Ekey, a 2005 graduate of Walsh Jesuit and a former two-time all-Southeastern Conference player at Alabama, sails through the first stage of the LPGA Qualifying School last week. Fairlawn's Gutowski also advances.
View full sizeKathleen EkeyFew golfers become touring pros with one giant step.
Usually, it takes a series of baby steps, and two players from the area recently took successful first steps.
Sharon Township's Kathleen Ekey, a 2005 graduate of Walsh Jesuit and a former two-time all-Southeastern Conference player at Alabama, sailed through the first stage of the LPGA Qualifying School last week when she finished in a tie for fourth place with a 72-hole score of 7-under 281 on the Dinah Shore and Arnold Palmer courses at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif. The top 30 players advanced.
"I hit the ball really well all week," Ekey said in a telephone interview. "I put myself in good positions, and I was able to make some putts, which was exciting for me and kind of refreshing."
It marks the second year in a row Ekey reached the final stage, which this year takes place Dec. 8-12 at the LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Fla. Play is conducted over 90 holes, with a cut to the low 70-and-ties after 72 holes. The top 40 players will advance to the LPGA Tour, with the top 20 receiving a status enabling them to play in any Tour event they choose.
Ekey had a veteran caddie on her bag in California in Carl Laib, who has worked for Patty Sheehan, Betsy King and Wendy Ward.
Fairlawn's Ryan Gutowski shot rounds of 72-70-72-71--285 to finish in a tie for 31st at a PGA Tour Q School pre-qualifier at Yankee Hill Golf Course in Lincoln, Neb.
As one of the top 42 players from a field of 84, Gutowski, the 2003 state champ while playing for Copley, gets a spot in the first stage of the PGA-Q School. He is waiting to hear from the PGA as to where and when he will play.
Cavey repeats: For the second year in a row, Medina's Ben Cavey won the Northern Ohio Golf Association's Tournament of Champions by making a birdie on the first playoff hole. This year, he defeated Oberlin Golf Club's Brian Smith at the Sharon Club on Tuesday to become the first repeat winner since Bob Miller of Sharon in 1994-95. Last year, Cavey beat Hudson's Peter Eells.
Smith still can earn his first NOGA Player of the Year award despite his playoff loss to Cavey. Based on a points system, Smith will win unless Jim Perry of Tippecanoe Country Club wins the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship, which will be played next week at the Atlantic Golf Club on Long Island. Smith, the Oberlin club champ, had two runner-up finishes this season, along with a tie for third and a tie for 15th. He also had two first and a tie for second in three team events.
Senior salute: Canterbury Golf Club's Jeff Knox will win his second NOGA Senior Player of the Year title unless Barrington's Jim Harless wins the U.S. Senior Amateur Championship next month. Knox won two events during the season, was runner-up twice and added a third and a tie for sixth.
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: trogers@plaind.com, 216-999-5169