claimed the 76th Southern Ohio PGA Professional Championship on Tuesday at Maketewah Country Club.
“This is definitely one I’m going to remember for a long time,” Worthington reflected when asked about his round. “I kept the ball in play and made a lot of putts. I hit a couple greens that worked out in my favor and lucky bounces, in order to win you have to have good breaks and I fortunately had them today. I tried to lock in, get in a trance and pretty much not wake up from there.”
54 holes at Maketewah Country Club were no match for Worthington this week. The Teaching Professional from The Golf Depot at Central Park in Columbus, OH, opened the championship Monday morning with a four-under-par 67. He kept the momentum going by firing a three-under-par 68 in the afternoon second round. Worthington arrived Tuesday morning ready to compete for the title. He opened the final round with a birdie on the first hole and went on to card a second consecutive three-under-par 68. Worthington’s total score of 10-under-par 203 placed him at the top of the leaderboard by five strokes.
“For me, it’s historic. I never thought I would have something like this and to do it here; it’s a great day.”
Worthington is a product of the First Tee of Central Ohio. Growing up in Columbus, he fell in love with the game as a junior player. He continued his pursuit of being in the golf industry by attending the PGA Professional Golf Management program at Methodist University. Now, he continues to introduce the game to new golfers as a teaching professional while also competing on the Advocates Professional Golf Association (APGA) tour.
“I would like to have more representation and get more people involved in the golf world who look more like me. I hope I can have some type of exposure to the people who may not be introduced into the sport and hopefully that can change because this is an amazing game.”
Through this victory, Worthington qualified for the 2022 PGA Professional National Championship.
In addition to Worthington, four more players qualified for the 2022 PGA Professional National Championship after Tuesday’s final round. Kyler Booher, PGA, Director of Golf at Miami Shores Golf Course in Troy, OH, began the final round eight strokes off the lead. He opened his final round with a blistering five-under-par 30. Going one-under-par on his second nine, Booher ended the tournament at five-under-par 208 and in solo second place.
Anthony Andrews, PGA, Head Professional at Blue Ash Golf Course, carded an even-par 71 in the final round to finish in solo third at three-under-par 210.
Three players finished tied for fourth at two-under-par 211 and competed in a three-for-two playoff for the last two qualifying spots. Mike Thomas, PGA, Head Professional at Vineyard Golf Course claimed the fourth qualifying spot in a play-off after carding a three-under-par 68 in the final round.
Larry King, PGA and Dave Bahr, PGA. King, Head Professional at Tri County Golf Ranch in Cincinnati, also finished in a tie for fourth. King carded a one-under-par 70 in the final round and then claimed the final spot in the national championship after posting a par on the second playoff hole.
Maketewah Country Club’s Head Professional Dave Bahr, PGA; Dennis Wells, PGA, Head Professional at Little Miami Golf Center in Cincinnati; Jeff Olson, PGA, General Manager at Golf Club of Dublin in Dublin; and Lloyd Faulkner, PGA, Teaching Professional at Buttermilk Falls Golf Club in Georgetown, OH claimed alternate spots into the 2022 PGA Professional National Championship. Bob Sowards, PGA, Director of Instruction at Kinsale Golf & Fitness Center, is exempt into the 2022 PGA Professional National Championship as a past champion.
To view the full Southern Ohio PGA Professional Championship leaderboard, including the National PGA Professional Championship qualifiers, click here.
To view photos from the third round of the Southern Ohio PGA Professional Championship, click here.
Thank you to Dave Bahr, PGA and his team at Maketewah Country Club for hosting the 2021 Southern Ohio PGA Professional Championship this week.
Thank you, also, to our partners for their support of the 76th Southern Ohio PGA Professional Championship! This year’s event was presented by Cadillac, Club Car and Rolex and supported by Nike, Titleist/FootJoy, TaylorMade, Precise Yardage Books, and PGA TOUR.