Ray Guthrie Sweeps Weekend in Lumberton, NC on South Carolina Tour
7 April 2002 - Lumberton, NC - This time, he had to come from two shots down in third place to win for the second consecutive day in Lumberton on the South Carolina tour. Ray Guthrie bolted out of the gate in the final round by acing the first seven holes en route to tying a course record of 22 and then breaking another one in the process for a three-round score of 76 and won by five this past Sunday in Lumberton.
Ray Guthrie at the 2000 PPA National Championship.
Guthrie picked up where he left off from Saturday's impressive win by firing a 25 to lead by two shots over Dan Anders after the first round of play. Guthrie slipped back in the second round by carding a 29 to go in at 54, but then found himself in a hole for the first time the whole weekend. Previous 2002 tour winner, Tony Jackson, fired a second round 25 to take the lead at 52, with Mike Flavin in a close second at 53 and Guthrie was two back at 54
Guthrie pulled out on all cylinders in his effort to sweep a South Carolina weekend since Todd Fowler did it in Rock Hill back in May, 2000. By making the first seven of the final round, Guthrie sensed victory approaching and capped off the round and weekend with a 22 to go in at 76. Jackson and Flavin could not come close to Guthrie down the stretch as they would wind up second at 81, five back of Guthrie.
In the amateur division, there was a winner for the fourth different time in as many events to date this season. Steve Helton became the latest in this statistic as he won going wire-to-wire. But, he only posted a one-shot victory over Todd Trent and a final round 29 proved that. Helton led by one shot in every round, but it was enough to capture his first win since winning in Spartanburg last July. Rounds of 27, 32, and 29 enabled Helton to win with a final score of 88. Trent had a golden opportunity to capture his first South Carolina win of his career, but could not pull it out and had to finish second at 89. Keith Waters wound up in a third place finish at 91.
The round of 22 by Guthrie tied the all-time single round Lumberton record set by Robert Johnson at the 2001 North Carolina State Championship. The final score of 76 eclipsed the old mark of 77, set by Michael Hitt in his second victory there held in 1999, also on the North Carolina tour.
Current South Carolina points leader Gary English placed his fourth consecutive top five output in as many tries this season on the tour as he took home fourth at 83. Dan Anders ended up in the fifth slot at 84. Once again, there were 24 players participating in the Pro Division and 14 APA's that came out. They were greeted with much better weather conditions, diminishing winds from Saturday, and warmer temperatures, despite a chilly beginning at the 10 o'clock hour.
There were 12 professional money spots paid out, with the cash line sitting at 89 and receiving a full share.
Flavin's second place finish on Sunday gave him the right to qualify for the South Carolina State Championship later this season in Spartanburg. Anders took the two-day low qualifying spot and Jackson grabbed his second and final World Match Play spot after defeating Flavin by one shot in a playoff for that spot.
South Carolina will return to action in two weeks as they will be combining their upcoming events with the North Carolina tour. The tours will head to Rock Hill for a doubleheader on Saturday, April 20, starting at 10:00am on Course 2. Another tournament will be held one hour after the completion of the first tournament. On Sunday, April 21, on the same course, the South Carolina will hold their 5th annual Match Play Championship.
Recap and Scores provided by Opie Roberts
Professional Division of Lumberton, NC Event (7 April 2002)
Round
Prize Player 1 2 3 Total Money 1 Ray Guthrie 25 29 22 76 $120.00 2 Mike Flavin 27 26 28 81 $73.00 Tony Jackson 27 25 29 81 $73.00 4 Gary English 30 25 28 83 $55.00 5 Dan Anders 27 30 27 84 $50.00 6 Jonathan Reid 30 28 28 86 $45.00 7 Rick Rybaczek 31 27 29 87 $42.00 8 Tony Varnadore 28 30 30 88 $40.00 9 Andy Coradini 28 30 31 89 $35.00 Gary Hester 30 28 31 89 $35.00 Robert Johnson 32 30 27 89 $35.00 Greg Ward 30 27 32 89 $35.00 13 Rick Baird 31 28 32 91 Billy Caudle 30 28 33 91 Opie Roberts 32 27 32 91 Frank Warren 32 32 27 91 17 Darrell Britt 29 33 30 92 Michael Hitt 31 30 31 92 19 Jimmy Mott 31 34 28 93 Tony Pack 31 30 32 93 21 Lewis Burton 32 28 34 94 Bob Jackson 34 29 31 94 23 Brian Martin 35 30 35 95 24 Todd Fowler 31 33 34 98
Amateur Division of Lumberton, NC Event (7 April 2002)
Round Prize Player 1 2 3 Total Money 1 Steve Helton 27 32 29 88 $10.00 2 Todd Trent 30 30 29 89 $10.00 3 Keith Waters 28 33 30 91 4 Ben Blake 30 32 32 94 Chris Hudson 31 31 32 94 Adam Smith 34 28 32 94 7 Brian Hutchins 34 30 31 95 8 Tommy Hutchinson 32 32 33 97 9 Linwood Moist 32 31 36 99 10 Betty Helton 35 33 32 100 11 Darren Harvey 33 35 39 107 12 Robin Trent 43 31 34 108 13 Jeff Briscoe 40 41 37 118 14 Donald Ralph 39 40 42 121