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BEAVERCREEK, Ohio — For a few moments, Alex Gomia wasn’t sure what had just happened.
The final scorecard was signed. The numbers were official. The trophy was waiting.
But the reality of it all hadn’t quite caught up yet.
“I don’t even know what just happened,” Gomia said after it became official.
“I just closed my eyes out there.”
When he opened them, he was a champion.
Gomia captured the 49th Southern Ohio PGA Assistant Professional Championship at Beavercreek Golf Club, delivering the kind of performance that places a player in a very exclusive group within the Section’s history.
A group that includes names like Sowards. Delaney. Jones.
And now, Gomia.
Beavercreek has a way of rewarding confidence. When the greens are pure and the course is ready, birdies can come after gutsy, challenging tee shots. Gomia found plenty of them. Over two rounds, he made nine birdies, the most in the field, on his way to a three-shot victory.
“I still can’t believe it,” Gomia said.
The foundation was built in the opening round.
Gomia carded a 2-under 70, doing exactly what players need to do at Beavercreek: take advantage of the par 5s. He made birdie on three of the four longer holes, creating separation early and carrying a three-shot lead into the final round.
Then, he turned a lead into a championship.
Gomia opened the final round with three consecutive birdies, immediately putting pressure on the field and creating the cushion he would need to finish the job. A bogey on the final hole did little to change the outcome.
The championship belonged to him.
And with it came a place among some of the most accomplished PGA Professionals in Southern Ohio history.
For nearly five decades, the Southern Ohio PGA Assistant Professional Championship has been a proving ground for the next generation of Section leaders — a place where future Hall of Famers, club leaders and some of the most respected PGA Professionals in the region earned one of their first major championships.
Next year, the championship will celebrate its 50th playing, adding another chapter to a tradition built on competition, development and the pursuit of excellence.
Hall of Famer Pat Delaney won this championship in 1982. Bob Sowards captured the title in 2002. Jared Jones won twice, in 2012 and 2015.
Now Gomia’s name joins theirs.
For the second consecutive year, the Assistant Professional Championship winner was ineligible to advance to the national Assistant PGA Professional Championship at PGA Golf Club, creating another layer of drama for the afternoon finish.
Scioto Country Club’s Jared Hoelzen made sure the race stayed interesting.
After opening with a 3-over 75, Hoelzen caught fire in the final round, firing a 2-under 70 to finish alone in second place and secure his trip to Port St. Lucie.
The final qualifying spot came down to a playoff.
2025 qualifier Taylor Holt appeared to have done enough after posting a steady final round and finishing at +3. Then Brookside Golf & Country Club’s Mitchell Cook arrived late.
After making three bogeys on his first nine holes of the final round, Cook flipped the script. He closed with four birdies coming home, tying Holt and forcing the playoff.
Then he delivered the shot that mattered most.
After both players found the fairway on the playoff hole, Holt’s approach sailed long and left. Cook stepped in with the opportunity and delivered a precise wedge to about 20 feet.
Holt’s chip left him with four feet for par — a putt he never had to hit.
Cook rolled in the birdie.
Ticket punched.
It was a fitting finish for a player who had spent the previous week searching for answers. Just seven days earlier, Cook walked off Medallion Club after a round of 95, unsure where his game had gone.
One week later, he was heading to Florida.
“That’s golf, man,” Cook said moments after the putt dropped. “You keep going and you keep fighting.”
That’s exactly what he did.
Holt, Carter Cheek, Hunter Miller and Corey Weckerling will serve as the four alternates from the Southern Ohio PGA Section for the Assistant PGA Professional Championship, scheduled for Nov. 12-15 at PGA Golf Club.
Springboro, OH – Winning will never take a back seat.
But when Gabby Woods arrived at Heatherwoode Golf Club to defend her Ohio Women’s Open title, she was searching for something more.
Validation.
The trophy she carried away Saturday will eventually find a place on a shelf. The confidence she rediscovered may prove even more valuable.
Behind a gutsy, bogey-free final-round 67, Woods chased down one of the brightest young players in amateur golf, overtook the overnight lead and successfully defended her Ohio Women’s Open championship.
For a player who admitted she has spent much of the season wrestling with confidence, the victory meant far more than another line on a résumé.
“I haven’t had a very good start on the [Annika] WAPT,” said Woods, clutching a trophy she knows quite well. “But today, knowing that I didn’t necessarily have my best stuff but still played to the extent that I did.
“It’s massive. It’s just huge.”
Her two Ohio Women’s Open titles could hardly have been more different.
A year ago, Woods cruised to a title that was hers to lose. She won by six shots and was the only player in the field to finish in red figures. This time, she faced perhaps the deepest field the championship has assembled in years — a collection of elite amateurs, accomplished professionals and future stars that included world No. 154 amateur Mia Hammond, Curtis Cup participant Kary Hollenbaugh and former LPGA Tour player Victoria Elizabeth.
“I’ve been struggling with the mental side of things, trying to get myself right,” said Woods. “Today really made me realize that I’m good enough to play and win.”
She won by trusting the version of herself that got her there.
The ball leaves Woods’ clubface from a different window than most players. Her game is built on speed, height and power. The temptation in a pressure-filled chase is to force something extra, to search for a shot that isn’t there.
Instead, Woods resisted.
“You want to be aggressive as much as you can but it’s hard, especially when the person you’re chasing is as good as Mia,” said Woods. “I wanted to change some stuff but then I was like ‘Gab, no, you did that yesterday and it worked for you’ so I stuck to my gameplan.”
That decision changed everything.
In a tournament where Hammond and Georgia professional Jessical Welch led the field in birdies, Woods separated herself by limiting mistakes. She made only two bogeys across the 36 holes.
Some championships are won with brilliance. Some are won with patience.
This one belonged to patience.
Welch, the reigning two-time Michigan PGA Women’s Open champion, fired one of the rounds of the day to finish solo second, three shots behind Woods. Hammond, meanwhile, spent much of the championship looking every bit like the future star many expect her to become.
The future Duke golfer opened the tournament with four consecutive birdies and held the overnight lead. She will soon head to Scotland and Muirfield for the Women’s Amateur Championship, another stop on a schedule that reflects her standing among the game’s elite young players.
But Heatherwoode’s demanding closing stretch ultimately proved decisive. Hammond played the back nine in five-over-par across the two rounds, including bogeys on both trips through the difficult 14th hole.
Victoria Elizabeth, playing alongside Woods and Hammond in the final group, showcased the talent that carried her to IMG Academy and eventually the LPGA Tour. A mother of two young children, Elizabeth’s presence served as a reminder of the unique balancing act many women in professional golf navigate. Few images from the week were more memorable than her children following along as their mother chased a championship.
She wasn’t the only mother in the field.
Southern Ohio PGA Professional Melissa Yeazell competed alongside her daughters, Ellie and Clare. Ellie finished solo fifth after posting one of just five under-par rounds on Saturday, while Clare added another chapter to a family story that continues to unfold inside the ropes.
And perhaps that is the real story of the Ohio Women’s Open. Not just a champion crowned, but a championship growing. Elite amateurs. Touring professionals. PGA Professionals. Mothers. Daughters. Future stars. The field deepens each year. The opportunities expand with it.
This week belonged to Gabby Woods.
The trophy will go on the shelf.
The confidence might last a little longer.
DAYTON, Ohio — History has a way of arriving quietly.
On Monday at Dayton Country Club, Allie White, PGA, authored a milestone 80 years in the making, becoming the first woman to win the main division of a Southern Ohio PGA Section event.
White, the Director of Golf at Lancaster Golf Club, captured the Southern Ohio PGA Stableford Championship against a field of the Section’s top professionals, adding another accomplishment to a playing résumé that already ranks among the most accomplished in SOPGA history.
A former University of North Carolina standout, White has competed in more than 100 events across the LPGA Tour, Ladies European Tour and Epson Tour. She is also a two-time LPGA Professionals National Champion, winning the LPGA Professionals Championship in both 2023 and 2024.
Yet Monday’s victory carried a different significance.
For eight decades, Southern Ohio PGA tournaments have showcased some of the finest playing professionals in the region. White’s victory at Dayton Country Club marked the first time a woman has stood atop a Section event’s primary division, a reflection not only of her own talent and perseverance, but of the continued evolution of the game itself.
Her round at Dayton was classic Allie — steady, patient and relentlessly consistent, qualities perfectly suited for the Stableford format.
After opening with a bogey, White settled in with three birdies over her next eight holes. A setback on the 11th did little to slow her momentum. She answered with birdies on the par-5 13th and the demanding 14th hole to seize control of the championship.
The birdie at No. 14 proved especially significant.
The hole forces players to lay back off the tee before attacking one of Dayton Country Club’s most challenging greens. White’s birdie there stretched her lead to five points over Ben Kern and effectively put the tournament out of reach.
From there, she did what champions do.
Four consecutive pars brought her home and secured a victory that was equal parts impressive and historic.
On a day that celebrated bold golf, Allie White delivered something even more meaningful: a new chapter in Southern Ohio PGA history.
