Rockville, MD's Marcellino Bags 1968 National Championship Title

Rockville, MD's Marcellino Bags 1968 National Championship Title

Louisville, KY - July 5, 6, and 7 - PPA's biggest race of the year attracted a field of 264 pros and amateurs from across the nation - and around the world. It was the largest field in recent years as 157 putting pros and 107 anxious amateurs clashed for the National Championship Crown and the National Amateur Crown respectively.

Entering the winner's circle to collect $2,000 of the $10,000 purse - and the official National Championship Trophy was 19-year old Bob Marcellino of Rockville, MD.

The race for the crown produced a battle between many of the PPA's top touring pros. At the end of the first day's rounds, former National Champion Richard Buchan of Henderson, NC and top Cleveland pro Bob Poltis found themselves sharing the lead at 36 under par, 108. Pressing the two leaders for the top spot were Herman Strickland of Macon, GA with a 109, Bob Marcellino, Rockville, MD, with a 110, and close behind with a determination were the likes of Fred Scott of Bristol, TN and Charlie Connor, Jr. of Asheville, NC.

At the start of the second day, the pressure began to take its toll as many of the front runners began losing ground. The threesome of Poltis, Buchan, and Marcellino were able to maintain the torrid pace to make it a three-man show. However, by the end of the seventh round of the two day competition, Marcellino finally took a two stroke lead over Buchan while gaining three on Poltis to actually end the year's big event. In the final round no ground was gained or lost as the three front runners each fired 6 under par, 30's.

Marcellino came in under the wire with a 63 under par, 225, and the National Championship Crown. Buchan carded a 61 under par, 227, while Poltis registered a minus 60 for a 228. For finishing in the 1-2 slots, both Marcellino and Buchan earn the right to compete in the 1969 TV show, Parade of Champions.

A picture of the South African team at the 1968 PPA National Championship in Louisville, Kentucky. From left to right ... Gerry Hampshire, Franklin Stern, Willa Stockhoff, Hilton Stern and Sam Sher.

Championship competition in the amateur division proved to be no surprise as such highly touted amateurs as Dave Shirley of Shreveport, LA, George Pihakis of Birmingham, AL, Randy DeLoach of Atlanta, GA, Ben Rakusin of Cleveland, OH and others displayed championship form to the galleries they attracted.

It was a seesaw battle for the entire eight rounds with the above mentioned names sharing the lead at one time or another. Although Shirey was able to hold the top spot at the end of the first 72 holes with 24 under par, 120, he was unable to stave off the rush of Atlanta's Randy DeLoach, and finished the 144 hole event one stroke off DeLoach's 48 under par, 240, finish.

The highlight of the day and possibly of the tournament was the magnificent shooting of young Bruce Garnett of Memphis, TN. Although he did not finish in the top 5, he set a sizzling pace and tied the all time PPA record of consecutive aces by equaling Jim Harritos' 11 in a row. Garnett proved that the "hot putter" was not an exclusive of the pro division.

In the $2,500 Pro-Am Match Play Tournament held Friday, July 5, it was truly a day for the unknowns. Although many of the top names such as Vance Randall, John Connor, Neil Connor, Bob Poltis, were knocking off challengers and advancing to new brackets, the team of Armin Ganz and Don Anderson of Knoxville, TN quietly stayed in stride. When it was all over, the Ganz and Anderson twosome found themselves winning 2-1 over the highly touted team of Brice Bergesen and his amateur partner Ron Giffen to capture the victory and $600.

The five champion competitors from the Republic of South Africa, Willa Stockhoff of Johannesburg, Sam Shear, Franklin and Hilton Stern, and Gerry Hampshire of Capetown made a gallant attempt to take the crown back to their home country. However, Franklin Stern was the only one able to finish in the money. He finished with a 55 under par, 233, and collected $287.50.

			Round									Prize
	Player	City	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Total	Money
1	Bob Marcellino	Rockville, MD	26	30	27	27	28	28	29	30	225	$ 2,000.00
2	Richard Buchan	Raleigh, NC	26	25	28	29	28	31	30	30	227	$1,300.00
3	Bob Poltis	Cleveland, OH	27	27	30	24	29	29	32	30	228	$1,000.00
4	Web DiGenova	Midvale, OH	31	29	33	28	28	28	28	24	229	$900.00
5	John Connor	Greenville, SC	27	32	27	27	26	29	31	31	230	$750.00
	Jeff Jeskins	New Orleans, LA	30	31	28	26	29	29	29	28	230	$750.00
7	Neil Connor	Greenville, SC	30	29	29	29	27	30	31	26	231	$458.33
	Fred Scott	Bristol, VA	28	29	30	25	29	30	33	27	231	$458.33
	Charlie Connor, Jr.	Asheville, NC	26	28	31	27	30	29	31	29	231	$458.33
10	Franklin Stern	Capetown, SA	28	28	34	29	27	30	29	28	233	$287.50
	Jimmy Harritos	Atlanta, GA	31	26	32	30	30	29	26	29	233	$287.50
12	Buddy Taylor	Baltimore, MD	29	29	32	29	28	29	33	25	234	$237.50
	Herman Strickland	Macon, GA	27	28	29	25	32	30	33	30	234	$237.50
14	Brice Bergesen	Houston, TX	28	29	31	29	31	29	32	27	236	$162.50
	Steve Gilbert	Statesville, NC	29	29	34	28	27	29	32	28	236	$162.50
	Gary Love	Euclid, OH	32	29	31	30	31	28	27	28	236	$162.50
	Bob McComber	Dayton, OH	30	33	31	28	28	30	29	27	236	$162.50
18	Don Posey	Greenville, SC	30	27	27	33	30	34	30	26	237	$100.00
19	Charlie Hayes	Winston-Salem, NC	29	32	32	25	28	28	30	34	238	$67.50
	John Roessner	Indianapolis, IN	31	27	30	32	27	30	31	30	238	$67.50

			Round
	Player	City	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Total
1	Randy DeLoach	Atlanta, GA	32	27	33	30	33	25	32	27	239
2	David Shirey	Shreveport, LA	34	29	29	28	28	29	31	32	240
3	Ben Rakusin	Cleveland, OH	29	27	33	35	30	29	31	29	243
4	Larry Simpson	Burlington, NC	29	31	30	32	30	29	34	29	244
	Roger Hart	Kettering, OH	34	30	32	33	27	28	31	29	244

Winners				Runners-Up
Pro	Armin Ganz	Knoxville, TN	$500	Pro	Brice Bergesen	Houston, TX	$300
Am	Don Anderson	Knoxville, TN		Am	Robert Griffin	Ft. Worth, TX
Semi-Finals
Pro	Charlie Hayes	Winston-Salem, NC	$150	Pro	Daryl Freeman	Bristol, VA	$150
Am	George Hooks	Raleigh, NC		Am	Steve Ladd	Bristol, VA
Quarter-Finals
Pro	Gil Caito	Indianapolis, IN	$75	Pro	Franklin Stern	South Africa	$75
Am	Dough Cortellini	Indianapolis, IN		Am	Betty Strickland	Atlanta, GA
Pro	Buddy Taylor	Baltimore, MD	$75	Pro	Ed Hongosh	Maple Heights, OH	$75
Am	David Taylor	Baltimore, MD		Am	Ben Rakusin	Cleveland, OH
2nd Round Eliminations (Pros only listed)
Cliff Moore		Gastonia, NC	$50	Bob Poltis		Cleveland, OH	$50
Ray Rayfield		Birmingham, AL	$50	Jim Norton		Cleveland, OH	$50
Roger Moore		Atlanta, GA	$50	Nick Long		Burlington, IA	$50
John Connor		Greenville, SC	$50	Gene McDonald		Savannah, GA	$50
1st Round Eliminations (Pros only listed - $25 Each)
Vance Randall		Chattanooga, TN		Dick Florin		Atlanta, GA
Jim Grinstead		Euclid, OH		Charles Bennett		Grand Prarie, TX
Walt Asbury		Columbus, OH		Herman Strickland		Macon, GA
Bill Ruskaff		Aurora, CO		Bob Marcellino		Rockville, MD
Earl Fritts		Savannah, GA		Neil Connor		Greenville, SC
Robert Lipscomb		Ft. Worth, TX		John Roessner		Indianapolis, IN
Bill Baus		Euclid, OH		Rick Smith		Indianapolis, IN
Norman Bolyard		Port Arthur, TX		Dale Clem		Dayton, OH

$5,000 Colorado Springs Open to be Held August 2, 3, and 4

The 1968 PPA season still has a long way to go. The big event remaining is the $5,000 Colorado Springs Open, which will be held the weekend of August 2, 3, and 4. On Friday, August 2, PPA will conduct a $1,000 Pro-Am Match Play Tournament. Then, the following day contestants will tee off in the $5,000 event. It will consist of four rounds on Saturday and four rounds on Sunday.

REMEMBER, THE WINNER OF THIS EVENT WILL EARN A PLAYING POSITION ON THE 1969 TV SHOW, THE PARADE OF CHAMPIONS.

The Colorado Springs Open will be held on the 54-hole Putt-Putt Course located at Academy Boulevard and Galley Road, Colorado Springs, Colorado.

As in other major national competition, we will be insisting on proper dress and appearance. If you plan to attend the Colorado Springs Tournament, please pay particular attention to this item. Thank you for your cooperation in working with you tournament officials.

Headquarter for the Colorado Springs Open will be beautiful Roadway Inn located at 2407 East Pikes Peak Avenue. Room rate are as follows: Single - $8; Double - $12; For doubles, rooming more than two people, add $2 per additional person each night.

As at each national tournament, PPA will hold a banquet for your pleasure. At this time arrangement are not finalized, but we hope you plan to attend and expect to pay approximately $4.00 for this affair. The banquet will start at 6 p.m., with a one hour social period and dinner going at 7 p.m.

Many point of interest pertaining to PPA will be covered during a brief discussion period. Please make your reservations to the Roadway Inn.