Matthews Laps Field in Arlington, TX for First
Title of the Season
Arlington, TX - Cliff Matthews of
Hurst, leading money winner in the PPA in 1998, ran off and hid from the field today as he
posted a 30-under par 78, good for an 8 shot victory over second place finisher Don
McCracken (86) from Flower Mound, TX.
Reverting back to the form that earned him the $10,000.00 Western Open
and ESPN TV series titles last season, Matthews was never threatened as he captured his
first Texas Tour win of 1999 and his second qualifying spot for the state finals in
October. Tim Murphree of Mesquite carded a 21-under par 87 to claim third place and
finishing another shot back at 88 and in a tie for fourth were Lee Messinger of Dallas and
local Arlington pro Steve Armstrong.
In match play, 2-time state champion Jeffrey Smith of Dallas
claimed his first qualifying spot for state weekend as he defeated Pat King in the final
match in his bracket. It was an all Mesquite final in the other pro match play bracket as
Tim Murphree bested David Lynch for his first state qualifying spot of the season.
Armstrong Returns to Form for First APA
Title of 1999
In the APA Division at Arlington, local amateur favorite Aaron Armstrong
broke out of his early season slump as he posted a 20-under par 88 to win his first title
of the season by four strokes over another area APA member, Jeremy Henri (92). Austin's
Steve Willmann finished in third place at 15-under par 93.
Willmann won his match play bracket to claim his third qualifying spot for the state
championship. Jeremy Henri, who was making his first start of 1999, defeated Jon Drexler
in the finals of the other APA match play bracket to earn his first state qualifying spot
of the year.
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