News and notes from around the Northeast Ohio golf scene.
Some legends from pro football and golf will participate in a charity golf event Saturday at Clearview Golf Club in Canton to honor course founder and golf pioneer William Powell, who passed away last December.• Off The Green with Clearview's Renee Powell | Hey, T.R.!
• Hole of the Week: Where Aces Fly | Video: Get more power
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- It is a national championship designed with the recreational golfer in mind.
Sort of. You won't find any high-handicappers at the U.S. Mid-Amateur championship.
In 1981, the USGA inaugurated the U.S. Mid-Amateur, providing a formal national championship for the post-college amateur, for whom the game is truly an avocation. Players must be at least 25 to play.
The Northern Ohio Golf Association, in conjunction with the USGA, will conduct an 18-hole qualifier for the U.S. Mid-Am Sept. 1 at Shale Creek Golf Club in Medina. A field of 57 players will vie for four spots in the 30th annual Mid-Am, to be held Sept. 25-30 at the Atlantic Golf Club in Bridgehampton, N.Y.
Only one Ohioan, Bob Lewis, who now is a member at The Country Club in Pepper Pike, has ever made it to the match play finals. Lewis, formerly of Warren, twice finished as the runner-up.
Winning the Mid-Am is not easy. After two rounds of stroke play, the field of 264 will be cut to the low 64 players, who will advance to match play. The eventual winner could be required to play 162 holes -- or more -- in six days, should all his matches last 18 holes or longer.
Legends in Stark: Hall of Famers from football and golf are expected to participate in the 26th annual Clearview Celebrity Tournament at Clearview Golf Club in East Canton on Saturday. Conducted to honor the legacy of the late William Powell, who founded the club in 1946, the event has drawn a large number of celebrities over the years.
Clearview, designated as a National Historic Site by the U.S. Department of the Interior in 2001, is regarded as the only course designed, built, owned and operated by an African-American. Powell died in December.
Lee Elder, who broke the color barrier when he became the first black golfer to play in the 1975 Masters, has informed tournament officials that he will attend. So, too, will Charlie Sifford, the first black player to be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.
Other stars expected to play are Pro Football Hall of Famers Paul Warfield, Leroy Kelly and Franco Harris, as well as former NFL players Greg Pruitt, Kevin Mack, Jim Houston, Dave Robinson and Don Cockroft.
"I think it is always very special when you have celebrities come to Clearview because of its significance," Powell's daughter and former LPGA member, Renee, said in a prepared statement. "It is not Augusta or Pebble Beach. It is Clearview, and it's known for its creation by my father, who had a vision and a passion to make a difference for all people."
Proceeds from the event will benefit the Clearview Legacy Foundation for education, research, training and the preservation of the course.
All in the family: Larry and Judy Traxler of Valley City are going to celebrate later this week after both recorded holes-in-one this summer. The Traxlers have solved half of Ironwood's par-3 holes with aces.
In 2004, Larry got his first hole-in-one on the 171-yard 11th hole. His wife got her first on Monday, when she aced the 193-yard second hole, using a driver. Larry picked up the second ace of his career earlier this summer when he drove the 316-yard fifth hole at St. Bernard in Richfield.