19 March 2000 - Raleigh, NC - At the end of regulation, only two players were in the clubhouse in the 70's--Rick Baird and Rusty Taylor. Both players played very consistently in their route to shooting 79, where Baird, 1994 South Carolina State Champion, fired a final round 25, that erased Taylor's lead after the second round.Rick Baird Wins Capital City Open in Sudden Death over Rusty Taylor
In the playoff, neither competitor could muster a lead on the other as the two fired another consistent round of 26 to force themselves into sudden death. Taylor, two-time Virginia APA State Champion, had honors on the first hole, and missed his shot to the left, giving Baird the opportunity to close out with an ace which he off the back rail for his first win in North Carolina since June 27, 1998 in Gastonia. Baird also becomes the very first winner at the new Raleigh course.
Bart Bason and Randal Smith, 1999 State Champions in North Carolina and Virginia respectively, finished in a tie for third at 80, while Todd Fowler and Brad Lebo rounded out the top five finished tied for fifth at 81. Fifteen spots were paid out in this event with the score 86 placing for a full share.
Baird, with his victory, accepted and became the second player to qualify for the NC State Championship and Match Play tournament in September.
Local APA player Keith Waters led wire-to-wire in his first victory of the season. Waters fired rounds of 28 and 27 to lead by five strokes through the second round, and coasted to victory with a final score of 85. The win was by two strokes over Brian Hutchins, Saturday's APA winner in Durham, who fired a final round of 27 to break open a three-way tie for second after two rounds, at 87. Hutchins had the two-day low score for the APA and accepted the first qualifying spot into the North Carolina APA State Championship.
Special thanks were given out to Richard and Jasmine King, owners of the Raleigh course, for their extended hospitality by providing drinks and breakfast snacks before the tournament.
The next NCPPA tournament will be 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 Raleigh, NC Event (19 March 2000)
Round Prize Player 1 2 3 Total Money 1 Rick Baird** 26 28 25 79 $150.00 2 Rusty Taylor 25 27 27 79 $110.00 3 Bart Bason 26 28 26 80 $85.00 Randal Smith 29 26 25 80 $85.00 5 Todd Fowler 27 29 25 81 $73.00 Brad Lebo 24 30 27 81 $73.00 7 Ray Guthrie 27 29 26 82 $63.00 Bill Kirby, Jr. 27 26 29 82 $63.00 9 Mike Brown 30 27 28 85 $49.00 Mike Griffin 31 25 29 85 $49.00 Robert Johnson 29 29 27 85 $49.00 Greg Newport 29 28 28 85 $49.00 13 Tommy Barbour 29 30 27 86 $40.00 Andy Coradini 27 29 30 86 $40.00 C. L. Jones 30 28 28 86 $40.00 16 Rich Gillooly 28 28 31 87 Tony Jackson 30 30 27 87 18 Chris Bunting 30 30 28 88 19 Larry Simpson 30 28 31 89 20 Bob Haizlip 30 26 34 90 Gil Logan 29 32 29 90 Buddy Taylor 29 32 29 90 23 Rick Rybaczek 30 29 32 91 24 Edgar Hollifield 31 31 30 92 Gilbert Sharpe 31 31 30 92 26 Gary Hester 34 26 33 93 Michael Hitt 32 28 33 93 28 Glenwood Arrington 32 33 29 94 Opie Roberts 29 34 31 94 30 Peter Ansbacher 34 30 31 95 31 Bob Jackson 33 35 34 102 32 Barry Wyatt 34 33 36 103 33 Michael Cardwell 37 35 36 108 ** Defeated Rusty Taylor on the first hole of sudden-death for the victory.
Professional Teams Scores for Raleigh, NC Event (19 March 2000)
Round Total NC Prize Players 1 2 3 Score Points Money 1 G. Newport - R. Smith
58 54 53 165 14.50 15.00 R. Baird - A. Coradini
53 57 55 165 14.50 15.00 3 M. Brown - B. Lebo
54 57 55 166 13.00 4 R. Johnson - B. Kirby, Jr.
56 55 56 167 12.00 5 T. Fowler - T. Jackson
57 59 52 168 10.50 B. Bason - C. Bunting
56 58 54 168 10.50 7 B. Taylor - R. Taylor
54 59 56 169 9.00 8 R. Guthrie - R. Rybaczek
57 58 58 173 8.00 9 B. Haizlip - L. Simpson
60 54 65 179 7.00 10 G. Hester - M. Hitt
66 54 66 186 6.00 11 C. L. Jones - B. Wyatt
64 61 64 189 5.00 12 M. Cardwell - O. Roberts
66 69 67 202 5.00 Amateur Division of Raleigh, NC Event (19 March 2000)
Round Expense Player 1 2 3 Total Reimbursement 1 Keith Waters 28 27 30 85 $20.00 2 Brian Hutchins 31 29 27 87 $20.00 3 Bill Caudle 29 31 29 89 Jimmy Comer 32 28 29 89 Richard Lorenz 30 30 29 89 6 Tommy Hutchinson 32 29 34 95 7 Chuck Nance 31 35 30 96 8 Steve Helton 31 34 33 98 9 Walter Kolb 31 33 35 99