Will it be a hectic mad dash free-for-all involving as many as nine — or perhaps even 10 players — or will the 41st Ohio Senior Open Championship emerge as a chiseled two-horse race between a pair of men familiar with winning open championships in Northern Ohio?
Tune into the Fazio Course at Firestone Country Club today to find out as the first major event of the Northern Ohio Professional Golfers Association season concludes during the final 18 holes, barring a playoff, of course.
If six-time champion Bob Sowards and first-time participant Stephen Gangluff, who have won a combined 11 major championships in Ohio, play as well as they did during Wednesday’s opening round the remainder of the field might as well retreat to the North Course and begin preparing for the 105th Ohio Open in July.
If Sowards, 58, and the 50-year-old Gangluff should somehow stumble over Firestone’s slick greens or get trapped in its mushy rough, which of the 11 who are within six shots of the lead will rally like some kind of Arnold Palmer – remember the 1960 U.S. Open – can become the winner of the NOPGA’s first major of 2026?
Gangluff, who turned 50 in September, equaled the tournament record with a bogey-free, seven-under 63 in his first Senior Open appearance. The man from Bellefontaine made just about every putt he looked at in going 31-32.
“That was the first time all season that I have putted well,” said Gangluff, a two-time winner (2018-19) of the Ohio Open when it was played at Weymouth and Fox Meadow. “I probably missed four or five fairways but putted it well to make up for it.”
That was one shot better than Dublin’s Sowards, who equaled the record set by Gary Trivisonno in 2011 when he won in 2019, the start of a five-year winning streak that ended in 2024. Sowards blistered the back nine in five-under 30 and went the final 15 holes bogey-free.
“I was really happy with my iron play,” said Sowards, the winner of three Ohio Open to go with his six Senior triumphs. “The course just sets up perfectly for me. I see the same targets every year and that gets you to a certain comfort level.”
No one has been more comfortable in the Senior Open.
There are nine players within five shots of the lead, three of whom fashioned a four-under 66 and another five who came in sat 68.
Those who got their kicks with their 66 were Firestone Director of Instruction, 58-year-old Steve Parker (33-33), who has never won this event; Sam Arnold, the General Manager of The Vineyard in Cincinnati, who lost in a playoff to Sowards in 2022; and NorthStar Director of Instruction Chris Casto – the youngest of the trio at 52 — who finished T34 in his only Senior Open appearance.
Stow amateur Mark Borlin got off to a solid start in quest of a second straight Senior Plus championship with a two-under 68 and will take a two-shot lead over former two-time champion (2012 and 2003) Larry King, owner of the Tri County Golf Ranch in Cincinnati.
Eight players are within five shots of the lead as amateurs were dominant with 16 of the best 26 scores.
Gangluff, who played at Ohio State, made five putts of 10 or more feet, including a 35-footer on the fifth hole for the first of his seven birdies and a 30-footer for birdie on the 15th. He also had testy, but successful, two-putt efforts from more than 50 feet on the par-5 ninth and about 25-feet for birdie on the penultimate par-5 17th.
Sowards hit the ball close to the hole most of the day. He made up for his lone bogey with a birdie from three feet on the par-3 seventh and followed by making a nine-footer for birdie on the ninth. Another three-footer fell on the 421-yard 11th before he came with three inches of a hole-in-one on the 12th.
“I have no idea how that didn’t go in the hole,” he said. A two-putt from 30 feet produced the fifth of his seven birdies and he added two more from two feet on 15 and a 15-footer on 17.
Five players came in at two-under 68, including 2014 winner Tony Milam and two-time NOPGA Senior Player-of-the-Year Mike Stone.
Miami View Golf Club Head Pro Brad Loomis had one of the day’s sporadic rounds with an event-leading seven birdies, three bogeys and one double-bogey enroute to a two-under 68. At one stretch on his back nine Loomis, 52, birdied five holes in a row to close in 31. Starting on the back nine, Loomis made three birdies, two bogeys and the double. His final nine consisted of four birdies and one bogey.
Brian Unk, who grew up in Cuyahoga Falls, starred at John Carroll and now is the Director of Instruction at Wedgewood Golf and Country Club near Columbus, finished at one-under 69, as did former Ohio Open Champion Dennis Miller to cap the number of par-busters at 12.
Play resumes on Thursday at 8 a.m. with the leaders going off at 2:20. The event is open to the public with free admission. RD2 STARTING TIMES >
PHOTO GALLERY: 2026 Ohio Senior Open RD1 >
ROUND 1 RESULTS: Northern Ohio PGA
2026 Ohio Senior Open
Firestone Country Club Fazio Course, Akron
Wednesday, May 27, 2026
Blue Golf Hole-by-Hole Results >
CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION:
1 Stephen Gangluff, Bellfontaine, OH 63
2 Bob Sowards, Dublin, OH 64
T3 Steve Parker, Akron, OH, Firestone Country Club 66
T3 Sam Arnold, Cincinnati, OH 66
T3 Chris Casto, Galena, OH, NorthStar Golf Club 66
T6 Brad Loomis, Harrison, OH, Miami View Golf Club 68
T6 Joe Moore, Englewood, OH 68
T6 Mike Stone, Perrysburg, OH, Belmont Country Club 68
T6 Tony Milam, Concord Township, OH, North Coast Junior Tour 68
T6 Mike Thomas, Loveland, OH 68
T11 Brian Unk, Lewis Center, OH 69
T11 Dennis Miller, Youngstown, OH, PGA Of America Life Member 69
T13 Joe Podolski (a), Worthington, OH 70
T13 Garrett Frank (a), Youngstown, OH 70
T13 Rob Moss, Broadview Heights, OH, Pepper Pike Club 70
T13 Paul Wackerly, Minerva, OH 70
T17 John Fryman (a), Westerville, OH 71
T17 Peter Samborsky II (a), Kettering, Ohio 71
T17 Matthew Sutter (a), North Canton, OH, Brookside Country Club 71
T17 Tom Waitrovich, Westlake, Ohio, PGA Of America Life Member 71
T17 Jeff Mallette (a), North Canton, OH, Brookside Country Club 71
T17 Gary Robison, Muncie, IN, Brookside Country Club 71
T17 Howard Clendenin (a), Fairlawn, OH, Firestone Country Club 71
T24 John Bernatovicz (a), Akron, OH, Westfield Group Country Club 72
T24 David Dinan, Akron, OH, Windmill Golf Center 72
T24 Dan Belden (a), Massillon, OH, Firestone Country Club 72
T27 Gary Rusnak, Painesville, OH, 1899 Indoor Golf – Twinsburg 73
T27 Michael Kelley (a), Westerville, OH 73
T27 Mitch Camp, Aurora, OH, PGA Of America Life Member 73
T27 Dave Antill (a), Dublin, OH 73
T27 Nick Myers, Sylvania, OH, Highland Meadows Golf Club 73
T27 Chris Black, Lancaster, OH 73
T33 Jay Davis (a), Saint Clairsville, OH, Firestone Country Club 74
T33 Greg Lawrence, Vandalia, OH 74
T33 Robert Spino (a), New Franklin, OH 74
T33 Mark Guadagni (a), Hudson, OH, Silver Lake Country Club 74
T33 Barry Hinckley, Blacklick, OH, New Albany Links 74
T33 Tom Bach, Dayton, OH 74
T39 Kurt Peterson (a), Massillon, OH 75
T39 Daniel Terry, Wadsworth, OH, Chippewa Golf Club – Doylestown 75
T39 Rik Cramer, Bellbrook, OH 75
T39 Scott Savage, Mount Vernon, OH 75
T39 Christopher Brown (a), Avon Lake, OH, Lakewood Country Club 75
T39 John Goodson, Hudson, OH, Lake Forest Country Club 75
T39 Paul Hollenbaugh, New Albany, OH 75
T46 Tom Atchison, Silver Lake, OH, PGA Of America Life Member 76
T46 Jon JonesWarren, OH, Youngstown Country Club 76
T46 Gary Trivisonno, Aurora, OH, PGA Of America Life Member 76
T46 Ken Kinkopf (a), Dublin, OH 76
T46 Dean Cutlip (a), Copley, OH, Firestone Country Club 76
T46 Kevin Sullivan, Painesville, OH, Quail Hollow Country Club – Weiskopf/Morrish 76
T46 Bob Stephens, Mason, OH, PGA Life Member 76
T46 Robert Koch, Medina, OH, Fox Meadow Country Club 76
T46 Mike Kaido, Zanesville, OH 76
T46 Mike Riley (a), Akron, OH, Fairlawn Country Club 76
T56 Scott Loudon (a), N. Canton, OH, Ohio Prestwick Country Club 77
T56 Michael Sweany (a), Massillon, OH 77
T56 Craig Goldsberry, Lewis Center, OH 77
T56 Allen Freeman (a), Brecksville, OH 77
T56 Brian Jones, West Chester, OH 77
T56 Brian Smith (a), Amherst, OH, Oberlin Golf Club 77
T62 Tim Cotton (a), Centerville, OH 78
T62 Derek Kesig (a), Delaware, OH 78
T62 Tony Adcock, Canton, OH, Foxy Golf Canton 78
T62 Brian Beebe (a), Uniontown, OH, Firestone Country Club 78
T62 Joe Foust, Toledo, OH, The Toledo Country Club 78
T62 Nick Lambos (a), Canton, OH, Brookside Country Club 78
T62 Dan Sutton, Holland, OH, McDivots Driving Range 78
T62 Eric Morgan, Sandusky, OH, Plum Brook Country Club 78
T70 Ronald Salerno, Broadview Hts, OH, X-Golf Broadview Heights 80
T70 Paul Krueger (a), Parma, OH 80
T70 Robert Schustrich (a), Windham, OH, Trumbull Country Club 80
T70 Brad Cavey, Medina, OH, Beechmont Country Club 80
T70 Brian Polick (a), Akron, OH, Weymouth Club 80
T75 Glenn Johnson, Plain City, OH 81
T75 Brian Belden (a), Canton, OH 81
T77 Brian Bair (a), Clayton, OH 82
T77 Jeff Kovalchik (a), Columbus, OH 82
T77 John Toth (a), Akron, OH, Fox Den Golf Course 82
T77 John Connelly, Oregon, OH 82
T81 Edward Diebold (a), Coventry Township, OH 83
T81 Allen Thigpen (a), Medina, OH, Medina Country Club 83
T81 Justin Long, Ravenna, OH, Windmill Lakes Golf Club 83
T84 Eric Kulinna, Tiffin, OH, Mohawk Golf & Country Club 84
T84 Brian Vincelette (a), Wadsworth, OH, Firestone Country Club 84
86 Wayne Moler (a), Waterford, OH 86
87 Tony StritenbergerDayton, OH 89
88 Kevin O’Connell (a), Cleveland, OH, Weymouth Club 91
WD Russell Papa, Aurora, OH, Walden
WD Shawn Shuster (a), Stockport, OH
JWD Ryan Groff (a), Troy, OH
SENIOR PLUS DIVISION:
1 Mark Borlin (a), Stow, OH, Silver Lake Country Club 68
2 Larry King, Cincinnati, OH, Tri County Golf Ranch 70
3 Jeffrey Knox (a), Boston Hts., OH, Canterbury Golf Club 71
T4 Terry Tyson (a), Perrysburg, OH 72
T4 Doug Ganim (a), Westerville, OH 72
T6 Mike Sowards (a), Batavia, OH, The Golf Club at Stonelick Hills 73
T6 Jeff Semple (a), Canton, OH, Firestone Country Club 73
T6 Tim Krapfel,Galloway, OH 73
T6 Robert McCracken (a), Pickerington, OH 73
T10 Tom Laubacher (a), Aurora, OH, Walden 74
T10 Pat Delaney, Springfield, OH 74
T10 Robert Jones (a), Dayton, OH 74
T13 Gregg Matthus,Canton, OH, Shady Hollow Country Club 75
T13 Alan Fadel (a), Perrysburg, OH, The Toledo Country Club 75
T13 Tom Baugh (a), Akron, OH, Portage Country Club 75
T13 Philip Russo (a), Cincinnati, OH, The Golf Club at Stonelick Hills 75
T17 Mark Warden (a), Vincent, OH 76
T17 Todd Larson (a), Columbus, OH 76
T19 Mike Cassell (a), Hudson, OH, The Country Club of Hudson 77
T19 Cal Wood (a), Athens, OH 77
T19 Jack Pawelkoski,Dayton, OH 77
T19 Fred Gintert (a), Newton Falls, OH 77
T19 John Martin,Deleware, OH 77
T19 Scott Crooks (a), Norwalk, OH, Eagle Creek Golf Club 77
T19 Thomas Rehanek (a), Avon, OH, Red Tail Golf Club 77
T26 Todd Company,Avon, Ohio, Red Tail Golf Club 78
T26 Scott Perry (a), Lowell, OH 78
T26 Douglas Fleming (a), Akron, OH, Good Park Golf Course 78
T26 Lou Boarman (a), Mogadore, OH, Northern Ohio Golf Association 78
T26 Raymond Najda (a), Olmsted Township, OH, Pine Hills Golf Club 78
T26 John Jewell (a), Centerville, OH 78
T26 John Rodney (a), Kettering, OH 78
T33 Edward Steiber (a), Cincinnati, OH, Miami View Golf Club 79
T33 Curtis Cranmer (a), Waynesville, OH 79
T33 Mark Ciccarello (a), South euclid, OH, Highland Park Golf Course – Blue Course 79
36 George Allen (a), Warren, OH 80
T37 Roger Tolley (a), Willard, OH, Eagle Creek Golf Club 81
T37 Peter Butler (a), Independence, OH, Weymouth Club 81
T37 Clay Baker (a), Galena, OH 81
40 Richard Marlowe (a), Youngstown, OH 82
T41 Beau Rugg (a), Hilliard, OH 84
T41 Mark Thaggard (a), Middleburg Heights, OH 84
T41 Mark Boothby (a), Cincinnati, OH 84
T41 David Clarke (a), Saint Clairsville, OH, Steubenville Country Club 84
T41 Jim Davis (a), Westerville, OH 84
46 Gregg Shawen (a), Kettering, OH 85
47 Jeff Thompson (a), Cincinnati, OH 90
WD Mark Thomas (a), Jackson Twp, OH, Turkeyfoot Lake Golf Links
WD Mike Crawford (a), Sheffield Lake, OH
WD Larry Lahnan (a), Aurora, OH, Walden
