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AKRON -- Becoming the first Beaver Local golfer to reach the state tournament is the first step for freshman Eli Stewart.
“It was one of my first goals of the year to go to state and hopefully place or win,” Stewart said. “I feel like I have a good shot to win.”
Stewart will tee off for the first round of the Ohio Division II boys state golf tournament at 10:20 a.m. Sunday at the famed Firestone Country Club.
“I had had high hopes for him to make it,” Beaver Local coach Ryan Smith said. “Eli’s been nationally ranked ever since he was a little boy. It’s all he’s ever done. He’s top flight for his age.”
He is the top-ranked 14-year-old in Ohio and is in the top 25 for his age nationally.
Stewart opened his high school career in August with a 6-under-par 30 at Turkana Golf Course.
“High school is mostly just matches and against OK golfers,” Stewart said. “Now it’s targeting the best juniors in the state and it’s at a great course.”
Stewart won the district championship with an even-par 70, the second-best score entering the state tournament.
Kettering Alter senior Matthew Kreusch shot a 6-under 65 and will lead the field. Kreusch tied for state medalist honors as a sophomore with a 6-under 66 in the closing round on the North Course. Alter has won four straight state team titles.
“It’s tough to compare other individuals because they play at different courses,” Smith said.
“There’s a lot of really good players,” Stewart said. “It’s going to be a tough field. It’s an honor playing against the top juniors and seniors in the state. I feel like I’m going to be coming in with a chip on my shoulder as a freshman.”
The Division II boys state tournament tournament will consist of 18-hole rounds on Sunday and Monday at Firestone’s North Course.
Stewart said he played the North Course -- where water comes into play on 12 of the 18 holes -- during the Joe Haase Cup in May and shot a 4-under 68.
“There’s a lot of water,” Stewart said. “The fairways are a lot tighter than the South and Fazio courses. It’s a lot grainier on the North Course. The North is probably the toughest track. You can’t really hit the ball too far off. You can spread the ball off the South and Fazio courses.”
Firestone is best known for its South Course (where Tiger Woods won eight times), but the North Course has hosted two PGA Tour events since opening in 1969.
Those included the 1976 American Golf Classic (won by David Graham with a 14-under 274) and the 1994 NEC World Series of Golf (won by Jose Maria Olazabal with an 11-under 269).
“He’s been there a couple of times through Junior PGA events,” Smith said. “He does know the course a little bit.”
Stewart first went to the course in 2018 to watch the final Bridgestone Invitational (won by Justin Thomas).
He got on Firestone on Wednesday through a friend of Beaver Local teacher Jay Pappas.
Stewart wasn’t allowed to play the North Course because of the state tournament, but played the South Course for the second time. He said he shot a 75 on Wednesday from the tour tees.
He also has been be practicing at nearby Turkana Golf Course and at home where he has a chipping and putting green.
“I’ll just dial in every part of my game, make sure it is as good as can be,” Stewart said.
Golfers will get a practice round on the North Course on Saturday in preparation for the state tournament.
“I think he’ll do great,” Smith said. “He’s very good at studying the course. He makes adjustments when he sees how the course is playing. Regardless of the situation, I’m proud of him.”
STATE NOTES
• The forecast is calling for 100% chance of rain on Sunday as Hurricane Isaias moves through Ohio.
“Sunday doesn’t look very promising, but we’ll see what happens by then,” Smith said.
• Stewart takes classes through the Beaver Local online school. He also goes to Coram Deo, a homeschool co-op in Beaver Falls, Pa., twice a week.
“I’ve been homeschooled my whole life,” he said.
• The Division II girls state tournament, which includes Minerva, is being held the same time across the street on Firestone’s Fazio Course (also known as the West Course).
• Columbiana High School graduate Harvey Firestone opened Firestone Country Club in 1929 as a recreational area for employees of his Firestone Tire and Rubber Company. Membership was $35.
The South Course opened in August of 1929 with Harvey Firestone hitting the first tee shot.
• Firestone Country Club has hosted a PGA tournament every year since the 1954 Rubber City Open, but that streak will end next year.
The Kaulig Companies Championship, a major on the PGA’s 50-and-over tour, wrapped up the final event on July 12.