Scohy "Keeping Up with the Youngsters"

           
With all of the college kids in the Miami Valley Metropolitan Golf Championship sporting golf bags bearing the colors of the schools they attend, Jeffrey Scohy must have thought it was time to display his loyalty during the final round.

Scohy brought out a new ball cap bearing the letters AF as he won his first Metro crown. The letters stand for his alma mater, the Air Force Academy.

“I went out to Colorado a couple of weeks ago,” Scohy said. “The golf coach gave me this. It’s the first time I’ve worn it.”

A native of Mount Gilead, Ohio, the 32-year-old Scohy played on the Air Force Academy golf team while attending the Colorado Springs school. After accepting his commission to the Air Force, he won both the Air Force and Armed Services golf championships in 2001.

That’s about the time he was assigned to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and began playing in Dayton area tournaments. Few in Dayton paid much attention when Scohy qualified for the 2002 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship because nobody knew him.

Local golf followers began to take notice in 2003 when he reached the semi-finals of the Miami Valley Metropolitan Match Play Championship and was one of two local qualifiers for the U.S. Public Links Championship.

In 2004 Scohy won the Metro Match Play at Windy Knoll Golf Club and was runner-up in the Ohio Amateur at Columbus Country Club.

He was transferred and was away for awhile before leaving the Air Force and taking a job as a civilian employee at Wright-Patterson. He and his wife Chris, whom he met at the Academy, settled in Bellbrook and have two children. Chris is from Indianapolis.

Jeff finished third in the 2007 Metro and was runner-up in 2008 and 2009 before finally breaking through to win the 2010 event at Windy Knoll.

“I’m relieved to finally get a win in one of these things,” he said. “I’ve got a lot of seconds.” He mentioned the Ohio Am and a pair of seconds in the Ohio Mid-Am.

It was the climax of a great week for Scohy, who was one of three qualifiers Monday at Moraine Country Club for the U.S. Amateur Championship at Chambers Bay in Washington Aug. 23-29. “I’ve never been to the state of Washington,” he noted.

Scohy has been many other places. He’s been to Iraq three times in the last 18 months in his role as a logistics management specialist at Wright-Patterson. His title is Iraq Command Country Manager.

“I’m the go-between between their government and ours,” he explained, adding that he oversees the sale of aircraft like Cessnas, C-130s and T6 training aircraft to Iraq.

“Basically, we’re building up their air force so our guys can get out of there,” he said.

Faced with a 3:10 p.m. tee time for the final round of the Metro, Scohy prepared by playing 18 holes with friends at NCR Country Club in the morning.

“There was no way I would sit at home all day,” said Scohy, whose wife was attending a class reunion in Indianapolis.

After three subpar rounds, he was unable to play the last 18 holes under par, but his 2-over-par 73 was good enough to hold off runner-up Michael Bernard by two strokes.

No site has been announced for the 2011 Metro, but Scohy wouldn’t mind if it was right back in Springfield at Windy Knoll.

“Obviously, I like this place,” he said after receiving the trophy. “I’d like to have it here every year.”