Newport Overcomes Wet Conditions to Win in Winston-Salem, NC
Winston-Salem, NC - 7 July 1999 - The 29-year-old from Liberty, NC made the 15th NCPPA tournament of the season easier than expected by posting an early round of 25 and a 2-shot lead over Michael Hitt through the first round and cruised with consecutive rounds of 28 each to finish at 81 and a three-stroke victory over Rick Baird, Pineville, NC, who shot 24 in the final round to jump from a tie for seventh after two to finish in second.
When asked how he could shoot such a low score on a night where conditions were at its worst in the first round, Newport responded, "I had to go find the wet shots." It proved to be the reason for his success because he was practicing in the rain approximately 90 minutes before the tournament when the heaviest rains were falling at the moment.
Newport's score, however, was not the lowest score posted that night. High Point's Ray Guthrie played three consistent rounds of 28, 26, and 26 to finish at 80 to take the victory by two shots over Billy Caudle, of Harrisburg, NC Guthrie's win makes him the first three-time winner on the NCAPA tour this year and pulls him to within 11 points of current leader Donnie Carpenter, who finished fifth at 94.
A massive heat wave earlier in the week sent temperatures to near record 100O during the day. But a cold front passed through Winston-Salem earlier in the day on Wednesday sent severe weather approximately three hours before tee-off time at 7:30 making the course inundated with standing water basically covering every hole. The precipitation let up just before tee time began and the drenched course was nothing more than a soaked course.
Rounding out the top five in the Pro Division were Edgar Hollifield, Bostic, N. C., Robert Johnson, Lake Wylie, SC, and Danny McCaslin, Cary, NC, all tied for third at 85. Hollifield and Johnson went to an 18-hole playoff to determine the state qualifying spot in the NCPPA Championship. Hollifield defeated Johnson by one stroke in the playoff. After the lowest turnout of the season and in a very long time, the Pro Division paid out nine spots with 89 getting a full share for the final spot.
The next tournament will be Saturday and Sunday, July 10-11 in Lynchburg, Virginia in which these events are combined with the Virginia PPA tour.
Article and scores by Opie Roberts
Professional Scores from the 1999 Winston-Salem, NC Event (7 July 1999)
Round Prize Player 1 2 3 Total Money Points 1 Greg Newport 25 28 28 81 $150.00 40.00 2 Rick Baird 32 28 24 84 $110.00 34.00 3 Edgar Hollifield* 28 30 27 85 $81.67 32.00 Danny McCaslin 28 28 29 85 $81.67 32.00 Robert Johnson 28 31 26 85 $81.67 32.00 6 Bart Bason 32 28 28 88 $60.00 30.00 7 C. L. Jones 32 27 30 89 $43.33 28.00 Bob Haizlip 31 28 30 89 $43.33 28.00 Michael Hitt 27 30 32 89 $43.33 28.00 10 Gary Hester 32 30 28 90 26.00 11 Randal Smith 31 32 31 94 25.00 12 Don Thompson 33 31 31 95 24.00 13 Opie Roberts 34 31 31 96 22.50 Chris Bunting 29 33 34 96 22.50 15 Rodney Ashley 34 28 35 97 20.50 Rick Rybaczek 31 31 35 97 20.50 17 Michael Cardwell 34 34 32 100 18.50 Glenwood Arrington 33 34 33 100 18
* Accepted Medal Play Spot - Won playoff with Robert Johnson 31 - 32.
Amateur Scores from the 1999 Winston-Salem, NC Event (7 July 1999)
| Round | Prize | ||||||
| Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | Total | Money | Points | |
| 1 | Ray Guthrie | 28 | 26 | 26 | 80 | $20.00 | 20.00 |
| 2 | Billy Caudle | 29 | 29 | 24 | 82 | $20.00 | 19.00 |
| 3 | Keith Waters | 29 | 25 | 31 | 85 | 18.00 | |
| 4 | Jimmy Comer | 31 | 28 | 30 | 89 | 17.00 | |
| Donnie Carpenter | 35 | 28 | 31 | 94 | 16.00 | ||
| 6 | Chuck Nance | 34 | 32 | 30 | 96 | 15.00 | |
| Charles Alexander | 36 | 31 | 32 | 99 | 14.00 | ||
| 8 | Richard Lorenz | 32 | 30 | 38 | 100 | 13.00 | |
| 9 | Tommy Barbour | 36 | 34 | 32 | 102 | 12.00 | |
Pro Team Scores from the 1999 Winston-Salem, NC Event (7 July 1999)
| Round | Prize | ||||||
| Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | Total | Money | Points | |
| 1 | Baird - Johnson | 60 | 59 | 50 | 169 | $20.00 | 15.00 |
| 2 | Newport - Smith | 56 | 60 | 59 | 175 | $10.00 | 14.00 |
| 3 | Hitt - Hester | 59 | 60 | 60 | 179 | 13.00 | |
| 4 | Bason - Bunting | 61 | 61 | 62 | 184 | 12.00 | |
| 5 | Roberts - Rybaczek | 65 | 62 | 66 | 193 | 11.00 | |