Jake McBride edges Justin Lower in playoff as Ohio Open is cut short

WESTFIELD CENTER — The road was long and arduous for Jake McBride, but the Hartville native overcame a one-hole playoff with Korn Ferry Tour member Justin Lower to win the 100th Ohio Open on Thursday evening after both players completed their two rounds with 11-under-par 129s. McBride sank his birdie putt on the 447-yard, par-4 ninth hole on Westfield Country Club's South Course after Lower made par to win his first Commodore Perry Hotel Trophy, denying Lower, a Uniontown native and Northwest High School graduate, his third Ohio Open championship. "It feels really, really good to win the Ohio Open," McBride said. "It's really cool, especially the 100th one and back here (at Westfield Country Club). I'm really proud of myself for hanging in there and getting it done." McBride needed to overcome bad memories on the same ninth hole, where he closed his second round with a three-putt bogey to surrender a one-stroke lead on Lower. McBride previously birdied the 573-yard eighth after a 2-hour weather delay with his ball sitting in the fairway. "I had a one-shot lead and knew what I needed to do, but I was nervous and it showed," McBride said. "The first few minutes after I walked off the green, I was disappointed, but I went into the locker room to refocus and let myself know I was going to get revenge on that hole." The tournament was shortened to 36 holes from 54 due to storms and weather delays that impacted all three days. Due to the rain Wednesday, McBride needed to finish 10-plus holes Thursday and was sitting one stroke behind Lower when play resumed with him on the 17th green. Lower birdied eight holes during the second round to turn a three-stroke deficit to McBride into a three-stroke advantage. The playoff was the only hole Lower played Thursday after completing his second round Wednesday before the rainfall. More rain Thursday morning meant play did not resume until noon. "I knew I needed to get one more birdie this morning, and that made it hard to enjoy my night and fall asleep," McBride said. "Then we get all the weather delays this morning, I took a nap and then wasn't going to sit here all day, so I went to the gym and worked out some nervous energy for an hour." McBride rose to the top of the largest Ohio Open field with 272 players thanks in large part to an 8-under 62 on the North Course on Tuesday. He won $10,000. "I think it validates the work I'm putting in even more on the mental side and in my golf swing that it's working," McBride said of the large field. "Especially, to get to play against a guy that is a Korn Ferry Tour member like Justin Lower — and probably going to make the PGA Tour because he's definitely good enough — I think this is his year." McBride birdied the 11th, 12th and 16th on the South Course on Wednesday before play was suspended. He came back to birdie No. 18 and eagled the 526-yard, par-5 sixth shortly before a 2-hour delay struck Thursday afternoon. "My golf swing feels really good, and I'm in good control of it, especially off the tee," McBride said. "I didn't necessarily feel that good about the putter, but the putter clicked the first round, and I rode that into today. Hopefully, some more low scores are coming." Contact John Urchek at sports@medina-gazette.com. Overall standings: 1. Jake McBride 62-67-129, 2. Justin Lower 65-64, 3. Cade Breitenstine 69-64-133, 3. Nick Montes 66-67-133, 3. Bryce Haney 68-65-133, 6. Cameron Willis 66-68-134, 7. Austin Schoonmaker 66-69-135, 8. Zach Burton 67-69-136, 8. Conor Mead 68-68-136, 8. Jake Daly 65-71-136, 8. Topher Reed 67-69-136, 8. Jeff Olson 70-66-136. Medina County participants: 25. Joe Puch 70-69-139, 30. Darin de Lelys 68-72-140, 41. Patrick Luth 67-74-141, 62. Andrew Grayson 69-74-143, 80. Mark Scott, Jr. 72-72-144, 80. Austin Schreiber 73-71-144, 94. Griffin Hrabak 72-73-145, 113. Bob Henighan 75-71-146, 124. David Laib 74-73-147, 137. David Morgan 72-77-149, 146. Colin Frimel 75-75-150, 161. Ben Smith 78-73-151, 161. Colton Vincelette 74-77-151, 172. Blake Shienkaruk 74-78-152, 174. Tommy Witschey 79-74-153, 187. Joshua Wright 76-79-155, 187. David Reiter, Jr., 79-76-155, 201. Zachary Parker 78-80-158, 201. Daniel Terry 79-79-158, 214. Nicolas Fartelly 76-85-161, 217. Matt Goldsberry 84-78-162, 222. Bodie Hillwig 82-82-164, 225. Luke Schreck 82-84-166, Steve Weir WD-WD-WD, Mike King 77-WD-WD, Jared Toom 80-WD-WD.