Three seniors have impacted the future of Ohio golf on and off the course.
Ohio’s trio of seniors may not have much in common, but the one thing they do has been instrumental in the development of younger players over the years.
Andrew Mlynarski, Thomas Leech and Will Stines differ when it comes to production on the course, but their ability to mentor young players has remained constant.
“It’s cool having a group of seniors that are not only helpful in golf, but they’re a lot of fun,” sophomore Peyton White said. “They have an apartment that we can all go over to and there’s an open door so you know that you can talk to them about anything, and they’ve been a huge impact on all of our lives.”
Mlynarski and Leech will depart Athens after graduation in May, while Stines will remain on the team for his fifth year.
Mlynarski, from St. Michaels, Maryland, has had the most notable career of the three on the course, which includes 19 consecutive tournament appearances for the Bobcats to date. He was also named to the Academic All-Mid-American Conference honorable mention the past two years and will pair that with his degree in sport management in hopes of going into tournament operations with the United States Golf Association.
Leech, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has notched five career tournament appearances for the Bobcats and maintained a job throughout his senior year while balancing life as a student-athlete majoring in finance. He accepted a job working for Cardinal Health as a financial analyst and will start working in June.
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Stines, from Upper Arlington — a Columbus suburb — has remained eager for his opportunity to represent Ohio and showcase his skills in the coming year.
“I’m actually really surprised that I’m even playing college golf,” Stines said. “If you would have told me that my senior year of high school, I would have been like, ‘You’re crazy,’ but I’m very fortunate to have the opportunity to play here.”
The seniors have not only led by example on the course but also with words of wisdom off the course about academics.
“I know Tommy is in my major, so he’s tutored me when I need it,” White said. “He’s told me what kind of classes are easier or what professors are good, so he’s guided me through that process and that’s been huge.”
Freshman Grant Engel, who will be called upon to lead the team next year alongside White, shared that sometimes the life advice off the course can be just as important as golf.
“I got a fantastic spiel on how life is gonna happen real quickly,” Engel said. “You gotta lay out the roadblocks, see what you can do to get past them and set your goals to reach by the time you graduate and leave a legacy. (Mlynarski) told me that I needed to leave a legacy and be the reason that someone wants to come to Ohio University.”
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While the void the seniors will leave may prove hard to fill, Engel and White have been prepared to step up into a leadership role for the team by the senior trio’s mentoring over their time in Athens.
“Peyton is a fantastic player, one of the best in the MAC and Grant is really close behind him,” Leech said. “I think him and Peyton will be really dueling it out for a couple of the best players in the MAC.”
The future of the program appears to be in good hands thanks to the seniors as they have made their impact in ways that will be felt by players even after they’re gone.
“I think (the future of the program) is very, very bright,” Mlynarski said. “I feel like we’ve helped the young guys develop so the freshmen don’t feel like freshmen anymore. They feel like they’re veterans on the team, so I think that would be our legacy if I could think of one for the three of us.”
@Matt_Fout
mf056713@ohio.edu
