9 April 2000 - Roxboro, NC - On a day where high winds, cool temperatures, and wind chills mostly in the 30's players recorded some of the highest scores in the brief Roxboro Open history. C. L. Jones was the only player that broke 30 in each round to win the third annual Roxboro Open by one stroke over Greg Newport.C. L. Jones Gets First Victory in Three Years at Roxboro Open
Jones used rounds of 29, 28, and 28 to finish the tournament at 85 (-23) and capture his first victory on the North Carolina and Virginia tours since August 17, 1997 in Martinsville. The win was his third career in North Carolina and second in Virginia.
Newport, fresh off a playoff victory in Durham just the day before, led through the second round at 56 (-16). Newport ran into trouble down the stretch of the back nine to only finish the round at 30 and lose by one to the champion from Danville, Virginia.
For the second straight day, a playoff had to be decided for a winner between Brian Hutchins and Keith Waters, the two top point-getters on the tour each with multiple victories on the season. After both players finished tied at 87 for the lead, the playoff was decided with Waters defeating Hutchins by one stroke, -5 to -4. Waters returned the favor that Hutchins used on him the day before in Durham when Hutchins then won the playoff by one shot.
As a result, both players now have three wins on the North Carolina tour (only two players with victories) and are separated by only one point in the North Carolina APA points race with Hutchins leading. Amy Smith leads the Virginia APA by 3.5 points over Walter Kolb through this tournament. Kolb finished in third in the APA at 91.
Tony Jackson and Rick Baird finished in a tie for third at 87, Bill Kirby finished in fifth at 88. Baird has taken the overall points lead in the PPA division by 2.5 over Newport. Mike Brown fell to third and 5 points back of the leader. Newport, however, has the lead in the Virginia points race by 10 points over Brown and by 24.5 over Gilbert Sharpe. Fourteen spots were paid out in this event with the score 92 placing for a full share. Jones, with his victory, qualified for the NC State Championship to be played in Greensboro in September. Jackson took the NC Match Play Spot to be held in Forest City later this year. Waters received the two-day APA low qualifying spot.
The next tournament on the schedule is in Norfolk for the Virginia tour on Saturday, April 15, at 12:00pm slated for Course 3, but could be changed since the management has yet to fully lay the carpet on there. If the course is not ready by then, the tournament will be played on Course 2. They also will play on Sunday, April 16, at 11:00am in Norfolk. The NCPPA will not play again until Saturday, April 29 at 12:00pm, in Winston-Salem with the South Carolina tour, in preparations for the upcoming Carolina's Open the day after that.
Scores and tournament recap provided by Opie Roberts.
Professional Division of Roxboro, NC Event (9 April 2000)
Round Prize Player 1 2 3 Total Money 1 C. L. Jones 29 28 28 85 $150.00 2 Greg Newport 29 27 30 86 $110.00 3 Rick Baird 29 31 27 87 $85.00 Tony Jackson 27 30 30 87 $85.00 5 Bill Kirby, Jr. 29 31 28 88 $75.00 6 Ray Guthrie 31 30 28 89 $68.00 Bob Haizlip 30 29 30 89 $68.00 8 Rich Gillooly 31 32 27 90 $60.00 9 Bart Bason 28 35 28 91 $55.00 10 Mike Brown 34 29 29 92 $42.00 Andy Coradini 30 31 31 92 $42.00 Ed Grajewski 30 33 29 92 $42.00 Brad Lebo 29 30 33 92 $42.00 Rick Rybaczek 33 31 28 92 $42.00 15 Glenwood Arrington 35 29 29 93 Buddy Taylor 35 31 27 93 17 David Abshire 32 31 31 94 Gary Hester 27 35 32 94 Opie Roberts 31 32 31 94 Gilbert Sharpe 32 29 33 94 21 Chris Bunting 31 35 29 95 22 Larry Simpson 32 32 32 96 23 Wayne Cheatham 32 31 34 97 Mike Griffin 32 33 32 97 Rusty Taylor 30 37 30 97 26 Robert Johnson 33 32 33 98 27 Tommy Barbour 30 35 34 99 28 Barry Wyatt 35 34 34 103 Amateur Division of Roxboro, NC Event (9 April 2000)
Round Expense Player 1 2 3 Total Reimbursement 1 Keith Waters** 31 25 31 87 $20.00 2 Brian Hutchins 29 30 28 87 $20.00 3 Walter Kolb 30 30 31 91 4 Jimmy Comer 30 29 33 92 5 Chuck Nance 32 30 31 93 6 Billy Caudle 36 30 35 101 Russell Johnson 33 35 33 101 8 Amy Smith 33 33 36 102 9 Chuck Cyr 31 41 35 107 James Bailey 33 36 38 107
** Defeated Brian Hutchins 31-32 in a playoff for victory.