Green made a terrific run, hot enough to make up 38 strokes and jump over three teams.
But the Bulldogs just couldn’t catch Cincinnati St. Xavier.
While Green, led by senior Miles Demuesy and sophomore Maxwell Moldovan, was tearing up famed Canterbury Golf Club on Monday, the Bombers put on a show of their own during the final round of the prestigious Kiely Cup boys high school golf tournament.
They needed every bit of it.
On a day when 13 of the 15 teams improved their scores from Sunday’s first round – some more drastically than others – St. Xavier won its second straight team title with a score of 609, thanks to a final round 299, or 12-over for the day against Canterbury’s difficult 6,685 yards and par-72.
People marveled over St. Xavier’s final-round 299 — until the Bulldogs showed up with a 297, which catapulted them into second-place with a total of 617.
Green leapfrogged over Centerville, Boardman and first-round leader Dublin Jerome on a day of significant milestones in tournament history. To wit:
Green’s 297 was the lowest cumulative 18-hole score in the event’s 13-year history.
“I never thought I’d see a team break 300 in this tournament,” said tournament founder and director Craig Fraser.
Boardman’s Bryan Kordupel (above) scored the first hole-in-one in tournament history when he needed zero putts on the 145-yard 11th hole.
Demuesy, son of Arrowhead pro Scott Demuesy, shot the lowest round of the tournament with a 2-under 70, highlighted by an eagle-2 on the 400-yard 18th hole.
Moldovan, son of teaching pro John Moldovan, had the best finish of any area player as the 10th grader shot the tournament’s second-lowest round of 71. Coupled with his opening 78 Moldovan finished in a tie for third place at 149, one shot behind.
Co-medalists Cole Christman (Boardman) and Dhaivat Pandya (Centerville) shot identical scores of 75-73.
Walsh Jesuit sophomore Colton Levey put together his second straight round in the 70s (74-75) to share third with Moldovan.
Green’s 297 was 23 shots better than its opening 320 and probably would have been good enough to win most tournaments. But, St. Xavier, behind a pair of 73s by senior Cameron Frazier and junior Oscar Zimmerman, chopped 11 strokes off its opening 310 to win by a comfortable eight shots.
“My gosh, the kids played well, especially after the first round,” said Green coach Brian Tharp, whose team was carried in the first round by Cade Breitenstine with a 1-over par 73. “It was a very positive finish. We hadn’t exactly played to our capabilities but today was something else. This should get us back on track.”
Demuesy, who recently made a verbal commitment to attend Cleveland State, got back on track more than anyone.
He opened with a disappointing 82 and was 4-over after three holes on Monday after starting on the sixth hole. A birdie on the 530-yard ninth signaled a possible change and he went on to birdie or par four of the next five holes.
The round sizzled on the 400-yard 18th, when his second shot from 136 yards found the cup.
“It was uphill and into the wind,” said Demuesy. “It was too much for a wedge so I took a soft 9 (iron). Right before I hit it I thought maybe an 8 but I stuck with the 9. I didn’t know it went in until I heard my grandfather yelling.”
He went on to birdie the first and third holes and added three more pars.
Starting on the fifth hole, Moldovan opened with five straight pars before going bogey-birdie-bogey-birdie on holes 10 through 13. A bogey on the difficult 585-yard 16th – the second toughest hole on the course – put him at 1-over but he quickly corrected that with back-to-back birdies on the first and second to get to 1-under.
“The biggest difference between the two rounds is that I was able to hold things together today,” said Moldovan. “On Sunday I bogeyed the 13th and followed with two doubles. Today I was able to make more putts, hit more greens.”
Most teams were able to say that. For instance, Wooster had the biggest improvement, shaving 26 swings off its opening 365. Columbiana was second with a saving of 25 shots.
Then came Green (23), Strasburg-Franklin (17), Van Buren (15) and Brookfield and Walsh Jesuit (13 each).
No individual made a bigger swing than Strasburg-Franklin junior Mike Neidenthal. After opening with a 27-over 99 on Sunday, Neidenthal came home in a tidy 79 on Monday.
On a tough note, NDCL star Charlie Toman withdrew mid-round due to severe back pain and will see a doctor on Tuesday.
FINAL RESULTS:
2017 Kiely Cup
Canterbury Golf Club, Beachwood, Ohio
September 10 – 11, 2017
TEAM RESULTS:
Cincinnati St. Xavier 310-299=609
Green 320-297=617
Dublin Jerome 307-312=619
Cincinnati St. Xavier 310-299=619
Boardman 316-304=620
Centerville 317-313=630
Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin 321-330=651
University School 330-324=654
Walsh Jesuit 336-323=659
St. Ignatius 335-327=662
Gilmour Academy 339-336=675
Strasburg-Franklin 346-329=675
Van Buren 346-331=677
Brookfield 356-343=699
Wooster 365-339=704
Columbiana 387-362=749
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS:
Cole Christman, Boardman 75-73—148
Dhaivat Pandya, Centerville 75-73–148
Colton Levey, Walsh Jesuit 74-75–149
Maxwell Moldovan, Green 78-71–149
Mason Wagner, Dublin Jerome 74-76–150
Cade Breitenstine, Green 73-77–150
Kyle Flatow, University 76-74–150
Jackson Chandler, Dublin Jerome 73-74–151
Miles Demuesy, Green 82-70–152
Jared Wilson, Columbiana 77-75–152
Oscar Zimmerman, St. Xavier 79-73–152
Cade Kreps, Boardman 77-77–154
George Mitchell, St. Xavier 75-79–154
Garrett Madden, St. Xavier 81-74–155
Michael Prebles, St. Xavier 75-81–156
Brian Terleski, Boardman 80-77–157
Cameron Frazier, St. Xavier 84-73–157
Justin Atkinson, Brookfield 77-81–158
Nick Clark, Centerville 81-77–158
AJ Cherubini, Centerville 78-81–159
Blake Solomon, Dublin Jerome 80-79–159
Hunter Foltz, Van Buren 84-75–159
Ethan Snyder, Dublin Jerome 80-79–159
Liam Ottaway, Gilmour 84-75–159
Danny Milo, NDCL 76-84–160
Aditya Achar, NDCL 86-74–160
Mitch Neidenthal, Strasburg-Franklin 80-81–161
Dylan Tucker, Strasburg-Franklin 79-82–161
Bryan Kordupel, Boardman 84-77–161
Arya Achar, NDCL 83-79–162
Jay Magyari, Gilmour 79-83–162
Thomas Coyne, University 83-79–162
Jack Edwards, Centerville 83-82–165
Andrew Kaye, St. Ignatius 83-82–165
Michael McCaffrey, St. Ignatius 81-84–165
Ross Williamson, St. Ignatius 81-84–165
Brandon Wehrle, Van Buren 81-85–166
Eric Cherubini, Centerville 84-82–166
Ben Cors, Walsh Jesuit 84-82–166
Jordan Conjerti, Green 87-79—166
Jake Moraca, St. Ignatius 90-78—168
Connor Stevens, Brookfield 89-80–169
Joe Fedro, University 84-86–170
Ben Cowan, University 87-85–172
Connor Ohlrich, Van Buren 89-83–172
Nick Karlik, Dublin Jerome 86-87–173
Connor Warns, St. Ignatius 90-83–173
Matt Flinchbaugh, Walsh Jesuit 93-80—173
Nate Smoot, Brookfield 85-89–174
Bob Jonda, Boardman 84-90–174
Wesley Roberts, Wooster 87-88–175
Seth Ross, Columbiana 87-88–175
Mason Frazier, Wooster 92-83–175
Brent Dillon, Wooster 92-83–175
Tucker Morris, Gilmour 86-90–176
Maurice Jacobs, Walsh Jesuit 85-93–178
Ben Foltz, Gilmour 90-88—178
Mike Neidenthal, Strasburg-Franklin 99-79—178
Calvin Willis, Strasburg-Franklin 91-87—178
Jake Flynn, NDCL 86-93–179
Austin Meese, Wooster 94-85—179
Brett Rogers, University 89-92–181
Noah Fredrick, Van Buren 93-88–181
