Luke VanDeventer
Luke VanDeventer goes into each of his golf tournaments thinking he has a chance to win, so playing the Men’s City Tournament on his home Greenbelt Golf Course is no exception.
VanDeventer fired a 2-under-par 70 on Saturday to take a one shot lead in this year’s event. The final round is on Sunday, also at Greenbelt.
“There’s that mentality — ‘Why not me?’” VanDeventer said. “I feel like every tournament I go into, I have a good chance of winning. In years’ past, I’ve put a lot of pressure on myself to play really well out here because it’s my home course. But at the end of the day, a golf course is a golf course, and you have to go out and shoot a good score. So I’ve kind of taken that pressure off of myself over the years and just go out and play.”
VanDeventer, a former Columbus North golfer who spent two years at Vincennes University and is going into his second year at Huntington University, was 2-under through 11 holes Saturday, but then bogeyed Nos. 13 an4 14 to slip back to even par. He bounced back with birdies on Nos. 16 and 18.
“Overall, I’m never going to be mad about shooting under par, but I know I did leave a lot of shots out there today,” VanDeventer said. “I kind of struggled with putting early and kind of grinded back. I hung in there, grinded it out. It put me in contention for tomorrow.”
VanDeventer doesn’t have much margin for error. Maverick Jones and Andrew McComb are one shot back at 1-under 71, and VanDeventer’s older brother Paul is at even-par 72.
McComb, a northeast Indiana native, has worked at Greenbelt in the past and now is the supply distribution lead for Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. He shot 35 the first time around Greenbelt’s 9-hole loop and 36 from a different set of tees the second time around.
“It was about what I expected,” McComb said. “I would have liked to have shot a little bit better, but 71, I’ll take anything under par. You’ll take what the course gives you sometimes.”
Paul VanDeventer will join them in the final pairing at 9:30 a.m. He is a native of Celina, Ohio, where he and Luke’s father, Keith, was a head golf professional before taking the head pro job at Greenbelt about a decade ago. Paul played at Wright State and now lives in Centerville, Ohio, but makes the drive to Columbus some weekends to play in the men’s league at Greenbelt.
Brady Schneider, who will be a senior at North, is in fifth place at 73. Ross Pushor and Danny Holcomb are tied for sixth at 75. Rounding out the championship flight will be Jeremy Pushor, Nate VanDeventer and Mason Reeves, all of which shot 78.
“There’s still a lot of golf left, and there’s still a lot of good players in the field,” Luke VanDeventer said.
Steve Lewis
Meanwhile, Steve Lewis is looking to defend his senior division title after opening with a 70 on Saturday.
“I’m happy with it,” Lewis said. “I shanked two balls on 9 and 18. I could have made a few more putts, but it’s fine.”
Jim Wright is second among seniors after a 72. Larry Pushor (77) and Charlie Miller (79) will join them in the final seniors pairing at 7:50 a.m.
Men’s city golf first-round scores
Luke VanDeventer;70
Maverick Jones;71
Andrew McComb;71
Paul VanDeventer;72
Brady Schneider;73
Ross Pushor;75
Danny Holcomb;75
Jeremy Pushor;78
Nate VanDeventer;78
Mason Reeves;78
Andy Rutan;79
Mike Enneking;80
BJ Arbuckle;81
Carter Battin;81
Price Allman;82
Carter Greene;82
Brad Luedeke;82
Walker Thomas;83
Jamall Starks;83
Luke Rice;85
Tyler Dillingham;86
Ryder Allman;88
Matt White;89
Jason Rice;89
Bryan Fuel;91
James Lane;91
Luke Enneking;94
Matthew Hager;95
Jon Reeves;99
Senior Division
Steve Lewis;70
Jim Wright;72
Larry Pushor;77
Charlie Miller;79
Jim Smith;82
John Smith;83
Ron Dinn;85
Bob Pearson;85
John West;85
Steve Chinn;87
Jerry Moore;87
Kelly Daugherty;93
Jerry Duncan;104
