Wooster grad Mason Frazier in the hunt at Ohio Open
WESTFIELD CENTER — Mason Frazier will be the first one to tell you that playing in the Ohio Open Championship is far from a usual tournament.
In his fourth go-round in the event, the Wooster graduate entered Tuesday’s second round at Westfield Country Club with a chance to make the cut for the first time in his career.
Frazier did just that, overcoming a pair of bogeys on the front nine of Westfield’s North Course, to headline a group of four locals that advanced to final round action on Wednesday.
“I played some 18s in the past at the Open where it was close, but it just fell apart towards the end, so it felt great to get the job done,” said Frazier, who carded a 2-under-par 68 on Tuesday and is currently tied for 21st overall. “This was one of main goals this summer; to make the cut. I've been close before, but I've never really gotten the job done. It feels amazing.”
After playing even-par in Monday’s opening round, Frazier faced the challenging links-style North layout at Westfield and was two-under through his first six holes before the first of a pair of bogeys nearly erased his three birdies on the front nine as he had a 1-under 33 at the turn.
Frazier, a former state qualifier and four-time all-Ohio Cardinal Conference selection with the Generals, avoided any letdown after that as he played even-par golf the rest of the way before a birdie on the par-5, 604-yard 18th hole.
“I don't want to say it was easier, but there's no trees out there and you can hit it wayward here-and-there and get away with it,” said Frazier, who was seven shots off the cut last summer. “I got lucky a couple of times, and that's all that needs to happen out there.
“Luckily I got mainly good lies today and it seems like the last couple of years I wasn't getting those.”
Ashland’s Tyler Sabo, Millersburg’s Carter Mishler and Wooster’s Ben Cors all made 62-player final round, which is scheduled to tee-off at 7:45 a.m. Wednesday on Westfield’s South Course.
Cincinnati’s Daniel Wetterich takes a one-shot lead in the final day after a second-round 63 paced him to a 131 total, one stroke ahead of Howard’s Drew Salyers, Cincinnati’s Jake Fox and Westerville’s Ali Khan.
Frazier (70-68—138) is just seven shots back of Wetterich in a tie for 21st overall, while Sabo (69-70—139) is deadlocked at 32nd place, followed by Mishler (68-72—140, t-37th) and Cors (71-71—142, t-54th).
Sabo, an Ashland graduate and redshirt sophomore at Ohio State, was able to erase three bogeys on Tuesday with a trio of birdies to make the cut, while Mishler — who the lone area golfer to compete in the final round in 2023 — used the strength of his opening-round 68 to overcome five bogeys.
Cors, who missed the cut a year ago by a single shot, birdied three of his first four holes on the back nine, following a 4-over performance on the front, to save his round and advance.
And while it should be an entertaining final day of action at Westfield with so many golfers in the hunt for the Ohio Open title, Frazier is just excited to be among the best in the state and won’t be doing much scoreboard watching.
He wants to control what he can control.
“I try to never have a score in mind, because then you press and it's in your mind,” Frazier said. “I've played enough golf now and I know what I need to do on the golf course to get me where I want to get to.
I just have to take it one hole at a time. One shot at a time ... that's all you can do.”
Anthony Panepento of Wooster came up one stroke shy of the final-round cut, while Kamden Mowry of Ashland was four shots back.
Ohio Open
Through Round 2, Westfield Country Club
(Players qualifying for Wednesday’s final round)
1. Daniel Wetterich (Cincinnati) 68-63—131
T-2. Drew Salyers (Howard) 67-65—132
T-2. Jake Fox (Cincinnati) 67-65—132
T-2. Ali Khan (Westerville) 65-67—132
T-5. Trent Tipton (Grove City) 69-64—133
T-5. Maxwell Moldovan (Uniontown) 65-68—133
T-5. Andrew Bailey (Shaker Hts.) 71-62—133
T-5. Michael Balcar (Toledo) 65-68—133
T-9. Andrew Dorn (Cincinnati) 67-67—134
T-9. Jake Scott (Strongsville) 66-68—134
T-9. Kevin Hall (Cincinnati) 66-68—134
T-12. Paul Wackerly (Minerva) 71-64—135
T-12. Carson Bellish (Pickerington) 69-66—135
T-14. Nathan Tarter (Akron) 68-68—136
T-14. Thomas Bell (Bowling Green) 66-70—136
T-14. DJ Holub (Twinsburg) 70-66—136
T-17. Zach Burton (Dublin) 67-70—137
T-17. Jaysen Hansen (Twinsburg) 67-70—137
T-17. Anthony Conaway (Cleveland) 72-65—137
T-17. Leo Walling (Powell) 72-65—137
T-21. Rylan Wotherspoon (Cincinnati) 72-66—138
T-21. MASON FRAZIER (WOOSTER) 70-68—138
T-21. Avery Schneider (New Albany) 74-64—138
T-21. Sam Arnold (Cincinnati) 70-68—138
T-21. Nick Piesen (Strongsville) 71-67—138
T-21. Connor Curry (Mount Vernon) 70-68—138
T-21. Hayden Zimmerer (Dayton) 72-66—138
T-21. Kyle Smith (Akron) 70-68—138
T-21. TT Crouch (Fredericktown) 71-67—138
T-21. Blake Sattler (Dover) 70-68—138
T-21. Nolan Haynes (Barberton) 72-66—138
T-32. Matthew Wininger (Westerville) 72-67—139
T-32. TYLER SABO (ASHLAND) 69-70—139
T-32. Griffin Mitchell (New Albany) 69-70—139
T-32. Dylan Van Fossen (Norwich) 72-67—139
T-32. Palmer Yenrick (Oregon) 67-72—139
T-37. CARTER MISHLER (MILLERSBURG) 68-72—140
T-37. Mikkel Mathiesen (Beavercreek) 71-69—140
T-37. Bradley Chill Jr. (Columbia Station) 73-67—140
T-37. Rika Batibasaga (Mount Vernon) 71-69—140
T-37. David Wetterich (Cincinnati) 72-68—140
T-37. Adam Horn (Milford) 68-72—140
T-37. Ken Keller (Youngstown) 72-68—140
T-37. Soloman Petrie (Akron) 71-69—140
T-37. Ryan Troyer (Dover) 69-71—140
T-37. Daniel Mosher (Canton) 73-67—140
T-47. Ray Dress (Medina) 73-68—141
T-47. Brody Simms (Dayton) 75-66—141
T-47. Bob Swords (Dublin) 72-69—141
T-47. Joe Puch (Medina) 72-69—141
T-47. Mike Auterson (Milford) 69-72—141
T-47. Ryan Norkin (Dublin) 71-70—141
T-47. Timothy Ailes (Delaware) 71-70—141
T-54. Sean McGuire (Twinsburg) 71-71—142
T-54. Stephen Gangluff (Bellfontaine) 74-68—142
T-54. Alex Weiss (Pickerington) 73-69—142
T-54. Dhaivat Pandya (Dayton) 69-73—142
T-54. Jack Herceg (Dublin) 72-70—142
T-54. Howard Clendenin (Fairlawn) 72-70—142
T-54. Tyler Jones (Westerville) 69-73—142
T-54. Bryce Reed (Sunbury) 71-71—142
T-54. BEN CORS (WOOSTER) 71-71—142
(Locals that missed the cut)
Anthony Panepento (Wooster) 71-72—143
Kamden Mowry (Ashland) 75-71—146
Carter Hahn (Seville resident/Wooster grad) 77-80—157
Alex Mosteller (Creston) 80-79—159
Devon Starcher (Wooster) 81-78—159
Gavin Stutz (Wooster) 84-80—164
This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Ohio Open: Wooster grad Frazier in the hunt after two days
