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Alec Tahy turned the northwest Ohio town of Findlay upside down this week.

The 13-year-old from Oakwood was the youngest player in the 102-year history of the Ohio Amateur Golf Championship and also the youngest to complete all four rounds, making two cuts and finishing 41st in a field of 144 at Findlay Country Club.

He also became "a little celebrity up there," his mom, Sally, reported Friday, July 18, when the family returned home from the competition.

It's not every day a kid from out of town gets his picture splashed across the front page of the Findlay Courier.

"That was really cool," Alec said. "Later, some guy I didn't know, one of the waiters at this restaurant, recognized me and asked me to sign two autographs!"

Once the stomping ground of Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer, the Ohio Am is no small affair. Until Friday, a 14-year-old Nicklaus had been the youngest to complete the tournament.

"I felt lucky to play against some of the people I may see on TV someday," said Alec. "And to beat Jack Nicklaus' record is really amazing. Tiger's great, but Jack was the best golfer ever, I think."

A highlight of Friday's final round came on No. 16 when Alec blasted out of a bunker and watched the ball trickle into the hole. This after a triple bogey on that hole Thursday.

A St. Albert the Great student who plans to attend Alter High School, Alec shot 75-73-75-81—304 on a course with a five-inch rough and rock-hard greens. He credited his coach, Waynesville-based teaching pro Kevin Jones, who caddied and "helped me out with everything — where to aim, what clubs to hit, how to read the putts."