The Columbus division of the Golfweek Amateur Tour held its second event of the year and first major today at Heritage Golf Club in Hilliard, Ohio. With sleet covering the greens an hour before the tournament and steady rain in the forecast it didn’t look promising for the first major of the year. The rain stopped just in time, greens cleared off and 114 of the Columbus Tours bravest players went out to attempt to put together a decent round in brutal conditions.

For the second tournament in a row we had a familiar face at the top of Champ flight. John Fryman played great all day to shoot a 78 which would end up being the only round in the whole field in the seventies. Heritage GC is known for its severely sloped greens and difficult pin placements. From the back tees John’s score was very impressive. Coming in second just four strokes behind is Hyo Seung Lee. Lee is starting to play much better of late, and could give the players in Champ flight a real run for their money. One stroke behind Lee is 2011 Champ flight overall champion Rich Campbell. Rich is consistently in the top three at each event, his consistency is some of the best we’ve seen on tour.

A flight saw a first time winner on the Columbus Tour. Brian Finn took home the green jacket with a solid 82 giving him a three stroke victory. 82 normally wouldn’t win A flight but at this course in these conditions it was extremely impressive.  Coming in second, just three strokes behind is new tour member Matthew Akers. Matt’s 85 gave him consecutive top three finishes on tour. Another brand new player, rounds out the top three with Dustin Welch shooting 87 and taking third place alone.

Once again our biggest flight was B flight. With 39 players today it was extremely difficult to pull off a victory with such a large field. After battling all day three players turned in scorecards with 85’s.  James Huffman and Ron Charlton both with two birdies on the day got into the scorecard playoff with consistent and steady play all day. But it was the third player (Josh Diemer) in the playoff that would come out on top. The number one handicap at Heritage is the par four seventh. With a narrow fairway, O.B. right, and water down the whole left side it is a real test. Josh’s par secured his first major win, and gave him a jump start to the year in B flight. Ron took second and Jim rounds out the top three.

Another new face in the winner’s circle today was in the C flight. Marc Weinstock started his 2012 season in style by carding two birdies and shooting 87. It’s tough to win in C flight as a veteran, not to mention your first ever tournament on the Golfweek Tour. Marc is ready to compete for the season long points chase. Coming in just two strokes behind Marc is last weeks winner at Scioto Reserve, Brandon Peterson. Brandon has got a lot of game and looks like he will be near the top wherever he plays. Fresh off his flight promotion from D flight, John Barnes shows that he is targeting the top spot in C flight. His 89 was a very nice score and gives him some much needed points. C flight is going to be very exciting to watch this year, the competition is better than ever.

D flights scores this week were some of the closest they have been in awhile, with the top five just two strokes apart. Taking home the trophy was second year member Larry Schofield. Larry’s 103 gave him 900 points and his first major. With this win Larry adds to his sizeable lead in the D flight point standings. Just one stroke behind with a 104 is Randy Dowell. D flight’s new players are giving our tour veterans some strong competition this year, can’t wait to see how it turns out.

I want to thank all the players who participated today at Heritage GC. We all would have liked it to be better conditions, but our members showed why Columbus is one of the best tours in the country. I look forward to seeing everyone at our next event at Hickory Hills in Grove City, OH.