Hayden Captures
1969 Northern Open

Youngstown, OH - 2-3 August 1969 - Daryl Hayden of  Indianapolis, IN, claimed top honors in Youngstown, OH, on August 2-3 by shooting a tremendous 55 under par, 233 total, for first place in the 1969 Northern Open tournament.  For his efforts, Daryl was awarded $1,000 and the Northern Ohio Championship.  After posting a 72-hole total of 114 on the first day's competition, the Indianapolis pro went on to maintain his lead and fight off the toughest competition in the PPA coming from such men as Buddy Taylor of Baltimore, John Roessner of Indianapolis, Vance Randall of Chattanooga, and 74 other challenging pros.

Many of the top pros in the nation were entered in the Northern Open, and the competition was perhaps the most severe of any of the three national tournaments this year.  Buddy Taylor of Baltimore maintained his first day's score of 27 under par to finish three strokes off the lead after 8 rounds, and, as a result, received second place honors and a check for $750.  John Roessner, Vance Randall, and Gary Love tied for third place - all posting final scores of 238, 50 under par.

Ron DeHaas of Youngstown defeated Jeff Jeskin of New Orleans in an 18-hole playoff for the qualifying position in the $110,000 tournament to be held in Fayetteville, North Carolina.  Both men were tied with final scores of 242; however, DeHaas conquered the tremendous pressure as well as Jeskin for a qualifying position.

Excitement and pressure surrounded the field of 78 pros at the Northern Open, and fantastic putting performances were recorded as the money winners' scores indicate in the pro division.  Yet plenty of excitement and pressure were also present in the Amateur Division as Mike Baldoza, 1969 National Amateur Champion from Ft. Worth turned in a final score of 239, 49 under par for first place honors.  As Baldoza stepped to the tee of the last hole of the tournament, he remarked that he needed an ace to take first place away from Chuck Gulgas of Youngstown.  Baldoza did just that - and Gulgas finished one stroke off the lead with a 240!

Preceding the $5,000 Northern Open, was a $1,000 Pro-Am match play tournament which hosted a field of 51 teams.  Sweeping away first place winnings in the Pro-Am was the team of Gary Love, defending Northern Open Champion from Kent, Ohio, and his amazing amateur partner, Tom Hatmaker of Youngstown.  Runners-up in the event was the event was the team of Vance Randall, 1969 National Champion and Mike Lecka of Fayetteville, North Carolina.

Semifinalists in the match play were the teams of Gil Caito of Indianapolis and his amateur partner, Doug Cortellini, also of Indianapolis, and Cliff Moose of Gastonia, North Carolina, and his amateur, Tom Williams of Muncie, Indiana.

The Pro-Am tournament set a grueling pace for the 102 putters involved and the matches were frequently characterized by sudden death playoffs.  The winners of the two qualifying positions from the Pro-Am were Dwight Morgan, host course owner in Youngstown, and Gary Rodik, also of Youngstown.  Thus went the 1969 Northern Open held on the beautiful 54-hole course in Youngstown - a course which proved a challenge to the field of 130 pros and amateurs, but a course which quickly succumbed to the putting of the PPA winners.