8 September 2001 - Greensboro, NC - It has been 11 full seasons since Gary English picked up his last victory on the PPA circuit. English took care of business on Saturday in Greensboro by firing rounds of 26, 26, and 25 to edge out Peter Neumann by one stroke during play of the 5th annual Barbara Nance Memorial contested on Course 2. The win for English is his first since he won an event in Athens, Georgia back in 1990.
On a picture perfect day, 31 professionals and 12 amateurs tested out the skills in Greensboro, which last hosted an event back in March in bone-chilling conditions Despite warmer temperatures, scoring remained at its level. Brad Lebo would get things off and rolling with an opening round 24 to lead by one shot over Lee Witcofski. Fifteen players at that point were within three shots of the lead. The second round featured some dramatics as Greg Newport, winner of four events in North Carolina this season, carded a 24 of his own to lead by one at 51, with English being a close second at 52, one off the pace. After two rounds had completed, 11 players were separated by four shots and the top five were only within two shots of each other. In the final round, Peter Neumann would shoot a 24 to go into the clubhouse at 78. English would fare slightly better as he made the last hole of play to win his first tournament this season in North Carolina. English would walk away from Greensboro as the third person from the Atlanta area to win the Barbara Nance Memorial Tournament (Lewis Burton-1997, Greg Ward - 2000). English finished off with a one-shot win over Neumann after he shot 77. Neumann was second at 78, while Newport and Lebo were tied with Vince Batten for the third spot at 79. For the fifth time this season (which leads the APA tour in the state), Jimmy Comer came out victorious, but had to work hard in the final round just to make the playoff for first. Trailing by four shots to Bear Landin with 18 holes to play, Comer used a final round 27 to catch Landin and both went to the playoff with a score of 86. In the playoff, Comer would dominate and won with a score of 25. Landin had to settle for second and third went to Keith Waters, who missed the playoff by one shot. Before play, a dedication award was presented by Chuck Nance, son of the late Barbara Nance, who passed away prior to the 1996 season. Each year, he has presented an award to the one person he felt that was most dedicated to the tour. The 2001 recipient of the Barbara Nance Memorial Dedication Award was Rick Baird. Nance described Baird as a player who had come out to every tournament that he can remember playing in and never had missed one as long as Nance could remember. Baird accepted his award and responded by the way Barbara was supportive to Chuck and the PPA in her own merit. Barbara Nance attended PPA events for many years before her death and played in several Novice Division events in her time there. In this tournament, there were 15 money spots paid out in the Pro Division and three in the APA Division. The Pro Division was set at 81, good enough for a four-way split for the final spot. The APA line was at 87. English took both spots into the Match Play Championship for next Sunday in Durham and the State Qualifying spot next month in Lumberton. The North Carolina tour will conclude its 2001 season on Sunday, September 9, at 10:00am for the 27th annual Elton Davis Memorial Classic. The Pros will play on Course 1, while the APA will encounter on Course 2. Randy Reeves is the defending champion of the PPA Division, while Comer is out as the APA defender. Scores provided by Rick Rybaczek and tournament recap provided by Opie Roberts. |
Professional Division of Greensboro, NC Event (8 September 2001)
Round NC Prize Player 1 2 3 Total Points Money 1
English, Gary
26
26
25
77
40.00
$150.00
2
Neumann, Peter
28
26
24
78
34.00
$110.00
3
Newport, Greg
27
24
28
79
32.00
$81.33
Batten, Vince
28
26
25
79
32.00
$81.33
Lebo, Brad
24
29
26
79
32.00
$81.33
6
Coradini, Andy
27
26
27
80
30.00
$70.00
7
Haizlip, Bob
28
27
26
81
29.00
$65.00
8
Witcofski, Lee
25
28
30
83
27.50
$57.50
Rybaczek, Rick
28
25
30
83
27.50
$57.50
10
Sharpe, Gilbert
27
29
28
84
26.00
$50.00
11
Ashley, Rodney
29
26
30
85
24.00
$43.00
Barbour, Tommy
29
27
29
85
24.00
$43.00
Baird, Rick
26
28
31
85
24.00
$43.00
14
Jackson, Tony
26
31
29
86
22.00
$40.00
15
Kirby Jr., Bill
28
30
29
87
19.50
$10.00
Griffin, Mike
28
28
31
87
19.50
$10.00
Johnson, Robert
27
29
31
87
19.50
$10.00
Garrett, Kevin
29
29
29
87
19.50
$10.00
19
Mott, Jimmy
28
28
32
88
15.50
Guthrie, Ray
31
28
29
88
15.50
Bunting, Chris
28
32
28
88
15.50
Ansbacher, Peter
26
31
31
88
15.50
23
Caudle, Billy
29
34
26
89
13.00
24
Ward, Robert
31
31
28
90
12.00
25
Rawles, Thomas
32
28
31
91
9.50
Klapper, Jay
28
31
32
91
9.50
Roberts, Opie
28
30
33
91
9.50
Jackson, Bob
32
28
31
91
9.50
29
Carter, Randy
32
31
30
93
6.50
Arrington, Glenwood
33
33
27
93
6.50
31
Moore, Gary
32
30
32
94
5.00
Professional Teams Scores for Greensboro, NC Event (8 September 2001)
Round Prize Team
1 2 3 Total Money 1
Baird - Coradini
53
54
58
165
$20.00 2
Mott - Newport
55
52
60
167
$10.00 3
Neumann - Rawles
60
54
55
169
4
Guthrie - Rybaczek
59
53
59
171
5
Barbour - Caudle
58
61
55
174
6
B Jackson - T Jackson
58
59
60
177
7
Moore - Roberts
60
60
65
185
Amateur Division of Greensboro, NC Event (8 September 2001)
Round NC Prize Player 1 2 3 Total Points Money 1
Comer, Jimmy
31
28
27
86
23.00
$20.00 2
Landin, Bear
27
28
31
86
19.00
$20.00 3
Waters, Keith
30
30
27
87
18.00
$20.00 4
Hutchinson, Tommy
29
30
31
90
16.00
Helton, Steve
31
29
30
90
16.00
Trent, Todd
29
30
31
90
16.00
7
Smith, Adam
30
31
31
92
14.00
8
Cyr, Chuck
33
27
33
93
13.00
9
Johnson, Russell
34
32
29
95
12.00
10
Kolb, Walter
31
31
34
96
10.50
Nance, Chuck
31
33
32
96
10.50
12
Gregor, David
34
35
35
104
9.00