Past 10 Mid-Ohio Golf Association Champions
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Billy Barbour   -  Mount Vernon, OH

2011 Champion   -  68-69=137

The obvious talent of Billy Barbour II of Mount Vernon made the lackluster performances of his first eight Mid-Ohio Invitationals a puzzle. Until 2011, he finished in the top 50 only twice with a tie for 23rd in the rain-shortened 2008 tournament and a tie for 47th in 2010. So when he shot an opening round of 68 in 2011, he found himself in unfamiliar territory in the final pairing of the day, only two shots behind the leader. While others faltered, Billy surged to a three-under par 33 grab a three-stroke lead. He lost his lead with three straight bogies to begin the second nine, but regained it with a birdie on the 16th hole and drilled a 10-foot eagle putt on the final hole to win the tournament by three strokes. It was the tournament’s largest winning margin since 2007. Billy recently finished his college golf career at Oral Roberts University. He previously had been a member of the varsity golf teams at Malone University and Kent State University.

Billy Barbour

Parker Hewit   -  Westfield Center, OH

2010 Champion   -  71-66=137

Twenty-year-old Bowling Green State University sophomore golfer Parker Hewit shot a six-under-par 66 to come from five strokes off the lead after the first round to win the 2010 Mid-Ohio Invitational. His win was the eleventh consecutive in the tournament by a collegiate player. An all-Northeast Ohio golfer at Cloverleaf High School, Hewit has been a regular in the BGSU line-up from the time he entered as a freshman in the fall of 2008. In three years at BGSU, he has averaged 74.98 strokes per round. He finished his junior season in 2010-11 with one top five, three top ten and seven top twenty finishes in 11 events. His best finish was third place in the Boilermaker Invitational. He finished in a tie for 19th in the 2009 Mid-Ohio Invitational, a tournament in which he made the only double eagle in the event’s history. He tied for 11th in 2011.

Parker Hewit

Michael Schmitmeyer   -  St. Marys, OH

2009 Champion   -  73-65=138

Michael Schmitmeyer’s opening round of one-over-par 73 left him six shots off the lead and set the stage for the biggest comeback victory in Mid-Ohio Invitational history. Tied for 33rd at the start of the day, he shot a seven-under-par 65 to tie four other golfers for the lead at the end of regulation play. After three players dropped out with bogies on the first play-off hole, he eagled the next hole to top former Ohio Publinx champion Tom Ballinger’s birdie and win the championship. Michael is currently a senior member of the University of Findlay golf team. He won the Third Region NCAA Division II championship as a freshman and was named Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year in 2009. Among his other top finishes as an Oiler golfer are a tie for third at the Arendsen Invitational, fifth and sixth place finishes at the GLIAC championship, a sixth place finish at the Lake Erie Invitational, a tie for third at the Tiffin Invitational and a tie for eighth at the Ferris State Invitational.

Michael Schmitmeyer

Justin Lower   -  Canal Fulton, OH

2008 Champion  -  66

Justin Lower is the 2006 Ohio High School Athletic Association Division II champion who now completed his four-year career as a Malone University golfer in 2011. He was named first team NAIA All-American in his sophomore and junior seasons. He won the 2010 NAIA Championship and received the Jack Nicklaus Award from the Golf Coaches Association of America as the 2010 NAIA Player of the Year. Justin won the Mid-Ohio Invitational in his first try. He shot a six-under-par 66 in the first round to take a one stroke lead over five players and was declared champion when lightning and flooding forced cancellation of the second round. He played again in 2009 and tied for 14th.

Justin Lower

Zach Sebert   -  Grove City, OH

2007 Champion  -  66-62=128

Zach Sebert led by only one stroke going into the final nine holes of the 2007 Mid-Ohio Invitational. But five birdies and an eagle on his back nine resulted in the tournament’s second ever 29 and a five-stroke victory over former Ohio Amateur champion Steve Paramore. His competitive course record of 62 that day gave him a total of 128---sixteen strokes under par---for a tournament scoring record that stands today. Zach began his collegiate golf career at Otterbein College where he was Ohio Athletic Conference champion and an NCAA Division III All-American. He transferred to Ohio State University where he became co-captain of the Buckeye golf team his senior year. His Mid-Ohio Invitational scoring average of 69.500 ranks sixth best in tournament history.

Zach Sebert

Ryan Culbertson   -  Wooster, OH

2006 Champion  -  66-69=135

Ryan Culbertson was without a top ten finish in three previous starts in the Mid-Ohio Invitational when he shot a nine-under-par 135 in 2006 to win by one stroke over Miami University golfer Jeff Blank, Ohio High School Division I Champion Jonathan Bowers and 1996 champion Raymond Sovik. A four-year letterman at the University of Akron, Ryan turned professional upon graduation and therefore was not eligible to defend his title. His best previous finish in the Mid-Ohio Invitational was 11th in 2004.

Chris Wilson   -  Dublin, OH

2005 Champion  -  67-66=133

Chris Wilson tied for 12th at the PGA Tour “Q-School” in December and in 2010 is in his first year as a member of the PGA Tour. He played four years for Northwestern University where he was Big Ten Champion in 2006. Among his amateur tournament wins are the Ohio Junior Championship in 2004 and the Ohio Amateur Championship in 2005. He also has been runner-up in the Western Amateur Championship. Chris played in the Mid-Ohio Invitational for the first time in 2003, just weeks after he completed a successful career at Dublin Coffman High School. His nine-under-par 135 that year was only one stroke back of Kent State player Steve Lohmeyer who tied the tournament scoring record in winning for the second consecutive time. He tied for eighth in 2004 and set a new tournament scoring mark of 133 in winning the championship in 2005. Chris turned professional after graduation and played on the PGA Tour for one full year in 2010. He currently is a member of the Hooters Tour where he has one tournament victory.

Joe Meglen   -  Concord, OH

2004 Champion  -  69-68=137

Joe Meglen made it three Mid-Ohio Invitational wins in a row for Kent State University players in 2004 when he won by two strokes over KSU teammate Tommy Weigand and veteran amateur golfer Michael Kelley. Joe later transferred to Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida where he played three years for the Tritons. In his three appearances in the Mid-Ohio Invitational, his scoring average of 69.833 ranks ninth best in tournament history. Since graduation, he has turned professional.
Steve Lohmeyer   -  Dayton, OH

2002 Champion  -  66-68=134

2003 Champion  -  68-66=134

Steve Lohmeyer was Ohio High School Athletic Association Division II Champion at Oakwood High School in 1999 before playing collegiate golf at Kent State University. While at Kent State, he played on Mid-American Conference Championship teams in 2003 and 2005. Steve tied the Mid-Ohio Invitational scoring record with a ten-under-par 134 to win in 2002 and tied it again the next year to become the first player in 23 years to successfully defend the title. Despite his record-equaling performances, he needed a play-off to win over Duke University’s David French in 2002 and had to birdie the final hole to beat recent high school graduate Chris Wilson by a stroke in 2003. His only other top ten finish in the tournament was a tie for tenth in 2005.
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