Brown Wins Richard Buchan Memorial in the NCPPA Season Opener
18 March 2000 - Durham, NC - Starting the 2000 season on the right foot was what Mike Brown needed. Brown, who finished second last year in the Richard Buchan Memorial held in Durham, came away with the season's first victory eclipsing the score that Kevin Lacey shot last year by one stroke.
Sunny skies and chilly temperatures in the season opener for the 2000 North Carolina tour did not hinder a field of 33 professionals and 11 amateurs from participating. The winds early in the tournament did create some high scoring in the first round, but as they died down, so did the scores.
Brown trailed by three strokes after the first 18 holes to Randal Smith, 1999 Virginia State Champion, who opened the tournament with a 24 to lead after one round. A second round 23 cut the lead to one as Smith was the only player in the 40's through the second round. Brown continued his consistent play to take the lead and held on in commanding fashion as the 1996 National Champion fired a final round 25 to finish the tournament at 75 (-33).
Smith, who held ground for most of the afternoon until Brown started his blistering front nines of 11 in each of the final two rounds, finished in second at 79. Gary Hester came in third at 80, Larry Simpson in fourth at 81, while Chris Bunting and Bill Kirby rounded out the top five at 83.
Fifteen spots were paid out in this initial event of the 2000 NCPPA season with a score 87 placing for a split of three players for the final two spots.
Brown, with his victory, accepted and became the first player to qualify for the NC State Championship and Match Play tournament in September.
Brian Hutchins won the APA division after also trailing by three strokes to Keith Waters through the first round. The 1999 South Carolina APA State Champion fried rounds of 26 and 28 in his final two rounds to capture the victory at 83, winning by three strokes over Billy Caudle, second at 86. Waters finished in third at 87.
The next NCPPA tournament will be in Raleigh this Sunday, March 19, on Course 1 at 10:00am. After that, the next NCPPA weekend will be two weeks away in High Point on Saturday, April 1, at 12:00pm on Course 1, followed by Burlington on Course 1, Sunday, April 2 at 10:00am.
Scores and tournament recap provided by Opie Roberts.
Professional Division of Durham, NC Event (18 March 2000)
Round Prize Player 1 2 3 Total Money 1 Mike Brown 27 23 25 75 $150.00 2 Randal Smith 24 25 30 79 $110.00 3 Gary Hester 26 25 29 80 $90.00 4 Larry Simpson 27 27 27 81 $80.00 5 Chris Bunting 27 28 28 83 $73.00 Bill Kirby, Jr. 27 29 27 83 $73.00 7 Rusty Taylor 30 27 27 84 $65.00 8 Rich Gillooly 28 27 30 85 $60.00 9 Rick Baird 29 30 27 86 $47.00 Bart Bason 31 27 28 86 $47.00 Todd Fowler 30 25 31 86 $47.00 Michael Hitt 29 26 31 86 $47.00 Opie Roberts 31 24 31 86 $47.00 14 C. L. Jones 30 27 30 87 $27.00 Greg Newport 30 30 27 87 $27.00 Rick Rybaczek 29 27 31 87 $27.00 17 Edgar Hollifield 26 31 31 88 18 Andy Coradini 31 28 30 89 19 Brad Lebo 30 30 30 90 Gilbert Sharpe 32 31 27 90 21 Ray Guthrie 28 33 30 91 Bob Haizlip 31 30 30 91 Tony Jackson 33 31 27 91 Robert Johnson 29 30 32 91 Buddy Taylor 28 32 31 91 26 Glenwood Arrington 33 30 29 92 Matt Summey 33 26 33 92 28 Michael Cardwell 33 29 32 94 29 Tommy Barbour 34 30 32 96 30 Barry Wyatt 31 32 34 97 31 Bob Jackson 30 34 36 100 32 Gil Logan 35 35 34 104 33 David Abshire 35 36 34 105 Professional Teams Scores for Durham, NC Event (18 March 2000)
Round Total NC Prize Players 1 2 3 Score Points Money 1 M. Brown - B. Lebo
57 53 55 165 15.00 20.00 2 G. Newport - R. Smith
54 55 57 166 13.50 5.00 G. Hester - M. Hitt
55 51 60 166 13.50 5.00 4 B. Bason - C. Bunting
58 55 56 169 12.00 5 B. Haizlip - L. Simpson
58 56 58 172 11.00 6 R. Johnson - B. Kirby, Jr.
56 59 59 174 10.00 7 R. Baird - A. Coradini
60 58 57 175 8.50 B. Taylor - R. Taylor
58 59 58 175 8.50 9 T. Fowler - T. Jackson
63 56 58 177 7.00 10 R. Guthrie - R. Rybaczek
57 60 61 178 6.00 11 M. Cardwell - O. Roberts
64 53 63 180 5.00 12 C. L. Jones - B. Wyatt
61 59 64 184 5.00 Amateur Division of Durham, NC Event (18 March 2000)
Round Expense Player 1 2 3 Total Reimbursement 1 Brian Hutchins 29 26 28 83 $20.00 2 Bill Caudle 31 27 28 86 $20.00 3 Keith Waters 26 31 30 87 $20.00 4 Jimmy Comer 31 28 29 88 5 Tommy Hutchinson 29 29 33 91 6 Chuck Nance 33 27 33 93 7 Russell Sigmon, Jr. 34 31 30 95 8 Walter Kolb 33 35 30 98 9 Steve Helton 35 33 33 101 10 Mike Fowler 33 34 36 103 11 Richard Lorenz 41 33 31 105
Novice Division of Durham, NC Event (18 March 2000)
| Round | |||||
| Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | Total | |
| 1 |
Adam Smith |
32 | 34 | 33 | 99 |
| 2 |
Steve McGee |
34 | 34 | 32 | 100 |
| 3 |
Roy Sigmon |
37 | 35 | 40 | 112 |