Rodney Ashely Wins $2,000 High Point Open (High Point, NC)

Rodney Ashley Wins $2,000 High Point Open

ashley.jpg (5997 bytes) High Point, NC - 25 May 1997 - Rodney Ashley, who by his own admission always seems to have a smile on his face, had every reason to smile Sunday, May 25th. Ashley walked away with the victory against a field of 60 professional and amateur contenders, at the $2,000 High Point, North Carolina Open.

Ashley got the ball rolling with a first round of 23, 13-under par, to put him in the lead by three strokes. Two consecutive rounds of 28, a respectable score for any top pro, kept him in the lead with a total score of 79, 29-under par. Thie victory at High Point, Ashley's first on the National level since turning National Pro in 1995, guarantees him a spot for the Regional Match Play Championship to take place September 10th at the Orange Lake Resort & Country Club in Orlando, FL.

Other players of note include Jay Klapper, Loganville, GA, and Paul Johns, Gahanna, Ohio, who tied for second place with a score of 81, 27-under par. Mike Brown, the 1996 National Champion, finished five strokes back with a score of 84, tying Lewis Burton, the 1997 Commissioner's Cup Champion for sixth place. In the amateur division, two local High Point players, Jimmy Comer and Ray Guthrie, walked away with first and second place respectively.

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

		Round				Prize
	Player	1	2	3	Score	Money	Points
1	Rodney Ashley	23	28	28	79	$ 300.00	50.0
2	Jay Klapper	26	27	28	81	$ 175.00	48.5
	Paul Johns	27	28	26	81	$ 175.00	48.5
4	Randy Reeves	28	27	27	82	$ 125.00	47.0
5	Bo Luthie	28	25	30	83	$ 100.00	46.0
6	Mike Brown	29	28	27	84	$ 97.50	44.5
	Lewis Burton	28	27	29	84	$ 97.50	44.5
8	C. L. Jones	27	29	29	85	$ 90.00	41.5
	Brad Lebo	28	30	27	85	$ 90.00	41.5
	David McCaslin	27	31	27	85	$ 90.00	41.5
	Danny McCaslin	29	29	27	85	$ 90.00	41.5
12	Danny Dore	29	28	29	86	$ 81.67	38.5
	Gary Hester	28	31	27	86	$ 81.67	38.5
	Bob Davis	32	27	27	86	$ 81.67
15	Bob Haizlip	27	30	30	87	$ 75.00	36.0
	Buddy Taylor	30	28	29	87	$ 75.00	36.0
17	Larry Simpson	29	31	28	88	$ 75.00	36.0
18	Bill Kirby	29	29	31	89		33.0
	Tony Jackson	32	31	26	89		33.0
	Rick Baird	31	30	28	89		33.0
21	Todd Barfield	33	28	29	90		29.5
	Greg Newport	26	31	33	90		29.5
	Kevin Lacey	32	31	27	90		29.5
	Frank Warren	32	27	31	90		29.5
25	Peter Neumann	28	30	33	91		26.0
	Darrell Britt	31	30	30	91		26.0
	Greg Ward	33	28	30	91		26.0
	Bobby Kirby	31	29	31	91
29	Andy Coradini	32	31	29	92		24.0
	Fred Hallaman	29	32	31	92
	Nick Gill	29	32	31	92
	Chris Bunting	29	34	29	92
33	Mike Damsky	32	31	30	93		22.5
	Gene Reams	33	31	29	93		22.5
	Don Thompson	32	28	33	93
36	Enid Klapper	29	31	34	94		21.0
	Jay Hadsell	37	30	27	94
38	Michael Hitt	32	35	28	95
	Bill Walsh	33	32	30	95
40	Tony Varnadore	38	31	27	96		19.5
	Mark Rainey	32	31	33	96		19.5
42	Dan Anders	30	34	34	98		18.0
	Bob Jackson	34	30	34	98
	Bart Bason	32	34	32	98
	Thomas Rawles	33	30	35	98
46	Robby Bryant	37	33	31	101