Bason Perseveres to Gain Victory in Charleston, WV
Charleston, WV - 11 May 1997 - Competition is what makes the game, and competition was at its best during the $2,000 Charleston, West Virginia Open on Sunday, May 11th, 1997.
The end of round one found a three-way tie for the lead between Greg Roberts, Bill Smith, and Bart Bason with scores of 26, 10 under par. With two more rounds of competition remaining, no one could afford to make a mistake if they hoped to capture the lead.
Round two knocked smith back in the standings; however, Bason was able to capture the lead by a single stroke over Greg Roberts, who was in second place. Gene Reams, consistently shooting 27s his first two rounds was two strokes back of Bason with the final round to go.
But as can happen in this game, one great round can make all the difference. Defending 1996 National Champion, Mike Brown, came through with a tremendous round and a course record of 23, 13 under par. Not enough, however, to gain a place in the top three. Kevin Lacey's final round of 25, 11-under par, was all he needed, though, to tie Bason for the lead at 81, 27-under par.
An hole playoff would be needed to determine the match. Bason, a Regional Pro, cam through with a single stroke victory to take the match from Kevin Lacey, giving him his first victory on the national tour. Both Lacey and Bason qualified to play in the Regional Match Play Championship at Orange Lake in September, 1997.
Donnie Carpenter's score of 86, 22-under par, earned the victory in the APA Division. This was Carpenter's second consecutive national victory in the APA Division.
Professional Scores from the 1997 Charleston, WV Open
Round |
Prize | ||||||
| Player | 1 |
2 |
3 |
Score | Money |
Points | |
| 1 | Bart Bason | 26 |
26 |
29 |
81 | $ 300.00 |
|
| 2 | Kevin Lacey | 27 |
29 |
25 |
81 | $ 200.00 |
50.0 |
| 3 | David McCaslin | 27 |
28 |
29 |
84 | $ 118.75 |
47.5 |
| Danny McCaslin | 28 |
28 |
28 |
84 |
$ 118.75 |
47.5 | |
| Gene Reams | 27 |
27 |
30 |
84 |
$ 118.75 |
47.5 | |
| Greg Roberts | 26 |
27 |
31 |
84 |
$ 118.75 |
47.5 | |
| 7 | Dan Anders | 27 |
30 |
28 |
85 |
$ 95.00 |
45.0 |
| 8 | Andy Coradini | 30 |
28 |
28 |
86 | $ 90.00 |
42.5 |
| Greg Ward | 29 |
27 |
30 |
86 | $ 90.00 |
42.5 | |
| Mike Brown | 32 |
31 |
23 |
86 | $ 90.00 | 42.5 | |
| Paul Johns | 29 |
26 |
31 |
86 | $ 90.00 |
42.5 | |
| 12 | Randy Reeves | 30 |
30 |
27 |
87 | $ 80.00 |
39.5 |
| Gary Hester | 28 |
29 |
30 |
87 | $ 80.00 |
39.5 | |
| Bill Smith | 26 |
30 |
31 |
87 | $ 80.00 |
||
| Todd Viau | 29 |
29 |
29 |
87 | $ 80.00 |
||
| 16 | C. L. Jones | 32 |
26 |
30 |
88 | $ 75.00 |
38.0 |
| Barb Mingo | 28 |
31 |
29 |
88 | $ 75.00 |
||
| 18 | Danny Dore | 30 |
31 |
28 |
89 | 36.0 | |
| Tony Varnadore | 29 |
31 |
29 |
89 | 36.0 | ||
| Dave Taylor | 30 |
27 |
32 |
89 | 36.0 | ||
| Roger Beckerman | 31 |
30 |
28 |
89 | |||
| Jimmy Mott | 31 |
32 |
26 |
89 | |||
| 23 | Peter Neumann | 32 |
27 |
31 |
90 | 34.0 | |
| 24 | Greg Newport | 31 |
30 |
30 |
91 | 32.5 | |
| Barry Wyatt | 31 |
30 |
30 |
91 | 32.5 | ||
| 26 | Brad Lebo | 32 |
30 |
31 |
93 | 30.0 | |
| Mike Damsky | 32 |
30 |
31 |
93 | 30.0 | ||
| Manfred Stewart | 35 |
27 |
31 |
93 | 30.0 | ||
| Nick Gill | 32 |
28 |
33 |
93 | |||
| Paul Pastilong | 34 |
30 |
29 |
93 | |||
| 31 | Mark Hasty | 30 |
32 |
32 |
94 | 28.0 | |
| Angelo Korogianos | 30 |
32 |
32 |
94 | |||
| 33 | Jim Heikkinen | 32 |
30 |
33 |
95 | ||
| 34 | Mike McCormack | 33 |
29 |
34 |
96 | ||
| Earl Brabb | 37 |
30 |
29 |
96 | |||
| 36 | Ray Franks | 36 |
30 |
31 |
97 | ||
| 37 | Michael Culligan | 34 |
32 |
36 |
102 | ||