Mike Brown Wins the $12,000 PPA National Invitational

18-19 May 2002 - Fredericksburg, VA - The start of the 2002 PPA National Invitational was delayed from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. due to heavy rains moving through the Fredericksburg, Virginia area in the early morning on Saturday, May 18th. The rains also brought much cooler weather and strong winds out of the northwest for the weekend. The weeks leading up to the 2002 PPA National Invitational had heard many conversations about the chances of a player breaking the 144-hole PPA scoring record. However, the wet conditions and wind all but assured that Daryl Freeman's record from the 1973 PPA National Championship would not be broken this weekend.

Mike Brown playing hole #1 (course #1) at the 2002 PPA National Invitational (Fredericksburg, VA).

The opening rounds of the 2002 PPA National Invitational saw a Virginian move to the front of the field and hold the lead at the end of the day. Vince Batten opened with rounds of 25 and 24 to lead by two strokes over Bryan Boyd, Andy Coradini and Charlie Greenwalt who were at 51.

The third round saw the field draw closer to Batten as he fired a third round of 28 for a 54-hole total of 77, 31-under par. One stroke behind Batten was a group of five players, Andy Coradini, Charlie Greenwalt, Jeffrey Smith, Gilbert Sharpe and Thomas Rawles, all at 78.

Batten closed out his first day with a round of 26 on course #3 to hold the first day lead at 103, 41-under par. In a five way tie for second were Andy Coradini, Jeffrey Smith, Gilbert Sharpe, Rick Rybaczek and Bill Baus. Baus put together a fourth round of 23, 13-under par, to move from a tie for 19th place into a tie for 2nd place. After all the talk of breaking the 144-hole PPA scoring record, the stroke average for PPA field for courses #1 and #3 on Saturday was 28.18 and 28.07 respectively.

First-day leader, Vince Batten, playing hole #3 (course #1) at the 2002 PPA National Invitational.

However, the lowest score of the first day of competition was shot by Jonathan Koo of Richmond, Virginia competing in the APA division. Koo put together rounds of 25, 25, 27 and 24 to finish the first 72-holes of play at 101, 43-under par. Koo held a commanding ten stroke lead over his nearest competitor, Jeff Brown, with only two other amateurs, Nate Nichols at 114 and Tyler Proffitt at 115, within 15 strokes of Koo after the first day.

The second day of the 2002 PPA National Invitational opened with temperatures in the 50's and winds out of the northwest. The course had dried overnight and the expectations were for lower scores in rounds five through eight. With the field starting play on Sunday in inverted order, it didn't take long for it to become apparent that the scores would be lower. Brad Lebo fired a fifth round of 21, 15-under par, and the scoring average for the fifth round was 27.60, lower than any of the four rounds played on Saturday.

First day leader Vince Batten fired a fifth round 26 but was caught by Gilbert Sharpe who fired a fifth round of 23 to take the lead after 90 holes of play. Mike Brown, who entered play on Sunday trailing Batten by four strokes fired a round of 23 to move in third place. The leaders moved to course #3 for the sixth round and the scores continued to drop as the professional field averaged 27.32 for the sixth round. The lead which Gilbert Sharpe held entering the sixth round evaporated as Mike Brown fired a 24 to take the lead after 108 holes of play at 154, 62-under par. In a tied for second were Gilbert Sharpe, Vince Batten and Lewis Burton at 155, 61-under par.

The leaders returned to course #1 for the seventh round and saw the scores continue to drop. The professional field averaged 26.67 on course #1 in the seventh, the lowest average round score of the tournament. Mike Brown fired his second consecutive 23 on course #1 and posted a 126 hole total of 177, 75-under par. Lewis Burton was now alone in second place at 179 with Vince Batten, Kevin Lacey and Rick Rybaczek in a tie for third at 181.

Jonathan Koo, APA Division Champion, playing hole #1 (course #1) at the 2002 PPA National Invitational.

In the amateur division on Sunday, Jonathan Koo was being pushed by Jeff Brown for the 2002 PPA National Invitational amateur title. Koo held a ten shot lead over Jeff Brown entering play on Sunday but had seen that lead dwindle to seven strokes entering the final round of play. Brown had continue to cut into Koo's lead and pulled within two strokes on the final nine holes. However, Koo's final round of 28, for a 213 total score, was enough to secure the amateur title by four stroke over Jeff Brown. Rounding out the top five in the amateur division were Nate Nichols from Edinburgh, IN at 224, Tyler Proffitt from Richmond, IN at 226 and Don Ferrell, 2001 APA National Champion, from Columbus, OH at 235.

Mike Brown, leading by two stroke entering the final round continued his strong play with a final round of 25 for a Sunday total of 95, 49-under par, and a 144 hole total of 202, 86-under par. Lewis Burton who trailed Brown by two strokes entering the final round could not put together a charge in the final round and finished with a final round 27 for a total of 206, 82-under par, which put Burton alone in second place. Andy Coradini who was six stroke behind Brown entering the final round shot a final round 24 to move into third place at 207, 81-under par. In a tie for fourth place were Gilbert Sharpe and Rick Baird who each fired final rounds of 27 for a total score of 209, 79-under par. Rounding out the top ten were Bill Baus and Kevin Lacey in a tie for sixth at 210 and first-day leader Vince Batten, Thomas Rawles and Jeff Spainhour in a tie for eighth at 211.

The other drama in the final round was the contest for the 16 PPA World Match-Play Spots that were available in the 2002 PPA National Invitational. The following players all earned PPA World Match-Play spots: Rick Baird, Bill Baus, Vince Batten, Greg Newport, Rick Rybaczek, Jeffrey Smith, Randy Reeves, Dave Nutini, Manfred Stewart, Bill Kirby, Jr., Dave Taylor, Dan Anders, Ray Guthrie, Robin Ventura, Bryan Boyd and Gary English.

On May 18th, 2002, two articles appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer about the 2002 PPA National Invitational and about Mike Brown.

On May 21st, 2002, an article appeared in the Free Lance Star (Fredericksburg, Virginia) on the 2002 PPA National Invitational.

The 2002 PPA National Tour plays its next tournament on June 29th and 30th, 2002, in Richmond, IN. The 2002 PPA Northern Open with defending 1999 PPA Northern Open Champion, Andy Coradini, will be an 8 round tournament with a $12,000 purse for the professional field.

Leaders of 2002 PPA National Invitational by Round

First Round Leader Randy Reeves 23 (13-under par)
Second Round Leader Vince Batten 49 (23-under par)
Third Round Leader Vince Batten 77 (31-under par)
Fourth Round Leader Vince Batten 103 (41-under par)
Fifth Round Leader Gilbert Sharpe 128 (52-under par)
Sixth Round Leader Mike Brown 154 (62-under par)
Seventh Round Leader Mike Brown 177 (75-under par)

Professional Scores from the 2002 PPA National Invitational
(18-19 May 2002 - Fredericksburg, VA)

    Round   Prize  
  Player (Hometown) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Total Money Points
1 Mike Brown (Springfield, PA) 27 27 26 27 23 24 23 25 202 $ 1,500.00 100
2 Lewis Burton (Lawrenceville, GA) 28 25 28 25 25 24 24 27 206

$ 1,000.00

 98
3 Andy Coradini (Loganville, GA) 26 25 27 27 26 29 23 24 207 $    800.00 96
4 Gilbert Sharpe (Richmond, VA) 26 28 24 27 23 27 27 27 209 $    650.00 93
Rick Baird (Pineville, N.C.) 27 27 25 28 24 25 26 27 209 $    650.00 93
6 Bill Baus (Cleveland Heights, OH) 31 25 26 23 27 25 26 27 210 $    475.00 89
Kevin Lacey (Cincinnati, OH) 25 27 31 24 27 23 24 29 210 $    475.00 89
8 Vince Batten (Richmond, VA) 25 24 28 26 26 26 26 30 211 $    380.00 84
Thomas Rawles (Portsmouth, VA) 24 30 24 29 26 26 24 28 211 $    380.00 84
Jeff Spainhour (Chesapeake, VA) 30 24 29 24 30 25 28 21 211 $    380.00 84
11 Daryl Freeman (Bristol, TN) 27 29 28 24 30 22 25 27 212 $    330.00 79
John Napoli (Clearwater Beach, FL) 25 27 31 30 26 27 25 21 212 $    330.00 79
13 Greg Newport (Liberty, N.C.) 28 26 27 29 24 26 27 26 213 $    300.00 76
14 Rick Rybaczek (Greensboro, N.C.) 26 26 27 26 26 28 22 33 214 $    263.33 72
Jeffrey Smith (Dallas, TX) 27 26 25 27 29 30 27 23 214 $    263.33 72
Randy Reeves (Montgomery, AL) 23 32 28 27 27 25 27 25 214 $    263.33 72
17 Dave Nutini (Canal Winchester, OH) 26 26 33 24 29 24 28 25 215 $    235.00 67
Manfred Stewart (Richmond, VA) 24 31 29 28 28 27 24 24 215 $    235.00 67
19 Bill Kirby, Jr. (Fayetteville, N.C.) 27 27 27 27 27 27 27 27 216 $    217.50 63
Dave Taylor (Pasadena, MD) 28 30 26 28 27 24 27 26 216 $    217.50 63
21 Peter Neumann (Blacksburg, VA) 29 25 26 26 25 27 30 29 217 $    200.00 56
Dan Anders (Columbus, GA) 26 30 27 25 26 27 29 27 217 $    200.00 56
Ray Guthrie (High Point, N.C.) 28 26 31 28 27 23 28 26 217 $    200.00 56
Kevin Garrett (Richmond, VA) 31 29 26 28 28 25 25 25 217 $    200.00 56
Michael Hitt (Greensboro, N.C.) 30 30 29 25 27 28 25 23 217 $    200.00 56
26 Robin Ventura (Cincinnati, OH) 27 28 32 23 25 28 25 30 218 $    182.50 49.5
Bryan Boyd (Bristol, TN) 26 25 33 28 24 28 26 28 218 $    182.50 49.5
28 Gary English (Buford, GA) 27 27 27 28 28 24 28 30 219 $    170.00 47
Darrell Anderson (Mechanicsville, VA) 25 29 30 29 29 28 24 25 219 $    170.00 47
Greg Ward (Loganville, GA) 27 30 28 32 25 24 26 27 219 $    170.00 47
31 Charlie Greenwalt (Indianapolis, IN) 25 26 27 29 28 26 30 29 220 $    156.25 43.5
Tony Varnadore (Rock Hill, S.C.) 30 28 28 25 26 28 25 30 220 $    156.25 43.5
Buddy Taylor (Gambrills, MD) 25 28 28 31 22 30 29 27 220 $    156.25 43.5
34 Jay Klapper (Loganville, GA) 29 30 31 26 28 26 24 26 220 $    156.25 43.5
35 Lee Messinger (Addison, TX) 25 28 31 27 29 29 26 26 221 $     51.67 40
Jody Comer (Indianapolis, IN) 28 26 27 31 32 26 25 26 221 $     51.67 40
Jay Hadsell (North Olmsted, OH) 27 27 31 30 28 24 28 26 221 $     51.67 40
38 Michael McCormack (Westerville, OH) 24 31 29 25 27 29 30 28 223   35.5
Todd Barfield (Highlands, N.J.) 30 29 26 28 31 26 27 26 223   35.5
Paul Johns (Gahanna, OH) 29 26 29 30 26 29 28 26 223   35.5
Randal Smith (Eden, N.C.) 32 29 31 24 28 31 24 24 223   35.5
Gary Hester (Thomasville, N.C.) 29 29 31 28 27 26 27 26 223   35.5
Brad Lebo (Shippensburg, PA) 30 28 26 33 21 33 28 24 223   35.5
44 Tom Gross (Columbus, IN) 28 26 27 32 28 28 27 28 224   31.5
Rod Miller (Columbus, OH) 28 30 26 32 29 27 27 25 224   31.5
46 Danny Dore (Mount Airy, MD) 27 26 29 28 28 30 27 30 225   30
47 Tom Spiker (Millersville, MD) 27 26 28 29 29 31 31 25 226   28
Jim Cruse (Baltimore, MD) 30 28 28 28 28 31 28 25 226   28
Matthew Summey (Glen Allen, VA) 28 27 31 32 25 28 26 29 226   28
50 Rusty Taylor (Gambrills, MD) 29 25 29 28 32 29 27 29 228   25.5
Darrell Britt (Loganville, GA) 26 29 27 30 28 29 28 31 228   25.5
52 Jeffrey Garrison (Morgantown, IN) 27 28 31 27 26 31 30 29 229   23.5
Gary Moore (Mechanicsville, VA) 31 29 27 31 35 25 27 24 229   23.5
54 Robert Johnson (Lake Wylie, S.C.) 30 27 31 26 31 27 27 32 231   21.5
John Ventura (Cincinnati, OH) 29 30 30 32 29 30 27 24 231   21.5
56 William Opie Roberts (Eden, N.C.) 30 33 29 31 28 28 26 28 233   20
57 Steven Jones (Richmond, VA) 30 31 29 25 34 28 28 31 236   18.5
Frank Warren (Augusta, GA) 30 28 30 33 32 28 28 27 236   18.5
59 Jonathan Moore (Richmond, VA) 32 32 33 28 30 29 27 27 238   17
60 Ed Grajewski (Midlothian, VA) 31 30 29 32 31 32 27 27 239   16
61 Mark Hasty (Fairfield, OH) 33 27 30 32 28 30 32 32 244   15
62 Ken Schooler (Fredericksburg, VA) 32 31 28 36 29 30 28 32 246   14
63 Rodney Ashley (Hillsborough, N.C.) 28 34 31 33 32 31 25 33 247   13

Players whose names appear in bold italics earned a qualifying spot into the 2002 PPA World Match-Play Championship that will be held in Martinez, Georgia during the 2002 Week of the Nationals.

Amateur Scores from the 2002 PPA National Invitational
(18-19 May 2002 - Fredericksburg, VA)

    Round   Expense
  Player (Hometown) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Total Reimbursement
1 Jonathan Koo (Richmond, VA) 25 25 27 24 30 29 25 28 213  $ 50.00
2 Jeff Brown (North Olmsted, OH) 28 30 27 26 28 29 24 25 217  $ 50.00
3 Nate Nichols (Edinburgh, IN) 30 28