Greg Ward Wins 2000 North Carolina State Championship (23-24 September 2000)

September 23-24, 2000 - Greensboro, NC - Greg Ward did what he could to grab his first North Carolina State Championship by shooting 97 (47-under par) on Sunday. Ward was trailing the leader at the break, Todd Barfield, by six shots before he began his run. Ward fired a fifth round of 25 to move within four of the lead and then began his charge.

The fifth and sixth rounds saw a highly-contested see-saw battle, starting with Tony Varnadore opening play with a 22 to catch Barfield. Barfield retook the outright lead with a 25, but Ward fired a 23 to move within two of the lead. Ward then made a decisive move with a seventh round 22 to go to 70 for rounds 5, 6, and 7. Coupled that with a 30 by Barfield, Ward was the new leader by four shots over Andy Coradini.

In the eighth and final round, Ward fired a 27, tied for his worst round of the weekend, to claim the championship for the first time ever in North Carolina. The Loganville, Georgia native earlier this year captured the Barbara Nance Memorial with an outstanding score of 72 held on this very course in Greensboro. For Ward, he became only the second person ever in North Carolina history to win the Elton Davis, Carolinas' Open, and the State Championship in his career. Todd Barfield is the other.

With Greg Ward taking the title, Andy Coradini and Robert Johnson tied for second at 206. A playoff for runner-up trophy was won by Johnson on the second hole of sudden death. Varnadore managed to end up in fourth place at 207, and Barfield, Michael Hitt, and Rick Baird shot 208 to tie for fifth place. Defending 1999 North Carolina State Champion Bart Bason had a disappointing time this weekend as he finished 35th out of the 36-player field.

From the start of the tournament for the amateurs, Chris Hudson led with a 24 and was in the house at 78. Hudson struggled in the early going on Sunday with an opening round 30, but fired another 24 for an eight-shot lead over Steve Helton, and fired a final round 31 to cruise to his first APA State Championship with a final score of 163. Hudson won the state by four shots over Keith Waters, who fired 75 on this picture perfect Sunday, and fired 167 for six rounds after being tied for 9th heading into play. Helton finished in third at 170.

A banquet was held on Saturday evening at Don Pablo's, where the tour presented awards for the 2000 winners. Gary Hester received the 2000 North Carolina PPA Player of the Year award, while Robert Johnson and Bill Kirby received the 2000 North Carolina Team of the Year award. Larry Simpson was named the 2000 Bill Walsh Memorial Sportsmanship Award winner. And, the naming of the 2001 committee was announced as there were no changes to the selections. The committee for next season will consist of Bart Bason, Rick Baird, Chris Bunting, Bill Kirby, Greg Newport, Rick Rybaczek, and Larry Simpson.

The North Carolina tour has completed play for the 2000 season. Ten players will compete against Virginia, South Carolina, and the Great Lakes tours in the 7th annual Clayton Cup to be played on October 14-15 in Richmond, Virginia.

Professional Scores from the 2000 North Carolina State Championship
(23-24 September 2000)

			Round									Prize
	Player	Hometown	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Total	Money
1	Greg Ward	Loganville, GA	25	26	27	27	25	23	22	27	202	$750.00
2	Andy Coradini	Loganville, GA	26	29	24	22	28	25	25	27	206	$500.00
	Robert Johnson	Lake Wylie, SC	29	25	23	26	27	25	26	25	206	$500.00
4	Tony Varnadore	Rock Hill, SC	28	27	24	26	22	29	25	26	207	$400.00
5	Rick Baird	Pineville, NC	29	23	26	23	28	28	26	25	208	$325.00
	Todd Barfield	Fort Mill, SC	24	26	27	22	28	25	30	26	208	$325.00
	Michael Hitt	Greensboro, NC	28	26	27	27	27	23	26	24	208	$325.00
8	Bill Kirby	Fayetteville, NC	24	28	26	29	28	26	27	24	212	$277.50
	Brad Lebo	Shippensburg, PA	24	26	27	29	27	27	23	29	212	$277.50
10	Bob Haizlip	Whitsett, NC	27	28	29	24	30	25	26	25	214	$255.00
	Gary Hester	Thomasville, NC	30	26	25	28	25	27	26	27	214	$255.00
12	Gary English	Loganville, GA	29	27	27	28	27	25	27	25	215	$235.00
	Randal Smith	Eden, NC	28	29	28	28	26	25	27	24	215	$235.00
14	Mike Brown	Philadelphia, PA	28	25	27	27	26	29	30	26	216	$215.00
	Randy Reeves	Montgomery, AL	28	27	24	26	28	27	29	27	216	$215.00
16	Todd Fowler	Duncan, SC	27	28	28	26	27	26	28	27	217	$200.00
17	Ray Guthrie	High Point, NC	29	27	29	23	26	25	28	31	218	$185.00
	Rick Rybaczek	Greensboro, NC	29	28	26	28	26	27	27	27	218	$185.00
19	Greg Newport	Liberty, NC	32	27	26	26	28	29	28	23	219	$175.00
20	Tommy Barbour	Graham, NC	28	27	30	26	30	30	23	26	220	$167.50
	Chris Bunting	Graham, NC	32	28	25	26	27	28	27	27	220	$167.50
22	C. L. Jones	Danville, VA	21	26	26	35	27	27	30	30	222	$157.50
	Jay Klapper	Loganville, GA	28	29	28	25	29	29	26	28	222	$157.50
24	Thomas Rawles	Newport News, VA	25	27	29	29	26	29	32	28	225	$148.33
	Larry Simpson	Elon College, NC	26	31	24	29	29	31	27	28	225	$148.33
	Buddy Taylor	Severn, MD	28	29	26	27	28	28	30	29	225	$148.33
27	Glenwood Arrington	Martinsville, VA	31	29	30	29	27	28	28	27	229	$137.50
	Rusty Taylor	Severn, MD	31	29	30	28	28	27	29	27	229	$137.50
29	Tony Jackson	Spartanburg, SC	29	29	28	29	30	26	30	29	230	$130.00
30	Gilbert Sharpe	Richmond, VA	29	32	28	29	29	28	26	30	231	$125.00
31	Opie Roberts	Eden, NC	27	30	25	27	30	31	30	33	233	$120.00
32	Mike Griffin	Graham, NC	28	28	29	30	31	26	30	32	234	$120.00
36	Edgar Hollifield	Bostic, NC	31	32	31	31	27	28	27	27	234	$120.00
	Bob Jackson	Spartanburg, SC	29	27	28	30	28	31	32	29	234	$120.00
35	Bart Bason	Gibsonville, NC	30	34	31	27	29	27	30	28	236	$120.00
36	David Abshire	Martinsville, VA	32	31	27	26	30	31	32	30	239	$120.00