JARED MACDONALD
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It took the two golfers that played for the 2017 title a while to get going, but both managed to come away with first round victories in the 83rd Chippeways golf tournament on Friday.

Now, Jackson Frame and Bill O’Mara are set for a rematch of last year’s 20-hole championship match in Saturday’s quarterfinals.

“Bill is always a tough out. I’m going to have to play good and I’m sure he’ll bring his best. It’ll be a fun match,” said Frame. “It’ll be, obviously, a finals rematch. It’s two people that are pretty good golfers, so it’ll be interesting.”

Frame won the match last year for his second title. He’s played in the last three championship matches at a young age, winning his first title in 2015. Eric Schumacher beat him in the final round of the 2016 tournament.

“I do feel a little pressure. I know people out here are quick to expect a lot out of me, but I’m working all the time now so I don’t get to come out here and spend the whole day,” said Frame. “It’s just fun being out here.”

He recently finished up his career at Northern Kentucky University and hasn’t been able to hit the links much, but managed to come away with the victory over Wesley Walton in Friday’s first round.

“I played absolutely awful on the front nine and kind of just scrounged it out on the back and hung in there. It’s hard telling how many shots I improved from the front to the back,” said Frame. “I was just fighting and clawing.”

O’Mara, who fell short of his second Chippeways title and first since 2006, beat James Vining, 2 and 1, in the first round on Friday. Like Frame, he got off to a slow start.

“Nothing went well for the first 10 holes, then after that I kind of figured my swing out again and I think I played 3-under in the last six that I played. I caught fire at the right time and kind of eked it out. I was 3-down at the turn and managed to get it done,” said O’Mara. “He’s a good player and hats off to him.”

O’Mara knows he’ll be in for a tough match on Friday after falling to Frame last year and considers himself the underdog coming in, but he’ll try to upset the defending champion. The two are scheduled to tee off at 1:20 p.m.

“I’m expecting to get beat, honestly,” joked O’Mara. “I’m going to try to give him everything I can, one of those deals. He’s a great player and he hits the ball solidly and I’m looking forward to the match.”

His son, Jake O’Mara, also made it through the first round with a victory over Scott Ward. He’ll take on Schumacher, who’s in search of his sixth title, in the quarterfinals at 1 p.m.

“The main thing is, for me, to not dwell on how far he hits the ball. He’s a strong kid, he’s got a good swing and he can get hot, just like I can. I just can’t hit it near as far as he does,” said Schumacher. “It’ll be a fun match. He’s a good kid and we’ll have a good time tomorrow.”

Schumacher, like the two in last year’s championship match, believes he didn’t play his best on Friday, but still managed to come away with a 3 and 2 win over Matt Stoneburner.

“I started out a little slow and started playing better as the round went on,” said Schumacher. “I’ve played Matt before and he and I are pretty good buddies, so it was a fun match just to get out there. I definitely didn’t hit it as good as I did last night in the shootout, but I made it through the day.”

The winner of that match will get the winner of the quarterfinal between Josh Weber and Drew Traxel. Weber beat Robert Walton in the first round and Traxel beat Conor Taylor. The quarterfinal match is scheduled to tee off at 12:50 p.m.

Dee Hampton and Troy Grooms also claimed first round victories in the championship flight on Friday. Grooms beat Ryan Wharton and Hampton beat Joe Traxel. The two are scheduled to tee off in the quarterfinals at 1:10 p.m. The winner will get the winner of the match between O’Mara and Frame early Sunday, with the championship match to be played later that day.

83RD CHIPPEWAYS GOLF TOURNAMENT

FIRST ROUND

CHAMPIONSHIP FLIGHT

J. Frame def. W. Walton

B. O’Mara def. J. Vining

D. Hampton def. J. Traxel

T. Grooms def. R. Wharton

E. Schumacher def. M. Stoneburner

J. O’Mara def. S. Ward

J. Weber def. R. Walton

D. Traxel def. C. Taylor.

FIRST FLIGHT

S. Hicks def. S. Vice

N. Cracraft def. K. Ireland

S. Genter def. K.R. Haggard

D. Orme def. D. Werline

J. Hoh def. J. Cracraft

E. Davis def. R. Tolle

C. Thornhill def. M. Ravencraft

A. Wilson def. C. Calvert

SECOND FLIGHT

M. Tubbesing def. J. Weber

M. Stoneburner def. J. Howard

S. Faulkner def. G. Lockhart

T. Curless def. L. Brown

J. Tichenor def. K. Shadoan

C. Haggard def. P. Latham

D.J. Hodge def. Eth. White

S. Thomas def. G. Brothers

THIRD FLIGHT

C. Ravencraft def. L. Neff

G. Short def. J. Houchens

B. Riley def. T. White

R. Tubbesing def. S. Neeley

B. Canada def. K. Ross

A. Faris def. H. Thornhill

M. Kaelin def. Kel. Clarke

L. Bradley def. E. Stafford

FOURTH FLIGHT

F. Hassloch def. B. Payne

H. Barger def. G. Manning

M. Marinaro def. W. Markwell

H. Fuller def. J. Schumacher

T. Gardner def. S. Watt

D. Hendrickson def. T. Ogden

J. Chase def. Jim Thornhill

J. Chamberlain def. M. Albanese

FIFTH FLIGHT

K. Beulke def. S. Whitmore

B. Grutza def. H. Thornhill

J. Thornhill def. D. Wilson

G. Grutza bye

C. Hurst def. R. Neeley

M. White def. M. Clarke

S. Silverstein def. J. Halbert

J. Brooks def. K. Caudill

SENIOR FLIGHT

J. Finch def. D. Packard

K. Pawsat def. S. Werline

B. Ward bye

B. Hudson def. S. Bussell

Eric Schumacher chips onto the green during a first round match of the 83rd Chippeways golf tournament against Matt Stoneburner, Friday, in Maysville.
https://maysville-online.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/web1_Chippeways_1.jpgEric Schumacher chips onto the green during a first round match of the 83rd Chippeways golf tournament against Matt Stoneburner, Friday, in Maysville. Jared MacDonald, The Ledger Independent

 

JARED MACDONALD

[email protected]