Tony Varnadore Uses Final Round 20 to Win First PPA Tournament Since 1996
1 September 2001 - Rock Hill, S.C. - A final round 20 for Tony Varnadore was good enough to capture his first PPA win since September 21, 1996. Varnadore came from six shots down after two rounds to win by four shots. Varnadore made 13 consecutive aces during the third round to win the first of two events this weekend in Rock Hill.
Tony Varnadore at the Putt-Putt Course at the Orange Lake Resort & Country Club in Florida.
Greg Newport would start things off with the opening round lead of 24, after firing back-to-back 12's that round. Newport remained in contention and actually dropped to second after the second round. Michael Hitt would fire a 23 to take the outright lead at 50, with Newport being one shot back.
Also, in the second round, Varnadore carded a 30 to fall six back of the lead at 56. That was where he started to burn it up in the final round. Varnadore made hole 1, missed hole 2, then made the next 13 and had the tournament under control from there. Two more aces on the final two holes sealed the win for Varnadore as it was his first win since he won in Spartanburg on September, 1996.
The round of 20 tied the lowest score shot in a South Carolina tournament this season (Allen Wall & Robert Johnson did it in Spartanburg back on July 29) and it was the first time it was done in a North Carolina event this season. It also broke the all-time record for the lowest round shot in a state tournament played in Rock Hill.
When it was all said and done, Varnadore tallied a final count of 76 to win by four. Newport was second at 80, while Hitt stumbled to a final round 31 to wind up third at 81. Todd Barfield and Ray Guthrie captured a fourth-place tie at 82.
Brian Hutchins at the Putt-Putt Course in High Point, N.C..
Brian Hutchins last walked out of Rock Hill with a weekend sweep in the APA Division. On Saturday, he continued to provide his dominance as he came away with a six-shot win. Hutchins used a second round 24 to take a five-shot lead over William Glisson and cruised to victory. Hutchins completed his dominating afternoon with a final score of 82. Glisson was the closest to Hutchins as he finished at 88. Russell Sigmon, Jr. came in third at 89.
On Saturday, the tournament field was treated with on and off showers throughout the day. Much heavier rains came in play before the start of the tournament.
There were 15 money spots paid out in the Pro Division with the score of 86 receiving a full share. The APA Division got three spots, as usual, with the score of 89 getting the final spot. Varnadore took the North Carolina Match Play spot in this event. Hitt took the North Carolina State Qualifying spot, and Guthrie took the South Carolina State Qualifying spot.
These two tours will compete again in Rock Hill on Sunday, September 2, starting at 10:00 a.m. on Course 1 with Varnadore teeing off first. Also, the APA Player of the Year in South Carolina will be determined at that point as Hutchins leads by now eight shots over Tommy Hutchinson.
Recap and Scores provided by Opie Roberts.
Professional Division of Rock Hill, S.C. Event (1 September 2001)
Round
Prize Player 1 2 3 Total Money 1 Tony Varnadore 26 30 20 76 $ 125.00 2 Greg Newport 24 27 29 80 $ 90.00 3 Michael Hitt 27 23 31 81 $ 70.00 4 Todd Barfield 25 31 25 82 $ 65.00 Ray Guthrie 26 28 28 82 $ 65.00 6 Bob Jackson 29 25 29 83 $ 60.00 Rick Rybaczek 27 29 27 83 $ 60.00 8 Darrell Britt 29 28 27 84 $ 53.00 Randal Smith 30 24 30 84 $ 53.00 10 Rick Baird 28 27 30 85 $ 45.00 Tommy Barbour 28 26 31 85 $ 45.00 Andy Coradini 29 30 26 85 $ 45.00 Brad Lebo 27 30 28 85 $ 45.00 14 Gary English 30 26 30 86 $ 40.00 Allen Wall 30 27 29 86 $ 40.00 16 Chris Bunting 30 29 28 87 Kevin Chambers 32 28 27 87 Tony Jackson 27 32 28 87 Bill Kirby, Jr. 29 30 28 87 Gary Moore 26 31 30 87 Frank Warren 30 31 26 87 22 Gary Benfield 32 26 30 88 Lewis Burton 29 30 29 88 Opie Roberts 30 29 29 88 25 Billy Caudle 35 27 27 89 Nick Gill 32 27 30 89 Peter Neumann 29 31 29 89 28 Todd Fowler 35 31 24 90 29 Robert Johnson 31 29 33 93 30 Brian Martin 32 36 30 98 31 Robert Ward 32 34 34 100
Amateur Division of Rock Hill, S.C. Event (1 September 2001)
Round Prize Player 1 2 3 Total Money 1 Brian Hutchins 30 24 28 82 $ 10.00 2 William Glisson 30 29 29 88 $ 10.00 3 Russell Sigmon, Jr. 29 31 29 89 $ 5.00 4 Steve Helton 29 34 27 90 5 Todd Trent 33 28 30 91 6 Tommy Hutchinson 32 31 29 92 7 J. L. Coffey 33 32 28 93 8 Adam Smith 28 32 35 95 9 Betty Helton 39 28 31 98 10 Linwood Moist 32 34 35 101 11 Robin Trent 35 32 35 102 12 Robbie Waldrop 33 40 33 106 13 Walter Kolb 35 34 40 109