MANSFIELD — Ashton Hoffbauer has been living at the golf course all summer long.
He has played in tournaments all over Ohio and is on the cusp of qualifying for a huge tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club later this week.
But the two-day Richland County Junior Golf Tournament is something he always looks forward to every summer. It allows him to keep playing in tournaments so he can be better prepared for the grind of the high school golf season which begins on Monday. But what he looks forward to the most is playing against local competition that he will see all throughout Aug. September and October
“I played with Nick McMullen and he is one of my good buddies and we always have a great time when we play together,” Hoffbauer said. “It makes the round a little more comfortable, but at the same time, a lot more competitive because he is someone I am going to be put up against all year long. It is a little bit better than a win, too.”
Hoffbauer fired a 1-under 70 at Twin Lakes Golf Course in Mansfield on the first day of the RCJG Tournament to set the tone for Day 2 at Oak Tree. He owns a four-shot lead in the 17-18-year old division heading into Tuesday’s final round. A win would be great, but Hoffbauer is using the tournament as a measuring stick for himself and his game as well as the game of his competitors.
“It is a great tournament just to see where everyone else locally is at,” Hoffbauer said. “It is always great to see how you are doing compared to everyone else. We have some great scores on the board so it is nice to see everyone’s baseline.”
Hoffbauer will be the senior leader of a very promising Shelby Whippet golf team this fall. The Whippets return four of their Top 5 golfers from last year’s district qualifying team and Hoffbauer is developing his leadership skills with hopes of bringing along a young No. 5 people that can help the Whippets reach Columbus and the state tournament.
“This year, especially, I feel like I am almost part coach because a lot of the upcoming freshmen are ones I want to take under my wing and coach them up because we are going to be really young,” Hoffbauer said. “I just want to make sure they do the best they can so we can be successful as a team.”
Hoffbauer broke out of the gates with a hot start shooting a 1-under 34 on the back 9 at Twin Lakes before shooting even par on the front to finish his round.
Clear Fork senior Nate Lind, who sits in second after Day 1 with a 74, also had a solid finish to the day. After shooting a 39 on the front, he tallied a 35 on the back and only trails Hoffbauer by four strokes. No matter what happens on Day 2, Lind knows he is only going to get better because of his time in the RCJG Tournament.
“This is a very good tournament that is run by very good people,” Lind said. “It is great to have that tournament atmosphere a week before the season even starts. It really puts us ahead of those who do not play in this tournament. I have found that playing in this tournament has helped me prepare for the season so much because it just gets those competitive juices flowing so much earlier.”
He is measuring himself against the likes of Hoffbauer and the rest of the Shelby grew up playing in the tournament. Lind hopes when it comes to Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference tournament play, he can compete with the best of the best and maybe earn individual medalist honors.
The RCJG Tournament will be a nice way to take steps towards reaching those goals.
“This is such a high-level tournament,” Lind said. “These are a lot of the players I will see all year long, so it is always a great time playing against the best of the best you are going to see throughout the season and into the postseason. It is such a competitive tournament that I love playing in. I even talked my teammates into playing this year.”
The senior leader for the Colts finished his round early and followed a couple of his teammates around the course to watch them play a few holes. It was his way of telling them that he has their backs and wants them to get better.
“I have tried to take on a leadership role this year and make sure my team is in the right mindset going into the season,” Lind said. “I have some huge goals for my team and myself so I want them to live up to the potential I see in them. This is a great two days to see where their game is at and what they need to work on.”
Lexington senior Jack Wyant is in a similar situation as Lind heading into the 2023 season. Lexington graduated three seniors from last year’s district qualifying squad so Wyant is now the veteran in the group. He fired an opening-round 84 on Monday and hopes to improve on that come Day 2.
“It’s nice to start with this because it takes us right into the golf season,” Wyant said. “It sets the standard for the season. I can come out here and see how much I have improved from last year as well as see everything that I need to work on so I can be my best at the right time.”
He is also making sure to take a few notes while he is out on the course during the RCJG Tournament. He was paired with Lind in their group of four so he made sure to learn from Lind’s fun-loving yet competitive nature.
“They are so fun to play with,” Wyant said. “I look at how they hold themselves up when they are down and how they have fun no matter what. If I hit a bad shot, I can learn how to stay right mentally from these guys.”
Day 1 of the Richland County Junior Golf Tournament saw 55 players record scores. Here is the leaderboard after the first round.
Richland County Junior Golf Scoreboard
17-18 year old boys
Ashton Hoffbauer 36-34-70
Nate Lind 39-35-74
Nathan McMullen 37-38-75
Will Magers 35-43-78
Toby Randall 39-39-78
Nicholas McMullen 42-37-79
Canaan Slone 41-39-80
Micha Greene 39-43-82
Jack Wyant 39-45-84
Levi Davis 44-41-85
Andrew Cawrse 40-46-86
Hayden McDowell 44-44-88
Mitch Riegel 46-43-89
Hunter McCarthy 49-48-97
Jerry Thompson 54-54-108
Girls Division
Katelyn Miley 42-41-83
Brooklyn Kissling 48-48-96
Delaney Moritz 49-57-106
Saje Miley 56-55-111
Brooklyn Black 61-58-119
Addy Gilmore 61-63-124
Alexia Sesco 66-67-133
Boys 15-16 years old
Parker Steffani 35-36-71
Griffin Hughes 42-38-80
Cameron Bulakovski 38-43-81
Nicholas Maglott 41-43-84
Liam Stone 46-39-85
Nathan Dawson 40-45-85
Bailey Carmichael 44-43-87
Dillon Smith 42-45-87
Carson Walker 48-41-89
Clinton Stallard 47-42-89
Bryan Ousley 48-42-90
Grant Keep 40-51-91
Landon good 48-45-93
Keegan Keller 50-47-97
Chase Dininger 48-53-101
Anthony Studer 52-51-103
Kendan Latore 55-54-109
Nate Riggle 56-55-111
Ryder Doehla 65-68-133
Boys 13-14 years old
Josh Maglott 47-36-83
Jacob Snay 40-44-84
Cole Bowman 37-49-86
Jackson Durchik 46-47-93
Carter Bowman 47-46-93
Carson Pigg 47-46-93
Jack Campbell 45-50-95
Miles Doehla 46-51-97
Kolbe Ramion 52-48-100
Tyler Turnbaugh 52-49-101
Ty Ellis 46-56-102
Michael Brown 53-52-105
Thomas Lennan 51-57-108
David Crundwell 50-58-108
Owen English 50-60-110
Ryan Sand 53-6-113
Bronson Porter 53-62-115
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This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Ashton Hoffbauer, Nate Line, Jack Wyant using Richland County Junior Golf Tournament to prepare for upcoming season