Ray Guthrie Wins Career First South Carolina Tournament in Lumberton
6 April 2002 - Lumberton, N.C. - For the first time in his career, Ray Guthrie posted a win on the South Carolina tour. Guthrie dominated a 24-player field, a field that was introduced with high winds and very brisk conditions on Saturday in Lumberton.
Ray Guthrie at the 2000 PPA National Championship.
South Carolina managed to get Lumberton on its schedule for the first time ever in the 16-year history. Lumberton has been the host site for four previous North Carolina state events and the 2001 State Championship.
Five players were tied for the lead at 26 through the first round. Guthrie was one of the five in the house along with Lewis Burton, Dan Anders, Frank Warren, and Opie Roberts. Guthrie was in the group with Burton and Roberts, and those three dominated play from the get-go.
Guthrie fired another 26 to take the outright lead at 52 and held a two-shot lead on Burton and three on Roberts. Guthrie managed to cruise to his first South Carolina victory with a final round 29 to finish at 81 and a four-shot win over Burton.
Tommy Hutchinson opened amateur play with a first round 25 and a four-shot lead. Despite finishing the day with a 30 and 32, Hutchinson won his first tournament of the season with a final score of 87 to win by three shots over Chris Hudson. Hutchinson, who won the North Carolina State Championship last season on this course, won the 14-player field. Hudson came in second at 90, while Brian Hutchins was third at 93.
Burton placed second with a final score of 85. Roberts had five cracks to overtake second on the final five holes, but could not capitalize and had to settle for third at 86. Anders, Warren, and Gary English finished tied for fourth at 87. With that, English now has the South Carolina points lead..
There were 12 professional money spots paid out. The line was at 90 and it was split between three players for the final two spots.
Guthrie took the South Carolina State Qualifying spot with his win on Saturday. Burton took the World Match Play spot from this tournament.
The Lumberton course will be the site once again on Sunday, April 7 at 10:00am. Afterwards, the South Carolina tour will be joining the North Carolina tour on Saturday, April 20 for a doubleheader in Rock Hill.
Recap and Scores provided by Opie Roberts
Professional Division of Lumberton, N.C. Event (6 April 2002)
Round
Prize Player 1 2 3 Total Money 1 Ray Guthrie 26 26 29 81 $120.00 2 Lewis Burton 26 28 31 85 $80.00 3 Opie Roberts 26 29 31 86 $65.00 4 Dan Anders 26 32 29 87 $50.00 Gary English 29 30 28 87 $50.00 Frank Warren 26 34 27 87 $50.00 7 Jimmy Mott 30 31 27 88 $40.00 8 Rick Baird 29 35 25 89 $37.00 Andy Coradini 30 29 30 89 $37.00 Michael Hitt 33 29 27 89 $37.00 11 Darrell Britt 30 30 30 90 $24.00 Mike Flavin 31 29 30 90 $24.00 Tony Varnadore 31 29 30 90 $24.00 14 Tony Jackson 30 30 31 91 15 Billy Caudle 32 32 28 92 Brian Martin 30 32 30 92 Jonathan Reid 31 30 31 92 18 Tony Pack 36 31 26 93 Rick Rybaczek 30 33 30 93 Greg Ward 32 29 32 93 21 Todd Fowler 35 30 29 94 22 Gary Hester 33 28 36 97 23 Bob Jackson 34 33 33 100 24 Robert Johnson 32 33 36 101
Amateur Division of Lumberton, N.C. Event (6 April 2002)
Round Prize Player 1 2 3 Total Money 1 Tommy Hutchinson 25 30 32 87 $10.00 2 Chris Hudson 29 30 31 90 $10.00 3 Brian Hutchins 31 33 29 93 4 Steve Helton 31 32 32 95 5 Keith Waters 30 31 36 97 6 Adam Smith 32 34 34 100 Todd Trent 32 35 33 100 8 Ben Blake 32 39 30 101 9 Betty Helton 34 34 36 104 10 Robin Trent 38 36 33 107 11 Linwood Moist 35 40 34 109 12 Darren Harvey 36 37 39 112 13 Jeff Briscoe 42 42 35 119 14 Donald Ralph 39 39 43 121