REPORTS: Huge Boost As Northern Kentucky Golfers Advance To Round Of 16 At Tony Blom
Northern Kentuckians challenged at Tony Blom Metropolitan Amateur golf championship
Three golfers from the Northern Kentucky area have reached the round of 16 in the Tony Blom Metropolitan Amateur Championship in Cincinnati. This demanding tournament spans six days and seven rounds, culminating in the match play final on Saturday. This year marks the 115th edition of the event.
Chris Harpum, a former golfer from Ryle High School, along with Rylan Wotherspoon from Cooper and Luke Muller from Highlands, achieved the most success among local participants in this week’s championship. Despite Wotherspoon and Muller being unable to progress to the match play quarterfinals at Maketewah Country Club, Harpum advanced to the semifinals with an opportunity to secure a spot in the final.
Harpum, a golfer from the University of Cincinnati representing Triple Crown Country Club in Union, is seeded 38th. He advanced to the match play semifinals on Friday with a 5 and 4 victory over Luke Metzger from the University of Findlay in the quarterfinals. Earlier, Harpum secured a 5 and 4 win over Cayse Morgan in the round of 16.
Also from UC, Wotherspoon was defeated by Metzger 1-up in the round of 16. Metzger, hailing from Mason, Ohio and a graduate of Bishop Fenwick High School, emerged triumphant. Wotherspoon, representing Traditions Golf Club in Hebron, had a strong showing leading up to Thursday’s match. He narrowly missed medaling during the two-day stroke play qualifying and obtained the No. 3 seed. Wotherspoon secured a 7 and 6 victory in his first match during the round of 64.
In a notable clash between two Northern Kentucky representatives, the eighth seed, Harrison Sims, a UC golfer representing Traditions, defeated the ninth seed, Muller. Sims achieved a 3 and 1 win in Thursday’s round of 16. Muller, who golfs at Northern Kentucky University and is associated with Highland Country Club in Fort Thomas, faced the loss.
Harpum, Wotherspoon, and Muller had recently competed in the 110th Kentucky State Amateur at Traditions Golf Club two weeks earlier. The event concluded with five golfers with local ties ranking in the top 60. Harpum tied for 17th place with a three-round score of 2-over-par 218, shooting 1-under 71 in the final round. Wotherspoon also tied for 20th, finishing at 3-over 219, and recording a tournament-low second-round score of four-under-par 68.
NKU’s Beard joined Wotherspoon in a six-way tie for 20th place, having scored a first-round 2-under 70. Muller ended up in a tie for 31st place at 5-over 221, achieving a score of 1-under 71 in each of the first two rounds. Recent Ryle graduate Tanner Lorms finished in a six-way tie for 51st place at 10-over 226 after shooting even-par 72 in the first round at Traditions.
Leading up to the Kentucky Amateur, several local golfers had notable performances, here are some of the highlights.
VETERANS OUTDO COLLEGIATES ON WILLOWS
Five golfers earned spots in the Kentucky Amateur by performing well at the state qualifier held at the Golf Courses at Kenton County. Among them was Mitchell Gastright from Covington Catholic, along with St. Henry’s Connor Albrinck and Dakota Finn, who used to play for Boone County. Gastright, the 2023 KHSAA Region 7 champion, and Albrink both secured fourth place, each scoring 80. Meanwhile, Finn, who is a golf teammate of Albrink’s at Thomas More University, clinched third place with a score of 79.
Fred Geraci and Rob Petrey also secured spots in the Kentucky Amateur, outshining the college players. Geraci, representing The Stephens Golf Academy, took the top spot with an even-par 72, two shots ahead of Petrey, who represented Traditions and scored 2-over 74. Both Geraci, aged 46, and Petrey, a senior golfer, are experienced local players. Petrey has claimed victory in almost a dozen local club championships at Kenton County and Hickory Sticks. Furthermore, Geraci and Petrey tied for third place at the 2018 Northern Kentucky Four-Ball Championship, with Petrey finishing fifth at the 2022 Northern Kentucky Amateur.
LORMS TAKES ADVANTAGE OF SECOND CHANCE
Lorms ended up tied for the second position in the Kentucky Amateur Second Chance Qualifier. He represented the Triple Crown Country Club and achieved a score of 2-under-par 70 at the Gay Brewer Jr. Course at Picadome in Lexington. This placed him just one shot behind the leader, Zach Watterson from Eastern Kentucky University, who scored 69. Lorms is now set to attend Queens University in Charlotte, a Division I program in North Carolina that participates in the Atlantic Sun Conference.