DUBLIN, Ohio, April 7, 2026 - The Ohio Golf Association has announced the 2026 Ohio Golf Hall of Fame inductees. The
Ohio Golf Hall of Fame strives to recognize outstanding achievements of Ohioans who play or support the game of golf. The Hall of Fame was founded in 1992 and features members such as Jack Nicklaus, Bob Hope, Arnold Palmer, Tammie Green, John Cook, and Ben Curtis, among others.
The 2026 induction ceremony will be held at Scioto Country Club in Columbus, Ohio, on Wednesday, Sept. 10. Ticket information and other ceremony details will be posted on ohiogolf.org at a future date.
ALISON REIFERS CRESS was born in Ashland, Ohio and grew up playing the Country Club of Ashland.
As an amateur golfer, Alison’s career is highlighted by her win at the Women’s Ohio State Golf Association Amateur Championship in 1991.
She won the Franklin County Women’s Amateur Championship nine times from 1981 to 2004. She is also a five-time winner of the OWGA Stroke Play Championship. In 2019, she won the Women’s Akron District Golf Association Championship.
Overall, she qualified for 10 USGA Championships and made match play in six of them.
As a senior amateur, she qualified for the U.S. Women’s Senior Amateur and won back-to-back WOSGA state senior titles in 2006 and 2007. Alison also added the WOSGA State Super Senior Championship title to her list of accomplishments in 2025 at Lancaster Country Club. In 2012, Alison tied for 8th and was low-American in the Irish Senior Women’s Open at Royal Belfast.
A number of Alison’s accomplishments in the game of golf have come without a club in her hand. Alison co-founded and coached the inaugural Girls Golf team at Dublin Coffman High School, taking them to the State Championship by year two.
Alison was instrumental in the founding and running of the Babe Zaharias Classic for over 20 years. The event was the largest fundraiser of its kind in the nation for the American Cancer Society during her involvement.
She has also been a member of the Golfweek Magazine Course Rating panel since 2007 and has served on many boards, including the Nike Golf Player Board and the Travel and Leisure Golf Magazine Board.
Locally, she worked for 25+ years in the Media Press Room for the Memorial Tournament. In 1999 and 2000, she worked for Executive Sports International selling sponsorships for the 2000 LPGA Wendy’s Championship for Children.
Alison has also worked as VP of Strategic Planning for Pro Golf Car and at the Greenbrier Resort as Director of Special Events.
Alison’s son, Kyle, is a former PGA TOUR player and the winner of the 2004 Ohio Amateur Championship.
RALPH GUARASCI began his tremendous golf career as a member of the Columbus Bishop Watterson High School golf team, where he won both the state and individual championships three times in a row from 1972-1974.
To this day, Guarasci is the only golfer in Ohio High School Athletic Association history to win three individual titles and three team championships.
Guarasci also won a pair of Ohio Golf Association Junior Championship titles in 1972 and 1974. He is one of just four players to win the Junior Championship multiple times.
After his success at the junior and high school level, Guarasci continued on as a member of the Ohio State University golf team.
As a Buckeye, Guarasci was a four-year letterwinner and two-time captain during Ohio State’s four consecutive Big Ten championships from 1975-1978. The Buckeyes won 35 team titles during his tenure.
In 1976, Guarasci was named a First-Team All-American. Other collegiate golfers to receive that honor in 1976 included major winners and future PGA TOUR stalwarts, such as Curtis Strange, Jay Haas, Mark O’Meara, Scott Simpson, and Peter Jacobsen.
From 1975-1978, Guarasci racked up four individual tournament medalist performances and over a dozen top-10 finishes.
In 2014, Guarasci was inducted into the Ohio State University Athletics Hall of Fame.
Ralph joined Insurance Agency of Ohio in 1984, where he now serves as President. The insurance industry veteran of over 40 years holds the Certified Insurance Counselor designation and taught for the Ohio Insurance Agents Association for 15 years.
He lives in Powell with his wife Lynn. They have three children -- Kelly, Katie, and Dan. Ralph is a member at Kinsale Golf & Fitness Club and continues to compete in local events.
BARB MUCHA was born in Parma Heights, Ohio in 1961.
During her career at Michigan State University, she won two individual titles, including the Ohio State Invitational. In 1984, Mucha received All-American honors.
She turned professional in 1985 and quickly found success on the LPGA Futures Tour, where she posted six victories.
In 1987, she qualified for the LPGA Tour, where she’d go on to win five times and earn over $2.4 million.
Her first LPGA Tour victory came at the 1990 Boston Five Classic, in a playoff. She also was victorious at the 1992 Oldsmobile Classic, the 1994 State Farm Rail Classic, the 1996 Chick-Fil-A Charity Championship, and the 1998 Sara Lee Classic. The latter of which came in a four-way playoff, one that included Nancy Lopez.
Of the 321 LPGA-sanctioned events in which she competed in, Barb posted 115 top-10 finishes.
After her playing career, she began teaching at Grand Cypress Resort in Orlando, Florida. She also has served as a spokesperson with the Ohio Girls Golf Foundation.
