One of the highlights of the Ohio Valley golfing calendar is slated to tee off Friday morning at Belmont Hills Country Club.

The 17th annual Niekro Scramble will take to the Par 72 layout west of St. Clairsville with a record 38 teams competing. The event is slated to begin with a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m.

The proceeds of the event are once again slated to benefit the Bridgeport Education Assistance Foundation.

According to tournament director Gordie Longshaw, MLB Hall of Famer Phil Niekro, the man for whom the tournament is named, is expected to be in attendance this year. He missed the 2014 event because he was watching his grandson play in a baseball tournament at Myrtle Beach.

Along with Niekro, Longshaw indicated that former Pittsburgh Pirate and MLB Hall of Famer Bill Mazeroski, who played his prep baseball at Warren Consolidated, will be on hand. Also expected to attend is former Pittsburgh Pirate Elroy Face.

All players will receive lunch and dinner at the event.

JUNIOR GOLF

The First National Bank Junior Tour played at Willandale Golf Course in Sugarcreek last Thursday. Union Local’s Jarrett Causby was the highest area finisher in the 16-18 year old division. He posted an 82.

Bridgeport’s Matt Herink finished with an 88, while Buckeye Trail’s Will Davis posted a 92. Bridgeport’s Kevin Herink and Martins Ferry’s Luke Krol finished with rounds of 96 in the 13-15 year old division. Union Local’s Josh Britton also took part in that division.

River’s Mikayla Newman finished seventh in the 16-18 female division, while Buckeye Trail’s Kylie Smith was seventh in the 13-15 year old division.

WHEELING PARK GOLF CLUB

The Patty Hoffman Scotch and Scramble were held last week with the duo of Art Lightner and Roger Kupfer prevailing with a 58.

Finishing second was Jim Ennis and Bob Green with a 64. Jerry Daugherty and Nick Klamut were third with a 64. Orie Robinson and David Coram finished fourth with a 65, while Dick Moore and Dave Stauver rounded out the top five with a 69.

In the handicap scoring division, Bruno DeCrease and John Wakim prevailed with a round of 54. They were four strokes better than Mike Crow and Bruce Beck. Bob Geyer and Jerry Yuhase finished third with a 59.

Rounding out the top five were Joe Kosar and Steve Domyan with 60 and Josh Foose and Mike DeSantis also posted a 60.

ACE

BULZIE BONOMO recorded a hole-in-one on the 92-yard fifth hole at Oglebay Park’s Crispin Course last Tuesday. He used an 8-iron for his shot, which was witnessed by Chas Watson, Jim Rice and Robbie Evans.

BELMONT HILLS JUNIOR

The annual junior tournament will be held on Monday, July 27 at Belmont Hills Country Club. The event will feature divisions for boys and girls, including ages 17-18, 15-16 and 13-14 for boys; 16-18 and 13-15 for girls. The event will begin at 10 a.m. with a shotgun start.

The top three finishers in each age group, for boys and girls, will receive an award. The entry fee is $30 with checks being made payable to Barnesville Golf Parents. Lunch will be provided for all tournament contestants and available for purchase for all spectators. Carts will be available for spectators, but they must remain on the cart path.The deadline to enter is Monday, July 14. For more information, please contact Nick Bauman at 740-827-2794.

UPCOMING SCRAMBLES

— A golf scramble In Memory of Mario Veneri is being sponsored by the Powhatan American Legion Ladies Auxiliary Youth Fund. This is the second one, the first was in memory of Marvin Brown. The date is July 25 with shotgun start at 9 a.m., at Horseshoe Bend golf course in Armstrong Mills.The entry fee is $200 per team, which includes cart, food, and refreshments. Team are encouraged to pre-register to ensure team entry. Cash prizes for the top three teams will be warded. Door prizes and raffles and other events will be held. For more information contact Pat Binni at 740 795-5944 or Dian Baker at 740 795-5396.

— The Bellaire Touchdown Club will be sponsoring its ninth annual golf outing on Saturday, June 27 at Fairway River Links. The entry fee is $60 per person or $240.00 per team of four. The cost includes cart, lunch and beverages during the scramble and a dinner afterwards. Entries forms are available at Gulla’s Lunch, Fairway River Links, Frizzi’s Market or at the Am. Legion. For more information, please call Norm at 699-0313, Jay at 359-7037 or Bob at 676-5490.

— The Tom Donahue Memorial Classic Golf Scramble will be held on Saturday, July 11 at Horseshoe Bend Golf Course in Armstrong Mills. The entry fee is $50 per player or $200 per team and that must be paid by July 4. The fee includes golf, cart, food, refreshments, prizes and door prizes. The event will be a four-person, best-ball event. There will be an optional skins game for $5. Registration is from 8-9 a.m. and the event will begin at 9. There is a limit of 72 golfers. For more information, please contact Bill Wilson (740-391-9841), Harold “Buzz” Donahue (740-676-4110) or Dick Johnson (740-359-2301).