Lima City Golf Championship: Beachy gets narrow wins

Jun. 23—HARROD — It's been almost two decades since Braden Beachy last played in the Lima City Men's Golf Championship but so far this week it's like he never left.

Beachy advanced to Saturday's semifinal round in the Championship Flight of the tournament with a pair of closely contested match play victories at Colonial Golfers Club on Friday.

Both of his wins came by 1-up scores. The first was over Luke Turner in the round of 16 and the other was over Carson Harmon in the quarterfinals.

The other Championship Flight semifinalists are Josh Hollar, Brett Eley and Guillermo Garron.

Eley defeated William Seech 2-and-1 in his first match, then won 1-up against Kayne Richardson in the quarterfinals.

Hollar won 2-and-1 against last year's champion Zach Miller to start his day, then won 3-and-2 over James Schipper to get to the semifinals.

Garron defeated Todd Burkholder 1-up in his early match, then was a 3-and-2 winner over Bennett Christy in the afternoon.

Beachy and Eley will tee off at 3:38 p.m., at the Shawnee Country Club, in one Championship Flight semifinal Saturday and Hollar and Garron will face each other in the other semifinal, starting at 3:45 p.m.

Beachy's one other appearance in the tournament was 17 years ago.

"I played in 2006 and that was the last time I played in it. I was third in the first flight or something like that," he said.

"I've been in Lima since 2001 and have been playing Colonial about the whole time. I worked on the road for a long time and I'm finally stationary and had the opportunity to play. Hopefully, going into Shawnee, I can keep playing well and take it to the finals.

"The young kids have ice in their veins, they're tough to beat. I was able to make a few putts and was hitting all the greens and the driver is starting to come around. If you can put it all together you can scratch out some wins."

Hollar, who won the tournament in 2021 and 2015, is the only former champion still in the Championship Flight.

He described his two wins on Friday as "a good day all around" and said, "I'm still alive (in the tournament) so it's a good day.

"You've just got to win holes. No matter how you do it, you've got to put the ball in the hole. That's pretty much it," he said.

The semifinals pairings in the other flights are:

First Flight — Pat Stolly vs. B.J. McPheron, and Tony Moore vs. Carter Frey; Second Flight — Andy Hobensack vs. Sean Anderson, and Rich Dackin vs. Cole Shisler; Third Flight — Brent Jones vs. Tyler Claus, and Jeremy Krieg vs. Ryan Conaway; Super Senior Flight — Dennis Thompson vs. Mike Miller, and Jim Troyer vs. Bob Moser; Super Senior Plus Flight — Dan Garlock vs. Mike Allen, and John McDonald vs. David Webb; Senior Open Flight — Edward Nolte vs. Keith Augustus, and Todd Coil vs. Jim Sherrick; Senior Championship Flight — Troy Breidenbach vs. Gary Karch, and Jeff Koverman vs. Greg Bunn.

Friday's Results

at Colonial Golfers Club

Championship Flight

Round of 16: Carson Harmon def. Kyle Bell, 3 & 2; Braden Beachy def. Luke Turner, 1 up; Kayne Richardson def. William Seech, 2 & 1; Brett Eley def. Spencer Stubbs, 1 up; Josh Hollar def. Zachary Miller, 2 & 1; James Shipper def. Steve Creps, 2 & 1; Guillermo Garron def. Todd Burkholder 1 up; Bennett Christy def. Zach Stechschulte, 1 up.

Quarterfinals

Championship Flight: Braden Beachy def. Carson Harmon, 1 up; Brett Eley def. Kayne Richardson, 1 up; Josh Hollar def. James Schipper, 3 & 2; Guillermo Garron def. Bennett Christy, 3 & 2.

First Flight: Pat Stolly def. Josh Buetner, 1 up; BJ McPheron def. Clay Plaugher, withdrawal; Tony Moore def. Levi Hoy, 1 up; Carter Frey def. Marc Tobias, 8 & 6.

Second Flight: Andy Hobensack def. Jeromey Wilson, 3 & 2; Sean Anderson def. Shane Conrad, 3 & 2; Rich Dackin def. Chris Kelley, 1 up; Cole Shisler def. Tug Taviano, 1 up.

Third Flight: Brent Jones def. Dominic Crea, 6 & 5; Tyler Claus def. Tyler Moore, 6 & 5; Jeremy Krieg def. Robert Mulcahy, 5 & 4; Ryan Conway def. Jerry Frey, 4 & 3.

Super Senior Flight: Dennis Thompson def. Willie McGuire, 2 up; Mike Miller def. Douglas Kent, 1 up (24 holes); Jim Troyer def. Jeffrey Orphal, 1 up; Bob Moser def. Joseph Bailey, 1 up (20 holes).

Super Seniors Plus Flight: Dan Garlock def. Stephen Creps, 6 & 5; Mike Allen def. Jim Odenweller, 7 & 6; John McDonald def. Robert Hollar, 5 & 3; David Webb def. Pete Hubbell, 3 & 1.

Senior Open Flight: Edward Nolte def. Tim Grigsby, 1 up (20 holes); Keith Augustus def. Eric Worsham, 2 & 1; Todd Coil def. Dan Bradford, 5 & 4; Jim Sherrick def. William Cole, 1 up.

Senior Championship Flight: Troy Breidenbach def. Matthew Akers, 6 & 5; Gary Karch def. Dennis Medeiros, 2 up; Jeff Koverman def. Dean Meyer, 1 up (20 holes); Greg Bunn def. Lee Bowman, 1 up

Saturday's Tee Times, Pairings

at Shawnee Country Club

Semifinals

Championship Flight: 3:38 p.m. — Braden Beachy vs. Brett Eley; 3:45 p.m. — Josh Hollar vs. Guillermo Garron.

First Flight: 3:24 p.m. — Pat Stolly vs. BJ McPheron; 3:31 p.m. — Tony Moore vs. Carter Frey.

Second Flight: 3:10 p.m. — Andy Hobensack vs. Sean Anderson; 3:17 p.m. — Rich Dackin vs. Cole Shisler.

Third Flight: 2:56 p.m. — Brent Jones vs. Tyler Claus; 3:03 p.m. — Jeremy Krieg vs. Ryan Conaway.

Super Senior Flight: 2 p.m. — Dennis Thompson vs. Mike Miller; 2:07 p.m. — Jim Troyer vs. Bob Moser.

Super Seniors Plus Flight: 2:14 p.m. — Dan Garlock vs. Mike Allen; 2:21 p.m. — John McDonald vs. David Webb.

Senior Open Flight: 2:28 p.m. — Edward Nolte vs. Keith Augustus; 2:35 p.m. — Todd Coil vs. Jim Sherrick.

Senior Championship Flight: 2:42 p.m. — Troy Breidenbach vs. Gary Karch; 2:49 p.m. — Jeff Koverman vs. Greg Bunn.

Reach Jim Naveau at 567-242-0414.