Dave Nutini Wins 2002 PPA Great Lakes Tour Championship (Richmond, IN

2002 Great Lakes Tour Championship

Dave Nutini Wins GLT Championship in Sudden Death over Bill Thompson

Dave Nutini (left) and Bill Thompson (right), 2002 PPA Great Lakes Tour Champion and Runner-Up.

22 September 2002 - Richmond, IN - Dave Nutini has figured out how to win. Just two weeks after his first GLT victory, the Canal Winchester, OH resident claimed his second by winning the tour’s championship event with a dramatic come-from-behind, sudden death victory over Bill Thompson of Olmsted Falls, OH in the championship match.

Nutini earned his berth in the championship match by capturing the medal play portion of the event earlier in the day. Thompson was the winner of the match play bracket on the previous day.

It was Thompson who came out of the gate quickly. With ten aces on the first twelve holes he quickly assumed a five-up lead. But when Nutini gained honors on the thirteenth hole, he began chipping away slowly until the lead was one hole with nine left to play. Nutini continued to ace throughout the back nine, but Thompson held on until a costly miss at 14 and a bogey at 15 enabled Nutini to take the lead. Both players missed 16 and aced 17. With Nutini’s miss at 18, Thompson had a chance to tie, and he sank the putt to force a sudden death playoff.

Now playing first, Thompson narrowly missed hole 1 in the playoff. Nutini sank a perfect putt behind him and the tour championship was his. Nutini received the $1000 first prize, combined with his $240 for reaching the semis in the match play bracket for a total of $1240. Thompson received the $600 runner-up prize combined with $350 for his second place finish in the medal play bracket for a total of $950.

Jeff Brown Wins APA Division in Sudden Death over James Weber

James Weber (left) and Jeff Brown (right), 2002 APA Great Lakes Tour Runner-Up and Champion.

22 September 2002 - Richmond, IN - In the APA division, match play winner Jeff Brown of North Olmsted, OH defeated low medalist James Weber of Cincinnati on the second hole of sudden death.

Brown found himself two down with two holes to play. When Weber left a putt short at 17, Brown had his chance. With aces at both 17 and 18, Brown forced sudden death. Both players aced hole 1 and Brown aced hole number 2. Weber’s putt came up just a hair short, and Jeff Brown had won himself a tour championship.

Bill Thompson Defeats Brandon Yee to Win Match Play Bracket of the GLT Championship

21 September 2001 - Richmond, IN - At the tail end of what had been a disappointing season, Bill Thompson was beginning to be in contention again in tour events going into the GLT Championship. Usually a strong player in match play, Thompson had not advanced beyond the semis in any match play events all season.

But the 20-year veteran regained those match play skills just in time for the tour Championship in Richmond, IN. After a first round bye, Thompson stormed through matches with three fellow Clevelanders, defeating Jim Heikkinen (3-2), Tom O’Brien (4-3) and Roger Beckerman (5-4).

Bill Thompson, PPA Winner of the Match Play Bracket of the Great Lakes Tour Championship.

Meanwhile, rookie pro Brandon Yee of Columbus, OH was dispensing with opponents in a similarly convincing manner in the other half of the bracket. Yee defeated Mark Hasty (4-3), Craig Williams (5-4), Kevin Lacey (3-2) and Dave Nutini (2-1).

The two players were clearly hitting the ball the best in the field, and they now met for the final match of the bracket to determine who would advance to the championship match.

Yee played well through the first 18, but received several tough breaks. Thompson was able to take advantage and found himself with a three-hole lead at the turn. Then both players began to struggle on the front nine of the second round of the match. Yee could only record two aces in the first seven holes, and Thompson could only manage one ace, plus a bogey on hole 3. It got even worse when Yee bogeyed at hole 8 and Thompson bogeyed right behind him. With ten holes to play, Thompson’s lead had been cut to one.

Jeff Brown, APA Winner of the Match Play Bracket of the Great Lakes Tour Championship.

And then the aces came right back. Yee made five of the next seven holes, but to no avail. Thompson recorded aces on the entire eight-hole stretch from 9 through 16 to close him out, 3 up.

In the APA division, Jeff Brown drew a first round bye and then in round two staged a dramatic comeback against Scott Copeland that ended in sudden death. After defeating Mike Bell (2 up) in the semis, Brown had advanced to the final match.

James Weber easily dealt with Anthony Burns (8-7), Leroy Lacey (4-3) and APA World Champion Zach Smith (3-2) to set up the final match with Brown.

It was Brown who kept the momentum going in his favor during the final match en route to an impressive 6 up victory over Weber.

Dave Nutini Edges Bill Thompson for Victory in Medal Play Bracket of GLT Championship

22 September 2002 - Richmond, IN - Fresh off his first tour victory in the Ray Browning Memorial, Dave Nutini came to Richmond with his sights set high on winning the GLT Championship. Nutini sizzled the first round on his way to a 22 and a two-shot lead over Roger Beckerman and Kevin Lacey. A solid 25 in the second round maintained that two shot lead for Nutini over Craig Williams and Robin Ventura.

Dave Nutini, PPA Winner of the Medal Play Bracket of the Great Lakes Tour Championship.

Mother Nature decided to become a factor in round three as a dry autumn cold front suddenly kicked up strong winds and plunged the temperature within a matter of minutes. Saturday’s match play winner, Bill Thompson, was able to overcome the changing conditions and post an impressive 24, enabling him to erase a six stroke deficit and move up six places to share the lead at 77 with Williams when play halted for the 45-minute lunch break.

Thompson took a one-shot lead in round 4 with a 27 as the winds continued to blow and many players put on their fall jackets. Round five started with Thompson acing ten of the first eleven holes and it appeared that he might be on his way to becoming the first player in GLT history to sweep both the match play and medal play brackets in the GLT Championship.

But the aces ran dry for Thompson. He recorded only one ace on the last seven holes of round five and opened the final round deucing the first eight holes. This enabled both Nutini and Beckerman to make their moves.

Nutini had trailed Thompson by four and Beckerman by one entering the final round. With the leader struggling, he picked up momentum steadily, acing seven of the first ten holes. With eight holes left to play, Nutini held a one shot lead over Beckerman and a two shot lead over Thompson.

Then it was Beckerman and Nutini who struggled. Beckerman bogeyed at #11 and played the last eight holes only two under par. Nutini cooled off briefly and Thompson began acing again, making 9 through 12 to overtake Nutini for the lead entering the Y-hole, #14. Thompson recorded a costly bogey, and he found himself trailing Nutini again by one. Aces for Thompson at 15 and 16 tied the two players with two holes remaining.

James Weber, APA Winner of the Medal Play Bracket of the Great Lakes Tour Championship.

Nutini sank a perfect putt on the tricky 17th hole, but Thompson answered with an ace to remain tied going into the 18th hole. Putting first, Nutini sank a beautiful putt to cap off an impressive final round 25, given the conditions and the situation. Thompson still had a chance to tie Nutini on #18, but could not sink the putt. There would be no sweep.

The final standings put Nutini at 158, 58-under par, and Thompson one stroke behind at 159. Beckerman finished third at 161. A charging Jim Heikkinen passed many players with a final round 25 to claim fourth place at 164. Craig Williams and Brandon Yee tied for fifth at 166.

James Weber battled the Springfield trio of Scott Copeland, Zach Rumery and Leroy Lacey for the lead through the first three rounds of the APA medal play. Weber held a one shot lead over Rumery at 82 at the lunch break. His impressive fourth round 25 in the windy cold opened up a big lead and he never relinquished it.

Weber coasted in the last two rounds to post a score of 166, 50 under par. Scott Copeland recovered from disappointing 31’s in rounds 4 and 5 to shoot 24 his final round and claim second place at 171. Rumery was third at 173, and Lacey fourth at 174. Zach Smith took fifth place at 177.

Scores provided and tournament recap provided by Bill Thompson

Professional Division of the 2002 Great Lakes Tour Championship
(Richmond, IN - 21 September 2002)
Match-Play Competition

Amateur Division of the 2002 Great Lakes Tour Championship
(Richmond, IN - 21 September 2002)
Match-Play Competition

Professional Division of the 2002 Great Lakes Tour Championship
(Richmond, IN - 22 September 2002)
Medal-Play Competition