SUNBURY –
Since no helicopter was waiting for them off the 18th green, it looked like Parent’s Night ceremonies at Crestview’s football game Friday night would happen without the Olewilers.
That’s OK with Bob Olewiler, Crestview’s golf coach. He was having too much fun enjoying Dad’s Day on the links.
Olewiler watched his son Ben shoot a two-under 70 for a one-stroke lead over Warren John F. Kennedy’s Ryan Fowler in Friday’s first round of the Division III state tournament at North Star, just north of Columbus.
Fellow Crestview senior Bryce Lutz tied for the third-lowest score at 74 as the Cougars, 2012 state champs, shot 320 to stay within striking distance of defending champ Ottawa Hills and Columbus Academy, the co-leaders at 314.
“Our top three golfers bettered their average and our fourth man was right on his average; that’s all you can ask for,” Bob Olewiler said, referring to No. 3 Michael Staniford (86) and No. 4 Joe Stimpert (90). “I know Joe and Jake (Salyers, No. 5 man) have never played with 40 people standing around the tees. That would be rough on anybody.”
Ben Olewiler, a wide receiver on the football team, joked earlier in the week about getting home for Friday’s game with enough time left to at least catch a Hail Mary pass. Little did he know his prayer would already be answered, the one that went something like this: Please let me pick up on the golf course where I left off last week.
Fresh off a career-best nine-hole score of 32 on the turn home at districts, Olewiler opened Friday’s round with a birdie and added three more on the 7,000-yard layout to more than offset two bogeys.
“He got a little bit greedy on No. 16 (actually No. 7 since Crestview began on the back nine),” Bob Olewiler said, grinning. “He hit his second shot pin high and went in the hazard to the left. He was thinking eagle and ended up with a bogey.
“He was feeling it. When they’re feeling it, I’m not going to tell them not to go for it. Ben was focused. Before, there was always one hole where he seemed to screw up. He’s cleaned it up a little bit.”
Crestview senior Bryce Lutz shot a 74 to complement teammate Ben Olewiler, the first-round leader at 70 in the Division III state golf tournament at North Star.
Ben Olewiler stayed in the zone he finished in at districts.
“I don’t know what’s happened with my putting, but it’s phenomenal,” he said. “It’s like I see the line and just putt. I never felt that way before. I have a lot more confidence right now. There’s not a club that I don’t feel I can’t hit well. When you’re real confident in your swing, that leads to low scores.”
Olewiler is no stranger to big stages. Two years ago he made second-team All-Ohio on this course in helping the Cougars win the school’s first state championship in golf. Last spring, he was state runner-up in the high jump, clearing his height (6-foot-7).
“As far as a big stage, track is a lot different because you’re in an arena and everybody’s watching, where here (fans) are scattered around,” he said. “But making it to state in track helped me learn how to keep up with high-caliber competition.”
Plus, if he can perform in front of a stadium full of track fans, golf galleries shouldn’t faze him.
“Two years ago, on No. 10, (his first hole), I borderline shanked my drive,” he said, alluding to butterflies. “Today I just got up there and hit the ball.”
That was pretty much Lutz’s approach. He said he didn’t practice all week, opting to play basketball instead in preparation for the winter season.
“Playing basketball helped keep my mind off things,” he said. “I was just looking to shoot 76 or 77, so I got below my goal.”
Lutz shot 75-78-153 two years ago at North Star to earn first-team All-Ohio honors, along with former teammate Josh Brooks, who was state medalist runner-up.
“I love this course because of the greens,” he said. “You can chip up well and get close to the cup. I’m not going to change anything (for Saturday’s final round). I’m just going to try and play as well as I can.”
Staniford shot 96-95-191 here two years ago, so he was very happy with his performance Friday.
“I played consistent, smart, safe golf,” he said. “Two years ago, I was so gung-ho I just got up there and ripped it and went for the pin. Today, if it was a par 5, I was focused on getting on in three and trying to get a birdie. I didn’t have any birdies, but I saved a lot of pars.”
Staniford says the course played exactly the same as two years ago. The advantage? Familiarity. The disadvantage? Familiarity.
“You can almost get too comfortable and do something stupid,” he said. “The worst I had today was two double-bogeys. I avoided disaster. I hit four shots out of six-inch heather and two of them landed on the green. I struck the ball better in the heather with mid-range irons than I did in the fairways.”
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Crestview’s Ben Olewiler watches his shot off the tee during the first round of the Division III state golf tournament at North Star.
