Greg Ward Wins Barbara Nance Memorial for Third Win of 2000
19 August 2000 - Greensboro, NC - Two opening rounds of 23 gave Greg Ward a commanding five stroke lead in the fourth annual Barbara Nance Memorial held in Greensboro. Ward took care of business after leading wire-to-wire with a three-shot win over Greg Newport. Ward played to a course record tying 72 on a picture-perfect day in Greensboro. Each of the first two rounds, Ward shot front nines of 11 and back nines of 12. Ward also fired a final round 26 to finish at 72. Newport had three sensational rounds of his own with rounds of 24, 27, and 24 to end up second at 75.
This tournament was named in honor of Barbara Nance, mother of APA player Chuck Nance. Barbara was a long time member of the Putt-Putt circuit mostly playing in the Novice Division before she passed away in 1996. A dedication award has always been put since the inception of the event. This year, the recipient was Newport. In his acceptance, he talked about how much of a figure Barbara was, and even though she never was a tour player, the tour always made her an adopted member of the tour.
Adam Smith fired rounds of 27, 28, and 27 to win his first APA tournament since 1997. Smith was tied for the lead at 55 with Keith Waters before pulling one out with a final score of 83, to win by one shot over Russell Sigmon, Jr. Sigmon fired a final round 26 to finish at 84. Waters ended up tied with defending champion Jimmy Comer at 85 for third.
Tony Jackson shot three impressive rounds himself of 27, 25, and 24 to finish third at 76. Lee Witcofski shot 77 to finish fourth. Three players ended up tied for fifth including Texas player Joel Baker, who shot 80, along with Gary Hester and Michael Hitt. There were 18 money spots available with the cash line sitting at 84 for a five-way split for the final two spots. Hitt grabbed the qualifying spot for the NCPPA State Championship to be held here in Greensboro next month. Chris Bunting and Brad Lebo each got the two Match Play Spots available from this event. Bart Bason became the seventh qualifying member of the North Carolina Clayton Cup team. The final three spots will be determined Sunday in Burlington. Hester's finish on Saturday puts him in a tie for first with Robert Johnson for the lead in points. Jimmy Comer attains his lead in the APA by 4.5 points.
North Carolina will play again on Sunday, August 20, at 10:00am in Burlington for their annual Elton Davis Memorial tournament. Greg Ward looks defends his 1999 Elton Davis Memorial Tournament title.
Scores and tournament recap provided by Opie Roberts.
Professional Division of Greensboro, NC Event (19 August 2000)
Round Prize Player 1 2 3 Total Money 1 Greg Ward 23 23 26 72 $150.00 2 Greg Newport 24 27 24 75 $110.00 3 Tony Jackson 27 25 24 76 $90.00 4 Lee Witcofski 26 25 26 77 $80.00 5 Joel Baker 28 25 27 80 $70.00 Gary Hester 26 26 28 80 $70.00 Michael Hitt 25 26 29 80 $70.00 8 Chris Bunting 27 27 27 81 $51.00 Robert Johnson 27 27 27 81 $51.00 Bill Kirby 28 27 26 81 $51.00 Brad Lebo 28 29 24 81 $51.00 Randy Reeves 29 25 27 81 $51.00 13 C. L. Jones 27 27 28 82 $40.00 Rusty Taylor 29 24 29 82 $40.00 Allen Wall 26 25 31 82 $40.00 16 Michael Cardwell 27 30 26 83 $40.00 17 Rick Baird 26 27 31 84 $16.00 Tommy Barbour 30 27 27 84 $16.00 Rick Rybaczek 27 25 32 84 $16.00 Randal Smith 26 29 29 84 $16.00 Buddy Taylor 28 28 28 84 $16.00 22 Bart Bason 28 30 27 85 Ray Guthrie 30 28 27 85 Thomas Rawles 28 29 28 85 25 Edgar Hollifield 29 30 27 86 Jay Klapper 29 28 29 86 27 Glenwood Arrington 31 30 26 87 Gary English 30 27 30 87 Larry Simpson 31 31 25 87 30 Andy Coradini 27 31 30 88 Peter Ansbacher 32 25 31 88 32 Mike Griffin 29 33 33 95 33 Opie Roberts 33 30 35 98 34 Tommy Hollifield 30 34 35 99 Bob Jackson 31 32 36 99 36 David Abshire 35 31 37 103 Amateur Division of Greensboro, NC Event (19 August 2000)
Round Expense Player 1 2 3 Total Reimbursement 1 Adam Smith 28 27 28 83 $20.00 2 Russell Sigmon, Jr. 29 29 26 84 $20.00 3 Jimmy Comer 26 30 29 85 Keith Waters 28 27 30 85 5 Chris Hudson 30 26 31 87 6 Chuck Nance 28 33 30 91 7 Todd Trent 32 28 33 93 Steve Vaughan 28 28 37 93 9 Walter Kolb 33 35 29 97