Randal Smith Wins 2000 South Carolina State Championship (1 October 2000

Spartanburg, SC - October 1, 2000 - In one of the closest down-to-the-wire finishes in both South Carolina PPA and APA Championship history, Randal Smith (PPA) and Tommy Hutchinson (APA) proved that they were the best players in Spartanburg on a crisp, fall-like Sunday afternoon. A total of eight players were within three shots of the lead going into the sixth and final round of the 2000 South Carolina State Championship.

Smith was tied for the lead at 132 with Allen Wall through five rounds of play. Both players were paired in the same group with Greg Ward in the afternoon as the two were five back of the lead to Rick Baird through the third round. Smith and Wall each opened the afternoon rounds with 36-hole scores of 52 to share the lead with 18 holes to play. Smith continued his stellar play in the last round with a 25, but Wall could not contain Smith in the last nine holes. Smith ended up winning the South Carolina State Championship with the 108-hole score of 157 (-59), a two-shot victory over Baird, who ended up in second for the second straight year and was denied his second state title in the Palmetto State. For Smith, it was his first South Carolina State title, and second state title in as many years. Smith won the 1999 Virginia State Championship in Lynchburg, Virginia for his first state title.

Entering the final three rounds, Rick Baird had a three shot lead over Robert Johnson and a four stroke lead on Mike Flavin. After the long break, Baird backed into the field and actually trailed fourth round leader Wall by three shots after Baird fired a 33 that round, dropping himself into a tie for fourth. He regained his form for the final two rounds with scores of 26 and 25, but it was not enough for the 1994 South Carolina Champion from Pineville, NC as he finished second at 159 (-57). Wall and Randy Reeves finished tied for third at 160, while Johnson and Ward rounded out the top five of this 39-player field with a score of 163.

One player was in the back of the pack at the halfway point and within a single round he was in second. Bill Kirby, the very first South Carolina State Champion, would not let his chances for victory wane after going into the afternoon with a score of 87, 12 strokes off of the lead. In one of the greatest comeback attempts in recent history, Kirby made the first fourteen holes, including the five most difficult to make on the course (3, 7, 9, 13, and 14, not to mention 17 and 18, as well). Kirby missed hole 15 just barely right for the third ever perfect 18 in tournament competition. Kirby settled for a 19 that moved himself from a tie for 26th to second all by himself one stroke down to the leader Allen Wall with two rounds to go.

Kirby then tried to continue his fine play, but could not find the same groove he was in, as he carded closing rounds of 29 and 31, to fall in a ninth-place tie with Rick Rybaczek at 166, nine shots off the pace. The round of 19 is the first to have happened in a sanctioned tournament since Kevin Lacey did so in the fifth round of the 1998 Southern Open held in Augusta. It is also the new course record in Spartanburg, and the first time ever in South Carolina history that a score of 19 was recorded for a single round.

The amateurs concluded their state championship with their final three rounds in the morning. Tommy Hutchinson had a one-shot lead over Jonathan Reid as the day started. Hutchinson, a local and two-time state champion, opened up the lead to as many as three shots after the fourth round. Reid got one of the shots back with a 27 in the fifth round but the fun was about to begin.

Hutchinson made five of the first seven holes and opened up his lead to as many as six strokes with 11 holes to play. Reid continued to play at his pace, but found an opening as Hutchinson walked over to hole 9 and wound up with a disastrous 6 on the hole. Reid took advantage of the debacle and eventually made the next five holes. Standing on the 14th hole, Reid found himself with a two-shot lead with five holes left in the championship.

It stayed that way until hole 17 with Reid maintaining his lead of two. Reid went for the ace on 17, but missed right. His deuce putt was slightly pulled and missed the front of the hole and back down the hill. Reid eventually wound up taking a double-bogey four and Hutchinson aced afterwards to retake the lead by one. On the 108th hole of play, Hutchinson missed his tee shot to the left and took two on the hole. Reid came up on the tee. His ball looked like it was left all the way at first, but the ball started breaking right a bit and then caught the left lip, but did not go in and went down the hill, denying any chance at a playoff. Reid, going for his first state title, settled for a par and lost to one by Hutchinson. The 2000 State Champion shot an incredible score of 167, while the runner-up finished at 168. Jimmy Comer took third with a final score of 174.

On Saturday night, a banquet was held at the Old Country Buffet Restaurant, as Tony Jackson honored several players who received awards for their outstanding play. To name a few, Greg Ward won the 2000 South Carolina Player of the Year; Jonathan Reid received the honor for the APA Division's Player of the Year. Tony Pack was the recipient of the Bob Jackson Sportsmanship Award, and Chris Hudson, who won six tournaments in South Carolina this season, was the tour's Most Improved Player. The naming of the 2001 committee was announced after the tournament on Sunday with Tony Jackson, Edgar Hollifield, Michael Hitt, and Robby Bryant returning as members of the staff. Todd Fowler will replace Bob Jackson as Jackson is stepping down after many years on the staff, but remains as an ex-officio member of the committee.

This concludes play for the 2000 putting season in South Carolina. Congratulations goes out to all those participated and continued to show strong success for the tour.

Professional Scores from the 2000 South Carolina State Championship
(1 October 2000)

			Round							Prize
	Player	Hometown	1	2	3	4	5	6	Total	Money
1	Randal Smith	Eden, NC	28	26	28	27	25	25	157	$850.00
2	Rick Baird	Pineville, NC	26	25	24	33	26	25	159	$650.00
3	Randy Reeves	Montgomery, AL	26	28	30	23	26	27	160	$525.00
	Allen Wall	Shelby, NC	29	25	26	25	27	28	160	$525.00
5	Robert Johnson	Lake Wylie, SC	24	28	26	29	28	28	163	$425.00
	Greg Ward	Loganville, GA	24	31	26	29	25	28	163	$425.00
7	Greg Newport	Liberty, NC	30	27	27	24	28	28	164	$337.50
	Frank Warren	Augusta, GA	31	25	28	32	24	24	164	$337.50
9	Bill Kirby	Fayetteville, NC	31	28	28	19	29	31	166	$287.50
	Rick Rybaczek	Greensboro, NC	28	32	28	24	28	26	166	$287.50
11	Darrell Britt	Loganville, GA	26	28	30	30	27	26	167	$225.00
	Mike Flavin	Augusta, GA	25	28	26	31	25	32	167	$225.00
	Larry Simpson	Elon College, NC	25	30	27	26	30	29	167	$225.00
14	Todd Barfield	Fort Mill, SC	29	30	28	27	26	28	168	$171.67
	Gary Hester	Thomasville, NC	28	27	31	28	28	26	168	$171.67
	Edgar Hollifield	Bostic, NC	28	25	30	31	30	24	168	$171.67
17	Dan Anders	Columbus, GA	29	26	30	30	28	26	169	$147.50
	Andy Coradini	Loganville, GA	32	28	28	29	27	29	169	$147.50
	Todd Fowler	Duncan, SC	29	31	26	28	27	28	169	$147.50
	Tony Jackson	Spartanburg, SC	29	26	30	30	28	26	169	$147.50
21	Tommy Barbour	Graham, NC	26	26	32	28	30	28	170	$127.50
	Mike Brown	Philadelphia, PA	28	31	26	30	28	27	170	$127.50
	Brad Lebo	Shippensburg, PA	27	29	28	27	27	32	170	$127.50
	Tony Pack	Spartanburg, SC	28	27	30	30	29	26	170	$127.50
25	Michael Hitt	Greensboro, NC	27	27	31	29	27	30	171	$115.00
26	Bart Bason	Gibsonville, NC	25	33	28	28	29	31	174	$106.00
	Chris Bunting	Graham, NC	29	27	28	29	29	32	174	$106.00
	Gary English	Atlanta, GA	28	28	27	30	32	29	174	$106.00
	Nick Gill	Rock Hill, SC	30	29	30	28	27	30	174	$106.00
	Ray Guthrie	High Point, NC	26	28	33	32	28	27	174	$106.00
31	Robby Bryant	Seneca, SC	33	28	30	26	31	28	176	$100.00
32	Jay Klapper	Loganville, GA	28	30	29	26	34	30	177	$95.00
33	Brian Martin	Greenville, SC	33	29	31	32	27	28	180	$92.50
	Tony Varnadore	Rock Hill, SC	30	30	28	30	31	31	180	$92.50
35	Bob Haizlip	Whitsett, NC	28	31	32	31	28	31	181	$90.00
	Bob Jackson	Spartanburg, SC	29	31	30	32	32	27	181	$90.00
37	Rob Smarzik	Rock Hill, SC	31	29	32	35	30	25	182	$85.00
38	Kevin Chambers	Rock Hill, SC	26	33	33	30	32	30	184	$85.00
39	Opie Roberts	Eden, NC	29	34	27	33	33	30	186	$85.00