Greg Newport Posts Impressive Victory in North Carolina State Tour Opener
Greg Newport playing in the 2000 PPA National Championship in Fayetteville, North Carolina.17 March 2001 - High Point, NC - On Saint Patrick's Day, Greg Newport received all of the luck he could muster and defied the cold, chilling winds to shoot the tournament best score of 73 to open play for the 2001 North Carolina season. Newport shattered the 48-player field that came out for the season debut out in High Point. Newport opened play with a 24 to lead by one shot over four players, of those which include reigning state champion Greg Ward. A back nine 11 in the first round controlled his fate as he carded another 24 in the second round to go in at 48. Despite the windy conditions and damp carpeting from the previous two days, Newport posted a three-shot lead on Brad Lebo heading into the final round, in which he continued his torrid pace. The two-time NCPPA Player of the Year canned in a 25 in the final round and sealed the win by four strokes over Brad Lebo, Robert Johnson, and Randy Reeves.
There were 48 professionals and 16 amateurs taking part in the opening tournament on the North Carolina tour, its largest output to start the season in recent memory.
Keith Waters and Russell Sigmon, Jr. battled it out round for round and could not decide a winner until the two met in a playoff for first. Waters led the APA Division with a 26, including a 10 on the front missing the first hole he played. Waters relinquished the lead to Sigmon after two rounds when the two were tied for the lead at 55 and could not separate themselves in the final round as they both carded a 28 to finish at 83.
In the playoff, it was all Waters as he quickly jumped to a six-shot lead on the front shooting 5-under 13 and kept it in cruise control to finish the playoff with a 12-under 24 and a ten-shot victory over Sigmon. Jimmy Comer finished in third and five shots back at 88.
Rounding out the top five for the Pro Division were Andy Coradini, Michael Hitt, and Paul Johns, who came from the Great Lakes Tour program to participate in North Carolina, as they each finished at 81. There were 24 money spots for the Pro Division with the score of 87 placing a four-way split for the final two spots. With the win, Newport takes the NCPPA State Qualifying and Match Play spots that will be contested later in the year.
The NCPPA will conclude its weekend play this Sunday, March 18, at 10:00am in Greensboro on Course 2.
Scores provided by Rick Rybaczek and tournament recap provided by Opie Roberts.
Professional Division of High Point, NC Event (17 March 2001)
Round Prize Player 1 2 3 Total Money 1 Greg Newport 24 24 25 73 $150.00 2 Robert Johnson 26 26 25 77 $93.00 Brad Lebo 25 26 26 77 $93.00 Randy Reeves 25 28 24 77 $93.00 5 Andy Coradini 31 26 24 81 $70.00 Michael Hitt 28 28 25 81 $70.00 Paul Johns 27 27 27 81 $70.00 8 Darrell Britt 27 27 29 83 $53.00 Bob Haizlip 30 28 25 83 $53.00 C. L. Jones 25 28 30 83 $53.00 Randal Smith 28 26 29 83 $53.00 12 Lewis Burton 27 27 30 84 $45.00 Gary English 31 25 28 84 $45.00 Larry Simpson 28 29 27 84 $45.00 15 Tommy Barbour 28 29 28 85 $40.00 Randy Carter 29 25 31 85 $40.00 Gary Hester 28 27 30 85 $40.00 Peter Neumann 33 24 28 85 $40.00 Lee Witcofski 31 28 26 85 $40.00 20 Rick Baird 27 29 30 86 $40.00 Ray Guthrie 27 28 31 86 $40.00 Kevin Lacey 31 26 29 86 $40.00 23 Mike Brown 27 28 32 87 $20.00 Kevin Garrett 29 29 29 87 $20.00 Rick Rybaczek 27 30 30 87 $20.00 Tony Varnadore 32 28 27 87 $20.00 27 Bart Bason 29 30 29 88 Chris Bunting 31 28 29 88 Mike Griffin 26 29 33 88 Jay Klapper 32 25 31 88 Jimmy Mott 32 29 29 88 Don Thompson 28 29 31 88 Greg Ward 25 31 32 88 Robert Ward 29 29 30 88 35 Bill Kirby, Jr. 29 30 30 89 Buddy Taylor 28 30 31 89 37 Dan Anders 27 32 31 90 Billy Caudle 31 31 28 90 Gilbert Sharpe 27 33 30 90 40 Randy Orr 30 29 32 91 Wesley Pollard 29 32 30 91 Vance Randall 30 33 28 91 43 Glenwood Arrington 30 30 32 92 44 Michael Cardwell 31 32 31 94 Opie Roberts 38 26 30 94 Rusty Taylor 33 30 31 96 47 Thomas Rawles 32 32 34 98 48 David Abshire 33 35 33 101 Professional Teams Scores for High Point, NC Event (17 March 2001)
Round Prize Team
1 2 3 Total Money 1
G. Newport - R. Smith
52
50
54
156
$20.00 2
M. Brown - B. Lebo
52
54
58
164
$10.00
3
B. Kirby - R. Johnson
55
56
55
166
G. Hester - M. Hitt
56
55
55
166
5
R. Baird - A. Coradini
58
55
54
167
B. Haizlip - L. Simpson
58
57
52
167
7
R. Guthrie - R. Rybaczek
54
58
61
173
8
K. Lacey - G. Ward
56
57
61
174
9
T. Barbour - B. Caudle
59
60
56
175
10
B. Bason - C. Bunting
60
58
58
176
11
P. Neumann - T. Rawles
65
56
62
183
Amateur Division of High Point, NC Event (17 March 2001)
Round Expense Player 1 2 3 Total Reimbursement 1 Keith Waters** 26 29 28 83 $20.00 2 Russell Sigmon, Jr. 28 27 28 83 $20.00 3 Jimmy Comer 27 30 31 88 $20.00 4 Brian Hutchins 29 30 30 89 $10.00 Tommy Hutchinson 28 30 31 89 $10.00 6 Chris Hudson 33 26 31 90 7 Robin Ventura 30 30 31 91 8 Steve Helton 31 33 28 92 9 David Gregor 31 34 28 93 10 Adam Smith 27 33 34 94 11 Amy Smith 34 28 33 95 12 Kenny Goin 35 30 32 97 13 Nick Cook 32 38 30 100 Todd Trent 32 35 33 100 15 Walter Kolb 38 32 32 102 16 Chuck Cyr 40 30 34 104 * Keith Waters defeated Russell Sigmon, Jr. 24 to 33 to win the playoff.
