Brandon Hoelzer (OGA photo)
By Jack Rubin of
Cbus Clubhouse
POWELL, OH (July 13, 2018) - At 11:00 a.m. Friday morning, there was a tie for the lead between Fremont's Brandon Hoelzer and Pickerington's Alex Weiss. At 12:30 p.m. Friday afternoon, Brandon Hoelzer was doing everything besides holding the trophy.
Now wait? What happened to Weiss in such a short time you ask.... Absolutely nothing, in fact he played his first 14 holes bogey-free. The issue was, Hoelzer seemingly went par-free on holes 5-13.
Thanks to some solid iron play and great putting, Hoelzer birdied holes 4-7 and 13 en route to a five-shot lead that was minimally surrendered, and ended up growing to SIX when it was all said and done.
"Those birdies really got me going, they got my mentality right. I was really just out trying to have fun, so I accomplished the fun part," Hoelzer told Cbus Clubhouse after the round.
Brandon is just another example of non-D1 players to find success in their amateur playing days, as he is a former collegiate golfer at Owens Community Colleges and Lourdes University in Toledo.
"It's funny, I get a lot of people asking me where I went to college. I just kind of laugh and say yeah, I went to Owens and Lourdes. I went through a few things to end up there, some eligibility issues with some other schools I was trying to transfer too, but it's not really about where you go. It's really about keeping promises to yourself. If you wanna play a D1 golfer you go out and you practice everyday," He said about his collegiate journey.
Alex Weiss is one of those great D-1 golfers that he beat. Weiss was a standout at Marshall as he looks to embark on a professional career in golf, he went on to finish runner-up, as two solid rounds just weren't enough to catch the red-hot Hoezler.
Brandon will also begin a professional career this November, but it wasn't easy sledding for the Fremont native.
"Things really just never went the way I wanted them to go last year, even coming in to this tournament. Coming in, it just wasn't good. I was struggling Tuesday and the rain delay helped me switch my mentality. I came out with a let's go do it attitude. My caddy was from England, he was really funny and kept me going today."
The "let's go do it" attitude turned into Hoelzer playing his next 67 holes in a total of 11-under par, achieving the biggest win of his career Friday at Wedgewood with the closing 67 (-4).
"It means everything, I've struggled in the past here. It's obviously really important," Hoelzer noted.
The six-stroke victory may be just what he was looking from a confidence standpoint to go along with some serious talent.
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ABOUT THE Ohio Amateur
72-hole stroke play championship with a cut after 36
holes and an additional cut after 54. Must be a resident
of the state of Ohio or
attending a state university or college in Ohio.
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