Andy Coradini Wins the 1997 Dallas, Texas Open

Andy Coradini Wins the 1997 Dallas Open

ashley.jpg (5997 bytes) Dallas, TX - 23-24 August 1997 - As competition began on Saturday, August 23rd, the pressure to win was tangible. The countdown to Orange Lake was winding down, less than a month before the Championship week. The Dallas tournament would determine the 5th position for the television series, a spot coveted by all. Andy Coradini, Loganville, GA, came to the tournament as determined as anyone else to win. Coradini's goal since 1984 has been to play on television in back-to-back years. Having played the television series in 196, he was determined to do so again in 1997. His determination paid off.

At the end of Saturday's rounds, the standing were Dan Anders, Columbus, GA, and Randy Reeves, Montgomery, AL, tied for first with 114. Right behind was Coradini with a score of 116. Tow strokes behind, Coradini entered Sunday's competition determined to "play tough."

Coradini grabbed the lead in round 5 and maintained his position through the 6th, but a disappointing seventh round put on the pressure. Consistent playing by Dallas' Lee Messinger resulted in a tie for first at the start of round 8. Not far behind and applying pressure were Brad Lebo, Philadelphia, PA, and Carolinians Rick Baird and Tony Jackson.

The final round quickly became a contest between Lebo and Coradini, with Lebo grabbing the advantage on the front nine. Coradini did indeed "play tough," acing six of the final 10 holes to win the tournament by one stroke.

According to Coradini, the competition was intense. "You couldn't count on your score until the ball was in the hole," Coradini's victory places him in Show #2 for the TV Series. While Lebo was undoubtedly disappointed, his second place standing earned 98 points, putting him well ahead in the points race.

Scores and tournament recap provided by the Putt-Put Home Office

		Round									Prize
	Player	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Total	Money	Points
1	Andy Coradini	28	28	31	29	27	28	33	31	235	$ 1,000.00	100
2	Brad Lebo	29	28	31	33	27	31	28	29	236	$ 700.00	98
3	Joel Baker	30	31	32	32	31	26	27	29	238	$ 450.00
	Lee Messinger	28	29	32	28	29	28	30	34	238	$ 450.00
5	Rick Baird	30	30	29	32	29	27	30	32	239	$ 275.00	95
	Tony Jackson	31	33	29	30	28	29	28	31	239	$ 275.00	95
7	Kevin Lacey	29	32	33	31	29	27	30	29	240	$ 225.00	92
8	Dan Anders	28	27	29	30	33	32	33	30	242	$ 175.00	90
	Brice Bergesen	31	29	29	30	32	29	31	31	242	$ 175.00
	Marc Portugal	35	30	31	29	26	31	29	31	242	$ 175.00
11	Gary Hester	30	35	29	31	29	30	28	31	243	$ 100.00	87
	Greg Ward	31	32	32	31	28	31	29	29	243	$ 100.00	87
13	Randy Reeves	25	28	32	29	31	32	35	32	244	$ 100.00	84
	Chris Conradi	31	31	30	32	30	30	26	35	244	$ 100.00
15	Greg Newport	29	32	28	32	33	32	29	31	246	$ 100.00	81
	Rainey Statum	30	32	30	32	31	33	27	31	246	$ 100.00	81
17	David Lynch	30	32	31	32	33	29	30	31	248	$ 100.00	77
	Randy Orr	32	28	30	29	35	31	31	32	248	$ 100.00	77
19	Todd Barfield	29	35	28	32	31	30	32	32	249	$ 100.00	74
20	Peter Neumann	33	28	32	29	34	35	32	27	250	$ 100.00	72
21	Jeff Smith	33	30	28	34	31	31	35	29	251		70
22	Joel Woodall	30	29	32	31	32	31	35	32	252
23	Don Parker	32	32	37	30	34	29	31	28	253		67
	Mark Hasty	30	32	33	31	32	32	31	32	253		67
	John Tritz	30	34	35	33	28	31	33	29	253
26	Greg Roberts	30	32	33	34	30	31	32	34	256		64
27	Danny McCaslin	27	35	30	31	30	35	37	34	259		62
28	Mike Brown	33	35	35	29	33	31	30	34	260		59
	Paul Johns	36	32	38	33	30	31	29	31	260		59
	Al Simpson	32	36	33	33	30	33	32	31	260
31	Tom Adair	36	30	36	33	33	33	31	30	262
32	David McCaslin	34	35	32	35	32	30	31	35	264		56
33	C. L. Jones	30	37	37	38	38	30	33	30	273		54

		Round									Prize
	Player	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Total	Money
1	Tim Murphree	30	33	29	32	29	33	32	30	248	$ 30.00
2	Jonathan Drexler	34	32	31	30	29	28	33	34	251	$ 30.00
3	Tony Davenport	30	32	33	31	30	31	30	35	252	$ 30.00
4	Mike Huckaby	28	31	32	34	28	33	36	31	253	$ 30.00
5	Hosey Murphree	34	34	35	35	32	31	31	26	258
6	Steve Willmann	30	31	29	30	34	35	35	37	261
7	Joe Schaefer	33	31	29	30	34	35	35	37	262
8	Dwain Willett	33	35	34	32	32	33	33	33	265
9	Matt Lagos	34	34	30	30	34	37	42	36	277