Vince Batten Dominates Field at 2001 Dogwood Festival Open with Six Stroke Victory
29 April 2001 - Charlottesville, VA - Four rounds of 26, 28, 26, and 27 will win tournaments at more than a handful of courses. Those four rounds at the Putt-Putt Golf Course in Charlottesville, Virginia will earn you a six-stroke victory over a field of twenty-three professionals. Vince Batten, the 2000 Virginia State Champion, opened the tournament tied for the lead after 18 holes at 10-under par, 26, and never looked back.
Vince Batten playing in Fredericksburg, Virginia during the 2000 Virginia State Championship.
Surprisingly, Batten's second and third rounds of 28 and 26 only opened up a two stroke lead. Dave Taylor, the 2000 Virginia Classic Champion, trailed Batten entering the final round by only two strokes. Batten entered the final 18 holes at 80, 28-under par, trailed by Dave Taylor at 82 and a pair of players at 84 including Gilbert Sharpe and Ed Grajewski. A final round of 27 was more than enough for Batten to clinch victory at the 2001 Dogwood Festival Open. Batten's score of 107 marks the second consecutive year that the winning score at the Dogwood Festival Open has been lower than the previous year. First played in 1999, the winning professional score was 118. The following year, Rusty Taylor won in a playoff after completing the four rounds with a score of 117.
Rounding out the top five in the professional field were Dave Taylor who finished alone in second at 113. In a three-way tie for third were Gilbert Sharpe, Ed Grajewski, and Bo Luthie.
For the second consecutive day, the amateur division required extra holes to decide a winner. Tyler Proffitt and Paul Lowery tied after 72 holes at 124, 20-under par. Proffitt defeated Lowery in the 18-hole playoff for the victory and the title. Rounding out the top in the amateur field were Wayne Saunders alone in third at 125, Earl Davis in fourth at 129, and Amy Smith in fifth at 130.
Following this weekend of play, the Virginia State Tour returns to action on June 2nd in Fredericksburg, Virginia following the 2001 PPA National Invitational being played in Burlington, North Carolina on May 19th and 20th.
Scores provided by Ed Grajewski.
Professional Division of the 2001 Dogwood Festival Open
(Charlottesville, VA - 29 April 2001)
Round Virginia Prize Player 1 2 3 4 Total Points Money 1 Vince Batten 26 28 26 27 107 30.0 $ 300.00 2 Dave Taylor 27 29 26 31 113 25.0 $ 200.00 3 Gilbert Sharpe 31 27 26 31 115 23.0 $ 151.66 Ed Grajewski 26 32 26 31 115 23.0 $ 151.66 Bo Luthie 27 30 29 29 115 23.0 $ 151.66 6 Kevin Garrett 33 31 26 26 116 20.5 $ 115.00 Randal Smith 29 30 28 29 116 20.5 $ 115.00 8 Mike Brown 29 26 33 29 117 18.5 $ 95.00 Daryl Freeman 28 32 28 29 117 18.5 $ 95.00 10 Matt Summey 30 30 28 30 118 16.5 $ 75.00 Buddy Taylor 30 29 32 27 118 16.5 $ 75.00 12 Rusty Taylor 31 31 30 28 120 15.0 13 Brad Lebo 34 25 32 31 122 13.5 Gary Moore 29 30 33 30 122 13.5 15 Darrell Anderson 31 33 31 28 123 11.5 Peter Neumann 31 33 29 30 123 11.5 17 Danny Dore 30 30 35 29 124 9.0 Bart Bason 27 30 34 33 124 9.0 Gary Hinshaw 28 31 32 33 124 9.0 20 Gil Logan 32 33 30 31 126 7.0 21 Ken Cook 35 32 29 33 129 6.0 22 Wayne Cheatham 36 31 35 30 132 5.0 23 Scott Searcy 37 30 38 34 139 4.0
Professional Teams Division of the 2001 Dogwood Festival Open
( Charlottesville, VA - 29 April 2001)
Virginia Prize Players Total Points Money 1 D. Anderson / V. Batten 230 5 $ 20.00 2 B. Taylor / D. Taylor 231 3.5 $ 5.00 3 E. Grajewski / K. Garrett 231 3.5 $ 5.00 4 P. Neumann / B. Luthie 238 2 5 M. Brown / B. Lebo 239 1 6 R. Taylor / B. Bason 244 1 7 D. Dore / G. Moore 247 1 8 G. Hinshaw / W. Cheatham 256 Amateur Division of the 2001 Dogwood Festival Open
( Charlottesville, VA - 29 April 2001)
Round Virginia Expense Player 1 2 3 4 Total Points Reimbursement
1
Tyler Proffitt 30
32 32 30 124 25.0 $ 25.00 2
Paul Lowery 34 31 29 30 124 20.0 $ 25.00 3
Wayne Saunders 32 33 31 29 125 19.0 $ 25.00 4
Earl Davis 31 31 34 33 129 18.0 $ 25.00 5
Amy Smith 34 32 33 31 130 17.0 $ 25.00 6
Ken Schooler 33 33 33 32 131 15.0 Russell Sigmon 32 33 36 30 131 15.0 Russell Johnson 36 31 33 31 131 15.0 9
Malcolm Shumaker 32 34 32 34 132 13.0 10
Liz Shumaker 35 31 33 34 133 12.0 11
Chuck Cyr 32 30 34 39 135 10.5 Bill Garrett 32 37 34 32 135 10.5 13
Jonathan Moore 37 33 32 34 136 9.0 14
Steven Jones 35 33 42 33 143 8.0 15
Walter Kolb 38 37 39 36 150 7.0 16
Robert Chetister 40 34 41 38 153 6.0
Novice Division of the 2001 Dogwood Festival Open
( Charlottesville, VA - 29 April 2001)
| Round | ||||||
| Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | Total | ||
| 1 | Roy | Sigmon | 34 | 32 | 32 | 98 |
| 2 | Tracy | Logan | 33 | 34 | 33 | 100 |
| 3 | Shayne | Shiflett | 38 | 32 | 34 | 104 |
| 4 | Shawn | Decker | 37 | 30 | 38 | 105 |
| 5 | Phil | Witry | 39 | 34 | 36 | 109 |
| 6 | Steve | Walker | 40 | 34 | 36 | 110 |
| 7 | Brian | Frymeyer | 37 | 39 | 39 | 115 |
| 8 | Ben | Lunsford | 35 | 38 | 44 | 117 |