Ohio's Golf Magazine June 2009 : Page 7

Camp Wins Ohio Senior Open (continued) from 1976-1978, both had chances to win on the first two playoff holes. Spittle left a birdie putt on the lip on the opening playoff hole, the par-5 17th, and Camp lipped out a birdie putt on the par-4 18th. The duo returned to No. 17 for the third playoff hole and Camp knocked his second shot on the green with a 4-iron. After Spittle chipped up and missed a birdie putt, Camp made a two-putt birdie for the win. Camp said the key to the tournament was his finish on the first day. He was 3-over par with two holes to play and birdied the last two holes. The two birdies allowed him to stay within five strokes of the leader and gave him a later tee time on day two, which allowed him to miss playing in the rain showers that challenged the earlier groups. “That was the turning point,” Camp said. “As it turned out, the rain stopped right when I teed off. Shooting 71 and staying within one of the leader and only having one guy more than three strokes ahead of me was very important.” The victory was Camp’s first at the Ohio Senior Open in two attempts. He won the Ohio Open in 1985 and 1993 and has previously captured the assistants’ championship, section cham- pionship and match play championship, the top events that are hosted annually by the Northern Ohio PGA section. “It is nice to have won all the majors, so to speak,” said Camp, director of golf at Club Walden in Aurora. “It was also nice to go out and play a good round of golf and know you can still do that. You never know when it is not going to happen anymore.” Spittle has played sporadically in Ohio the last “I don’t think either one of us when we left Ohio State 30 years ago really knew what the future would hold,” Spittle said. “So here we are in a tournament playing with one of our teammates and that is pretty cool. It really didn’t matter who won or who lost.” couple of years because of his touring schedule and was happy to catch up with Camp and other old friends. “I don’t think either one of us when we left Ohio State 30 years ago really knew what the future would hold,” Spittle said. “So here we are in a tournament playing with one of our teammates and that is pretty cool. It really didn’t matter who won or who lost.” “The best thing about it was that it was such a good field,” Camp said about his victory. “(Tom) Herzan and Trivisonno and Spittle have been playing senior tour stops. A lot of guys have been doing nothing but playing golf, so that was rewarding to play well against a field like that when you are not playing all that much.” OG Longtime Northern Ohio PGA Official Nageotte Dies by Eric Poklar A shadow was cast over the Ohio Senior Open with the death of longtime Northern Ohio PGA member Joe Nageotte. The 85- year-old Nageotte, who was known as the “Rules Guru” for his knowledge of USGA and PGA rules, suffered a heart attack at Firestone Country Club on May 12, the evening before the opening round of the Senior Open. He passed away two days later at the Akron General Medical Center. Nageotte, of Huron, was a 55-year member of the Northern Ohio PGA section and served as its tournament director from 1988-2005 and rules director since 1988. He coordinated and conducted We could always call him and ask him any question. He would make time for you no matter what he was doing. the first advanced rules workshops conducted by the PGA and USGA and continued to organize rules workshops for both organizations into his 80s. Dominic Antenucci, executive director of the Northern Ohio PGA, met Nageotte when Antenucci joined the section as an apprentice in 1973. “Joe was a golf professional, but he always had an affinity for the rules,” Antenucci told Ohio’s Golf. “We could always call him and ask him any question. He would make time for you no matter what he was doing. When you would ask Joe a question about the rules, you knew he knew the answer and he knew he knew the answer, but he would never give you a condescending answer or talk down to you. He always tried to educate you and was always very friendly.” Nageotte served in the Army in World War II. He was a club pro at Plum Brook Country Club from 1958-1983 and was inducted into the Northern Ohio PGA Hall of Fame in 1997. He is survived by seven children, nine grandchildren and his wife of 50 years. “In his later years he started doing crossword puzzles and worked on them so rapidly you would think he wrote them,” Antenucci said. “He kept his mind sharp and was quick witted. We are going to miss him as a person and as a rules official.” Memorial contributions may be made to the Joe Nageotte Scholarship Fund, c/o Eric Muehlhauser, 165 E. Washington Row, Sandusky, Ohio 44870, or to St. Peter Catholic School, Huron, Ohio. OG WWW.OHIOSGOLF.COM • JUNE 2009 7

Longtime Northern Ohio PGA Official Nageotte Dies

Eric Poklar

A shadow was cast over the Ohio Senior Open with the death of longtime Northern Ohio PGA member Joe Nageotte. The 85- year-old Nageotte, who was known as the “Rules Guru” for his knowledge of USGA and PGA rules, suffered a heart attack at Firestone Country Club on May 12, the evening before the opening round of the Senior Open. He passed away two days later at the Akron General Medical Center. Nageotte, of Huron, was a 55-year member of the Northern Ohio PGA section and served as its tournament director from 1988-2005 and rules director since 1988. He coordinated and conducted the first advanced rules workshops conducted by the PGA and USGA and continued to organize rules workshops for both organizations into his 80s. Dominic Antenucci, executive director of the Northern Ohio PGA, met Nageotte when Antenucci joined the section as an apprentice in 1973. “Joe was a golf professional, but he always had an affinity for the rules,” Antenucci told Ohio’s Golf. “We could always call him and ask him any question. He would make time for you no matter what he was doing. When you would ask Joe a question about the rules, you knew he knew the answer and he knew he knew the answer, but he would never give you a condescending answer or talk down to you. He always tried to educate you and was always very friendly.” Nageotte served in the Army in World War II. He was a club pro at Plum Brook Country Club from 1958-1983 and was inducted into the Northern Ohio PGA Hall of Fame in 1997. He is survived by seven children, nine grandchildren and his wife of 50 years. “In his later years he started doing crossword puzzles and worked on them so rapidly you would think he wrote them,” Antenucci said. “He kept his mind sharp and was quick witted. We are going to miss him as a person and as a rules official.” Memorial contributions may be made to the Joe Nageotte Scholarship Fund, c/o Eric Muehlhauser, 165 E. Washington Row, Sandusky, Ohio 44870, or to St. Peter Catholic School, Huron, Ohio.

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