Lehman Catholic senior Eliza Westerheide poses for a photo at hole No. 4 on Friday at Cherokee Hills Golf Club in Bellefontaine after hitting a hole-in-one during a Three Rivers Conference match. Westerheide, who is a multiple-year tennis player for the Cavaliers, started playing golf in June.
Courtesy photo
Isabel Flores played with Lehman Catholic’s boys golf team the first three years of her career and had been trying to start a girls team.
One of her first thoughts for the team was close friend and fellow senior Eliza Westerheide, who also plays for Lehman’s girls tennis team.
Westerheide was one of a few girls Flores successfully convinced to join a team. It took a short time for Westerheide to do something on the course many golfers haven’t: a hole-in-one.
Westerheide hit a hole-in-one on the par-three No. 4 hole at Cherokee Hills Golf Club during a Three Rivers Conference match against Riverside on Friday. She used a five hybrid on the hole, which was about 115 yards.
Westerheide had no prior golf experience before joining the team in June. She practiced at Shelby Oaks Golf Club throughout the summer with Lehman coach Dave King to prepare; Friday was the squad’s third match of the season.
She said she’s heard from many golfers who are jealous she aced a hole in a matter of months after picking up the sport. Among them is her father Jay, who has been playing for decades.
“I shot the ball, it was really straight. But then when it landed on the green, there was a slight hill, so I didn’t see where my ball went,” Westerheide said. “… We walked up to the green, and we were looking for it, and we couldn’t find it.
“And then one of the other girls went and looked in the hole, and there it was. My other friend was like, ‘You got a hole-in-one?’ I was like, ‘Oh my gosh!’”
King, who lone hole-in-one in his life of playing the sport came in 2008, said he’s never heard of someone getting a hole-in-one so fast.
“I have a lot of friends that played golf for years, and close friends, and they’ve just never had one,” King said. “And that’s what I’ve seen a lot of her comments that a lot of people, ‘Man, I’ve been waiting 30 years, and you get yours in third match of the season, first year.’”
King said it’s further added some excitement to the team. He said everyone is playing well, especially considering most are new to the sport. He said all are showing improvement.
“It’s just that we improve each match we play, that’s what the concern is,” King said.
King said Cherokee Hills is having a plaque made for Westerheide, and he said Riverside’s golfers were enthusiastic about the hole-in-one on Friday.
Westerheide’s father and mother Anne drove to Cherokee Hills after getting the news to see the hole and join in the celebration.
Westerheide said she’s having fun and is enjoying the sport. She said she’s been busy managing both tennis and golf, but said it’s been a rewarding experience.
She said she’s had fun playing alongside Flores.
“The reason I’m on the team was for her, because I wanted her to have numbers and so she could get playing time, but now I’ve kind of enjoyed it and want to take it more seriously,” Westerheide said. “… I wish I would have done this earlier.”
Reach Sidney Daily News editor Bryant Billing at 937-538-4822, or follow @BryantBillingSDN on Facebook or @TopBillingSport on X (Twitter).
