CINCY/COL COUNTRY CLUB OF THE NORTH

The Cincinnati/Dayton Amateur Players Tour returned to Country Club of the North on Saturday, November 7, 2026 in Xenia, Ohio, for one of the fall’s premier Cincinnati amateur golf tournaments. A field of 57 players competed across five divisions, with the Mid-Am Net and Senior Net games running alongside them. Players are flighted into divisions based on their APT Tournament Index.

Country Club of the North played to a par of 72, and the closing stretch did most of the defending. The par-4 16th was the hardest hole on the property, giving up no birdies at all across 56 rounds and playing nearly a shot and a half over par. The par-5 15th was the most generous, surrendering eight birdies.

Division 1 belonged to Andrew Buse. The Louisville, Kentucky player, competing out of the Kentucky chapter, went out in 3-under 33 and came home in even-par 36 for a 3-under 69 — the low round of the day and a bogey-free card. Buse made five birdies in all, at the par-3 2nd, the par-5 3rd, the par-3 7th, the par-3 13th and the par-5 15th, and he never gave the division a sniff: three clear after six holes, four clear at the turn into the inward half, and five or more clear through 15. Joshua Corbin of Lancaster, Ohio took runner-up honors at 2-over 74, turning in even-par 36 with birdies at the 1st and the par-5 8th. Doug Fenter of Troy, Ohio and Dustin Fields of Xenia, Ohio shared third at 3-over 75. Fenter’s round included the eagle of the day at the par-5 11th, where Fields answered with a birdie of his own.

Division 2 needed more than 18 holes to decide a champion. Merlin Yoder of Dalton, Ohio and Chris Ice of Barnesville, Ohio both signed for 5-over 77 and went to a playoff, where Yoder claimed the title. The two traded the advantage all afternoon: Yoder was two clear of Ice through six holes, then trailed by two at both the 12- and 15-hole checkpoints before playing the last three in even par to force the tie. Ice’s round was built around an eagle at the par-5 8th, one of just two eagles recorded all day. Jeremy Roush of Coolville, Ohio finished third at 7-over 79 with 12 pars on his card, and five players finished within seven shots of the number.

Brandon Kristy of Reynoldsburg, Ohio controlled Division 3 from the front. Kristy turned in even-par 36 with birdies at the 1st and 5th, added a third at the par-5 11th and signed for 4-over 76, a two-shot win. Chris Louth was four back after six and after 12, trimmed it to three with three to play and took second at 6-over 78, his lone birdie coming at the par-5 8th. Bradley Secrest of Fairborn, Ohio ground out 11 pars without a birdie, going out in 4-over 40 and home in 3-over 39 for a 7-over 79 and third place, which rounded out the money positions.

Division 4 came down to a single stroke. Aaron Holman of Nerk, Ohio posted 12-over 84, going out in 5-over 41 with a birdie at the par-5 3rd and returning in 7-over 43. John Sherman of Ashville, Ohio pulled level with Holman at the 12-hole mark and was still level with three to play, but closed in 3-over for 13-over 85 and second. Bray Shamblin of Gallipolis, Ohio was two clear of the field after 15 holes before the closing stretch turned, and he took third at 14-over 86. Three players finished within two of the lead.

Ian Lilburn of Columbus, Ohio won Division 5 by six. Lilburn trailed Lisa Moore by two after six holes and by one after 12, then flipped the switch on the way in, playing the back nine in 5-over 41 after a 12-over 48 start to post 17-over 89. Moore, of Huntington, West Virginia, earned runner-up honors, and Marshall Kiser of St. Albans, West Virginia finished third.

Louth made the trip pay twice. After his runner-up finish in Division 3, he ran away with the Mid-Am Net at net 7-under 65, winning by three. Lilburn completed a double-dip of his own, adding second in the Mid-Am at net 4-under 68, with Kevin Filby of Lewis Center, Ohio third at net 2-under 70.

Holman went one better, backing up his Division 4 title with the Senior Net at net 4-under 68 for a three-shot win and a clean sweep of his day. Tom McNerlin of Oak Hill, Ohio was second at net 1-under 71, and Fenter took third at net even-par 72 to round out the money positions.

The chapter’s 2027 season rolls on, with visitors from the Columbus and Kentucky chapters again making the trip and leaving with a healthy share of the trophies. Keep an eye on the schedule for the next stop on the Cincinnati/Dayton calendar.