Gavin Gress injured after back nine charge; Hartford’s streak snapped
ZANESVILLE — A year ago, almost to the day, Noah Dever fought his mind far more than his golf swing.
Too much clutter — crapola, as Dr. Molly Griswold called it in “Tin Cup” — had John Glenn’s version of Roy McAvoy fighting inner demons.
Then Dylan Van Fossen came along. The greatest Muskie golfer of them all helped get Dever’s mind back on track just in time for his senior season — the rest is history.
Dever earned All-Ohio his senior year at the Division II state tournament at Firestone Country Club’s North Course. That helped him earn a scholarship to play this fall at Division II Charleston (West Virginia).
His improvement showed even more this past weekend, following a 5-under-par 67 during the second round at Cambridge Country Club with an even-par 72 on June 22 at Zanesville Country Club to secure the 48th Zanesville District Golf Association Amateur title.
Slaying the dragon
Dever’s win snapped Blake Hartford’s recent reign of terror over the event the past three years. He set tournament records for aggregate shots under par and winning margin in a laugher of a win in 2024, which came on the heels of wins in 2022 and 2023.
Hartford, who played at Texas A&M-Commerce, still came back for a second-place finish in this event with a 2-under 70 at ZCC.
This time it wasn’t enough.
“These kids learned how to play,” Hartford said, just before hitting his final tee shot.
This day belonged to one of the kids Harford helped mature. Like Van Fossen, some tutelage from Hartford, who coaches at Muskingum, also helped get Dever out of his mental funk.
“I couldn’t have done this without them,” Dever said.
‘That confidence finally came’
Dever sat atop a power-packed leaderboard entering the final round that also included Hartford, who was four shots back, and River View High School products Gavin Gress and younger brother Colton, who found themselves in the final grouping.
By the time they reached the 15th, a classic ride-or-die par-5 requiring more aptitude than fortitude, it was clear the tension was mounting. Gavin Gress then trimmed a three-shot deficit to one with his third straight birdie.
“When I got up to the 16th tee the palms were definitely getting a little sweaty,” Dever said.
But Gress hit a roadblock on the 16th, when an errant second shot led to a bogey. He then made a double bogey on the par-4 17th, after being forced to take a drop after an unplayable lie, to fall three back with one hole to play.
Meanwhile, Dever never lost his composure.
“I just wanted to come into to today and shoot the best score that I could and hit it to the best spot from every place I could get,” Dever said “On 17, could I have gone for it? Yes. But in that situation I knew I was up two and Gavin was in trouble. So the best spot for me was short and left, and just try to make the best of whatever shot I could.”
As Gress put it, “he was just steady the entire round. He didn’t make mistakes.”
Call it another step in the mental maturation for young Noah, who was due to play again in a tournament on June 23 before an Ohio Amateur qualifier at York Country Club on June 26.
“It’s just simplifying the game and that really helped me just start getting level-headed,” Dever said of his mental improvement. “I’ve really focused on course management, because I have gotten to the point where I can hit the ball where I want to. It’s just a matter of trusting it. That confidence finally came last year.”
Gress battles late injury
One swing on the 16th led Gress to feel “something weird” in his back, which also affected his tee shot that led to the unplayable lie.
“It stiffened up on 17 and 18,” Gress said. “It was pretty hard to finish.”
But finish he did, as he and brother Colton placed third and fourth, respectively. Prior to the 16th, he was matching Dever shot for shot with a consistent driver that gave him chances to hit greens.
He admitted the sweltering heat — heat indexes were in the upper 90s on Saturday and Sunday — was a factor, particularly on Sunday.
“Especially toward the end,” Gress said. “That didn’t help either after I hit that bad shot. I think it tripped my back up more. I’m not sure, but that definitely didn’t help. But everyone has to play in it. You’ve just got to tough it out the best you can.”
It was another step in their quest to make a run at the Muskingum Valley League title this season as they will finally field a full team with Colton now in high school to join Gavin and district qualifier Caleb Kline.
Ultimately, they hope to chase down a state title.
“We should be able to make it to state, I think,” Gress said.
Best of the rest
Colton Gress finished at 216 after a 75, while Heath grad and Muskingum freshman David Link checked in at 218 after a 75 to finish out the top five overall.
Muskingum product Cameron Henry shot 76 and placed sixth (221), John Glenn grad Collin Linnabary posted 78 and was seventh (222), West M grad and Maryville (Tennessee) player Jack Porter eighth (72, 225), Philo’s Jay Smith ninth (82, 225), Fort Frye grad Channing Courson 10th (78, 227) and John Glenn grad C.J. Dolan 10th (78, 227).
sblackbu@gannett.com; X: @SamBlackburnTR
Read the full article here
