John Spotts Captures 1963 PPA National Putting Championship (5-7 July 1963

John Spotts New PPA National Champion

Cleveland, OH - 5-7 July 1963 - Twenty-year old John Spotts of Indianapolis, Indiana, outlasted a strong field of eager putting pros to cop first place money of $10,000 to become PPA's 1963 National Champion. The "sure-putting" Spotts shot a sizzling 346 - 86-under par in getting the job done. Young Spotts, a new face on the PPA tour, entered the final day's competition six strokes off the pace. He wasted no time in getting down to business as he fired a 28-28-29-25 to squeeze out his victory. Staying right on his heels all the way, making a strong bid for the lead, was Ralph Sapp of August, GA. Ralph finished one stroke off the pace with an 85-under par, 347, good for second place and $5,000. Third and fourth places proved to be an exciting battle as Tracy Moore of Augusta, GA, and Charles Gatewood of Mississippi City, MS, battled all the way down to the wire, tying with a 349.

Tracy Moore, a constant face on the PPA tour since its infancy, played his final round under heavy pressure. First and 2nd place winners, Spotts and Sapp, entered the final round 75 under par. Tracy Moore entered his final round 79 under par. With the leading score (86 under) already in, Moore had to fire a 29 to tie or 28 to win. The putts just wouldn't fall, and a disappointed Moore had to settle for a third place tie. The entire field for the pro division consisted of 231 pros, the largest ever gathered for a PPA event.

Young Joe Gehling of Cincinnati, Ohio came to Cleveland with a hot putter and put it to work in the amateur division by firing a 358, 74-under par, to claim the first place trophy. In second place, 9 strokes off the pace, was Jerry Pruitt of Atlanta, GA. Pruitt fired a 367, 65-under par. Shooting scores in the 20's was not confined to the pro division. In taking first place in the amateur division, Gehling fired 3 rounds of 29, one of 28, and a sizzling 25. A field of 67 amateurs started the first day's competition. The field was cut to the top 30 after the 2nd day's competition.

Many of the men in the putting spectacular will now move on to Indianapolis, IN; Charlotte, NC; Atlanta, GA; and Lake Charles, LA, to complete the 1963 circuit. Although the 1963 National Championship has ended, hundred upon hundreds of people who witnessed the event will remember it for a long time to come.

			First	Second	Third		Prize
	Player	City	72-Holes	72-Holes	72-Holes	Total	Money
1	John Spotts	Indianapolis, IN	125	111	110	346	$ 10,000
2	Ralph Sapp	Augusta, GA	119	118	111	347	$ 5,000
3	Charles Gatewood	Mississippi City, MS	120	112	117	349	$ 2,500
	Tracy Moore	Augusta, GA	116	115	118	349	$ 2,500
5	Vance Randall	Asheville, NC	119	115	117	351	$ 1,000
6	Pete Reed	Atlanta, GA	118	116	118	352	$ 1,000
7	Sam Schafer	Augusta, GA	123	116	114	353	$ 1,000
	Charles Hayes	Winston-Salem, NC	116	126	121	353	$ 1,000
9	Ron Slocumb	Columbus, GA	114	120	120	354	$ 1,000
	Daryl Freeman	Bristol, VA	115	120	119	354	$ 1,000
11	Ken Boy	Bristol, TN	121	110	124	355	$ 1,000
	John Connor	Greenville, SC	117	124	114	355	$ 1,000
13	Buddy Taylor	Baltimore, MD	116	122	118	356	$ 1,000
	Chuck Schafer	Long Island, NY	117	115	124	356	$ 1,000
15	Ted Brown	High Point, NC	120	120	117	357	$ 1,000
	Fred Scott	Bristol, TN	123	119	115	357	$ 1,000
	Charles McInstosh	Birmingham, AL	118	116	123	357	$ 1,000
18	Gene VonWaldner	Savannah, GA	119	123	116	358	$ 1,000
	Claude Staggs	Manassas, VA	118	122	118	358	$ 1,000
	Ken Miller	Birmingham, AL	117	113	128	358	$ 1,000
21	Bob Duncan	Lynchburg, VA	114	118	127	259	$ 1,000
22	Roy Collinsworth	Macon, GA	116	119	125	360	$ 1,000
	Ron Nixon	Columbus, GA	114	125	121	360	$ 1,000
	Jimmy Bryan	Atlanta, GA	118	121	121	360	$ 1,000
	Paul Gordon	Shreveport, LA	117	123	120	360	$ 1,000
	Harold Hardester	Orlando, FL	121	124	115	360	$ 1,000
	Glenn Garvin	Pensacola, FL	120	125	115	360	$ 1,000
28	Larry Rich	Pensacola, FL	123	125	113	361	$ 1,000
	George Salter	Savannah, GA	117	126	118	361	$ 1,000
	John Helmas	Charlotte, NC	123	117	121	361	$ 1,000
	Bob McDowell	High Point, NC	114	127	120	361	$ 1,000
	Carl Strickland	Macon, GA	116	126	119	361	$ 1,000
	Al Kalishman	Pensacola, FL	126	112	123	361	$ 1,000
	Lockland Bryant	Jacksonville, FL	123	116	122	361	$ 1,000
35	Mike Lafleur	Lake Charles, LA				362
	Earl Fritts	Savannah, GA				362
37	Tom Myers	Savannah, GA				363
	Neil Connor	Greenville, SC				363
	Gene McDonald	Savannah, GA				363
40	Joe Mazie	Cleveland, OH				364
41	Paul Garrison	Indianapolis, IN				365
	Gary Ganim	Parma, OH				365
	Warren Gray	Indianapolis, IN				365
	Dennis Strauss	Cleveland, OH				365
	Lenny Marlow	Indianapolis, IN				365
	LeRoy Cooper	East Point, GA				365
47	Clarence Kurtz	Washington, DC				366
	Frank Reid	Atlanta, GA				366
	Roy Estes	Kingsport, TN				366
	Lehman Key	Lake Charles, LA				366
	Herb Seaton	Gatlinburg, TN				366
	Melvin Sapp	Augusta, GA				366
	Eugene Hull	Indianapolis, IN				366
54	Bill Rettig	Cincinnati, OH				367
	Bud Garren	Greenville, SC				367
	John Roessner	Indianapolis, IN				367
57	Donald Elmore	Shelby, NC				368
58	Gary Puckett	Atlanta, GA				369
	Don Alexander	Mobile, AL				369
	Howard Weekly	Brookpark, OH				369
	Bill Crays	Indianapolis, IN				369
62	Bob Bower	Roanoke, VA				370
	Lee Weldy	Savannah, GA				370
64	Harley Baker	Jackson, TN				371
	Richard Benton	Miami, FL				371
	Ashley Slocumb	Columbus, GA				371
	Tom Bennett	Fayetteville, NC				371
68	Nick Long	Burlington, IA				372
	Dan Mescall	Indianapolis, IN				372
	Bob Williamson	Jacksonville, FL				372
	Wilbur Hildebrand	Greensboro, NC				372
	Bob Agee	Jacksonville, FL				372
73	Willie Edwards	Winston-Salem, NC				373
	Jim Garrison	Indianapolis, IN				373
	James Barry	St. Louis, MO				373
76	Frank Sarver	Lake Charles, LA				375
77	David Asher	St. Louis, MO				376
	Wayne Perdue	Roanoke, VA				376
	Jack Wood	Lynchburg, VA				376
	Lamar Brown	Atlanta, GA				376
	Jan Bowman	Bristol, TN				376
82	Justine Colley	Westminster, CO				377
	Don Martin	Lynchburg, VA				377
	Fred Schafer	Jacksonville, FL				377
	Eugene Wright	Holliman, TX				377
	Pat McMasters	Greenville, SC				377
	Frank Kelly	New Orleans, LA				377
	Bob Potter	Islip, NY				377
89	Pat Youmans	Savannah, GA				378
	Jerry Williams	Tuscaloosa, AL				378
	Jack Melton	Atlanta, GA				378
92	John Thomas	Memphis, TN				379
93	Jim Welker	Miami, FL				380
	Condy Roberson	Savannah, GA				380
95	Roger Holbrook	Greensboro, NC				381
	Howard Fellows	Warren, OH				381
	John Crowell	Washington, DC				381
	Leonard Peak	Atlanta, GA				381
99	Paul Harrigal	Cleveland, OH				382
	Tom Teddy	Memphis, TN				382
	Charles Connor, Sr.	Greenville, SC				382
	George Bearden	Savannah, GA				382
	Fred Garrison	Indianapolis, IN				382
104	Bob Poltis	Cleveland, OH				383
	Dean Stonier	Rantoul, IL				383
106	Bill Lewis	Charlotte, NC				384
	Bill Padgett	Charlotte, NC				384
108	Vernon Taylor	High Point, NC				385
	Tom Cummins	Louisville, KY				385
110	Howell Smith	Atlanta, GA				387
111	Cal Skidmore	Baltimore, MD				389
	Irvin Hales	Goldsboro, NC				389
113	Hank Smith	Hopeville, GA				390
	Ken Johnson	Denver, CO				390
	Don Posey	Winston-Salem, NC				390
116	Jack Hoffman	Asheville, NC				391
	Paul Conkle	Findlay, OH				391
118	Bud Ireland	Houston, TX				392
119	Ben Farrar	Houston, TX				398
120	Walt Moore	Cincinnati, OH				399

			First	Second	Third
	Player	City	72-Holes	72-Holes	72-Holes	Total
1	Joe Gehling	Cincinnati, OH	121	123	114	358
2	Jerry Pruitt	Atlanta, GA	127	123	117	367
3	Dick Florin	Akron, OH				370
4	James Fishell	Raleigh, NC				371
5	David Marsh	Atlanta, GA				372
	Ray Wingester	New Orleans, LA				372
7	Joe Shaedler	Atlanta, GA				373
	Tommy Von Gossen	Lake Charles, LA				373
9	Charles Price	Shreveport, LA				374
10	Terry Grady	N. Olmstead, OH				375
11	Joe Jessup	Greensboro, NC				377
12	Joe Cox	High Point, NC				378
13	Bill Stowe	Gastonia, NC				379
14	Tom Kehl	Cleveland, OH				380
	Bill Brunck	Hamilton, OH				380
16	Steve Head	Columbia, IN				382
17	Jay Simececk	Cleveland, OH				384
	Tom Jones	New Middletown, OH				384
19	Tom Hoag	Jacksonville, FL				385
	Larry Anderson	Levittown, NY				385
21	Dave Neely	Ashland, OH				386
22	John Kolodziej	Quincy, IL				387
23	Dave Evans	Winston-Salem, NC				392
24	Tom Adelman	Norwalk, OH				393
	Joe Mazzali	Louisville, KY				393
26	Philip Clemmer	Durham, NC				394
27	Tom Padgett	Charlotte, NC				395
28	Ronny Brunett	Atlanta, GA				399
29	Larry Burney	Hamilton, OH				404
30	Junior Wood	Wilmington, DE				405