Lee Rallies to win Ohio Amateur

Hilliard’s Joo-Young Lee wasn’t in serious contention to win the Ohio Amateur through 54 soggy holes at Zanesville Country Club.

The final 19 holes were a different story.

The Northern Illinois junior fired a blistering 68 Saturday to rally from a four-stroke deficit and force a playoff against Dublin’s Jared Howard. Lee birdied the par 3 18th to add his name to the illustrious list of golfers that have captured one of the state’s most prestigious tournaments.

“I just tried to take it one shot at a time and after a couple early birdies I grew confident and started hitting the ball better,” Lee said. “It is definitely a huge honor being on the same list as the great champions like Arnold Palmer and all those tour pros.”

Howard, a former Cincinnati Bearcat, entered the final round tied atop the leaderboard with Jack Sparling, Logan Lagodich and Jonathan Feldkamp. All four turned in their highest rounds of the tournament: Lagodich and Feldkamp shot three-over and tied with Nicholas Paxson for 5th (287); Sparling shot seven-over and dropped into a tie for 14th (291). Lee and Howard both shot 284 in regulation.

Sandwiched between 3rd and 5th were Springfield’s Clark Engle (285) and Barberton’s Chase Johnson (286).

Zanesville Country Club champion Adrian Spires was the only local golfer to survive all four days, finishing in a tie for 37th (299).