Cincinnati's Greatest
Tony Blom - A Cincinnati Golf Legend
In discussions of the great golfers in Cincinnati, one name invariably comes up again and again: Tony Blom. A standout amateur golfer for most of his life, Tony is also the holder of one of the most unique records in all of American golf.
In discussions of the great golfers in Cincinnati, one name invariably comes up again and again: Tony Blom. A standout amateur golfer for most of his life, Tony is also the holder of one of the most unique records in all of American golf.
Tony took up golf as a youngster, and won the Ohio High School championship while a student at Roger Bacon. He was the only winner from the Cincinnati region until 1990. After school he joined the service, and then came back to Cincinnati to eventually join Maketewah.
During the 1950s and 1960s Tony racked up a series of amateur tournament victories and achievements. He won the Men’s Met three times, in 1958, 1961 and 1962, and would eventually be runner up twelve times, and won the Senior Met 3 times. Tony won the Ohio State Amateur Championship twice. He also won the Tri-State Amateur four different times with four different partners. He qualified for the U.S. Amateur nine times, but “the best I ever did was win three matches,” he said.
Tony qualified locally for the U.S. Open three times, and made it to within one shot of being an alternate at the sectional qualifier. He also played twice at the PGA tour event at Firestone Country Club in Akron, and made the cut both times. “I was fortunate to play a lot of national and international tournaments,” Tony said about his tournament record. He’s also played with many of the era’s great golfers, including Jack Nicklaus a number of times, Hale Irwin, Arnold Palmer and Sam Snead.
But the achievement that has made Tony’s name a true legend in Cincinnati golf did not take place over a few hours or days at a local or national tournament. It was at his home club, Maketewah, and took almost a quarter of a century.
“One day they asked me how many eagles I had out here,” Tony said. “It turns out, after adding everything up, the only eagle I didn’t have was on the sixth hole.” Tony would make that eagle in 1981, to complete what is currently considered the lowest “ringer” score in the nation: thirty-five. From 1958, when he joined the club, to 1981, Tony amassed seventeen eagles at Maketewah, and one double eagle. Maketewah Director of Golf, Don Gleason, has done his best to verify Tony’s score, and, as far as they know, it’s the lowest in the country. “There have been some thirty-sixes, but I got them beat by one,” Tony said.