Sattler Ties Shaker Heights Course Record; Wins 57th Assistants Championship by Three
Blake Sattler tied the unofficial Shaker Heights Country Club course record during the first round on Tuesday and went on to win the Northern Ohio Professional Golfers Association’s 57th Assistant Professional Championship.
Sattler, Director of Instruction at Brookside Country Club opened the 36-hole event with an 8-under 62 and added a final-round 69 to finish at 9-under 131 and a three-shot victory.
Pepper Pike Club Assistant Sean McGuire defeated four-time champion Michael Balcar, PGA, an assistant at Brandywine Country Club, for second place in a 5-hole playoff after each shot identical 67’s.
A playoff was necessary as the winner and runnerup of this event advance to the 50th PGA Assistant Professional Championship at the PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Fla., in November.
Balcar becomes the first alternate, followed by Glenmoor Assistant Kyle Buzaki (67-70=137) and Canterbury Assistant Anthony Panepento, PGA (71-69=140).
The victory was the fifth of the season for Sattler, who finished second to Balcar in his only other appearance in 2024.
His 8-under opening round gave him a 5-shot lead over McGuire, Balcar and Buzaki with 18 holes to go and he remained in the comfort zone with six consecutive pars until he suffered his only bogey of the day on the 486-yard seventh. Still, he led by three as McGuire, the 2023 champion, was the only player able to offer an early challenge.
While Sattler continued to make pars McGuire was able to pull into a tie at 7-under with five birdies in 12 holes.
Sattler, 42, broke the tie on the 116-yard 16th hole when his tee shot landed on the hilly right side of the green and drew back to within two inches for a tap-in birdie. McGuire’s birdie attempt from almost the same angle, but about six feet, slid by the hole.
Sattler iced the title with a birdie on the 383-yard 17th when his second shot from about 110 yards cleared some trees and stopped about 12 feet left of the hole and he rolled in the putt.
PHOTO GALLERY: 2026 NOPGA Assistants Championship >
FINAL RESULTS: Northern Ohio PGA
2026 NOPGA Assistants Championship
Shaker Heights Country Club, Shaker Heights
Tuesday, September 8, 2026
Blue Golf Hole-by-Hole Results >
