Tony Jackson Earns Victory in Playoff

17 March 2002 - Rock Hill, SC - After a six-year drought of victories for Tony Jackson that ended in the middle part of last season, he posted his third career win in the last ten he has competed in. Jackson had to come from three shots down to Darrell Britt to go into a playoff and won the playoff by two shots over Britt.

A cold front ran through the Rock Hill area Saturday night, prompting showers to move through and changed the outcome of the course that was played on Saturday. On Saturday, scores were relatively low as 83 was last cash. With the showers that pulled through and coupled with three separate rain delays that totaled approximately 35 minutes of play, 83 would've won by four shots. Instead, 87 was all the course would allow and only four players would break 90 for the entire day.

The first round saw three players in the lead that finished within in the top ten on Saturday. Andy Coradini and Gary English, who finished tied for third with a 78 the day before, were tied with Brad Lebo for the opening round lead at 28. When those three were in the clubhouse, the rain started to pour, prompting the first and longest delay of the tournament of about 20 minutes. The second delay occurred midway through the second round and lasted about 10 minutes, while the third delay came a few minutes after the second one ended and it lasted about 5 minutes.

Britt fired a second round 27 to move into the lead at 56 and held a two-shot lead over Lebo and English. Britt got into early trouble in the final round after he double-bogeyed the third hole. However, he came through and recovered to a final round 31 to finish at 87. Jackson had to fire a pair of 28's in the final two rounds to make the second playoff in as many events for the South Carolina program this season. Robert Johnson won the first playoff played on Saturday.

In the playoff, it was all Jackson as he took an early lead on Britt and held on for a two-shot victory.

Chris Hudson was tied with Brian Hutchins for the lead in the amateur division at 59 before Hudson broke it wide open in the final round. Hudson carded a final round 26 as it proved to be the difference in his win on Sunday. Hudson won by a whopping six shots over Hutchins with a final score of 85 (lowest score shot on Sunday). Hutchins claimed second at 91, while reigning APA State Champion William Glisson tied Todd Trent for the third spot at 96. After two events, Hutchins has the lead in the points race for the APA Division.

After Jackson's and Britt's 87, third was followed by Rick Rybaczek, who fired a final round 27 to finish one back of the playoff at 88. Lebo ended up in fourth at 89, while Georgia products, Dan Anders and Lewis Burton, rounded out the top five in a fifth place tie at 90. Only 27 pros and 15 amateurs competed on this rain-soaked Sunday.

There were 13 professional money spots paid out. The final available spot was split by eight different players. Only seven players out of the entire field did not cash in this tournament on Sunday.

Jackson's win earned him the right to compete in the 16th annual South Carolina State Championship on his home turf in October. English won the two-day low qualifying spot. Two more World Match Play spots were claimed as well. Jackson received the low medalist in this event, while Johnson received his second and final spot he is eligible for by getting the combined two-day score. Johnson is also the early leader for the Player of the Year title.

South Carolina will make its next tour stop in Lumberton, North Carolina on the weekend of April 6 & 7. This will be the first time in the tour's history that they will compete in Lumberton. The tournament on April 6 will begin at 12:00pm and the April 7 event will start at 10:00am.

Recap and Scores provided by Opie Roberts

Professional Division of Rock Hill, SC Event (17 March 2002)

Round

Prize
Player 1 2 3 Total Money
1 Tony Jackson** 31 28 28 87 $120.00
2 Darrell Britt 29 27 31 87 $80.00
3 Rick Rybaczek 32 29 27 88 $65.00
4 Brad Lebo 28 30 31 89 $60.00
5 Dan Anders 31 32 27 90 $53.00
  Lewis Burton 34 26 30 90 $53.00
7 Gary English 28 30 33 91 $42.00
  Robert Johnson 31 31 29 91 $42.00
  Frank Warren 29 33 29 91 $42.00
10 Allen Wall 31 32 29 92 $40.00
11 Tommy Barbour 32 32 29 93 $35.00
  Opie Roberts 33 30 30 93 $35.00
13 Rick Baird 30 31 33 94 $5.00
  Andy Coradini 28 35 31 94 $5.00
  Mike Flavin 33 33 28 94 $5.00
  Ray Guthrie 30 30 34 94 $5.00
  Brian Martin 31 32 31 94 $5.00
  Tony Pack 31 33 30 94 $5.00
  Rob Smarzik 31 32 31 94 $5.00
  Greg Ward 30 32 32 94 $5.00
21 Michael Hitt 34 33 29 96  
22 Greg Newport 32 32 33 97  
23 Todd Fowler 30 34 35 99  
24 Jonathan Reid 32 32 36 100  
25 Gary Moore 32 35 35 102  
  Tony Varnadore 35 33 34 102  
  Terry Whitaker 36 36 30 102  

** Won playoff 29-31.

Amateur Division of Rock Hill, SC Event (17 March 2002)

Round Prize
Player 1 2 3 Total Money
1 Chris Hudson 31 28 26 85 $10.00
2 Brian Hutchins 31 28 32 91 $10.00
3 William Glisson 36 29 31 96 $5.00
  Todd Trent 33 30 33 96 $5.00
5 J. L. Coffey 33 34 31 98  
6 Ben Blake 34 33 32 99  
  Betty Helton 35 31 33 99  
  Steve Helton 33 33 33 99  
9 Billy Walters 33 34 35 102  
10 Tommy Hutchinson 34 35 34 103  
11 Christopher Alley 34 34 36 104  
12 Walter Kolb 37 36 34 107  
13 Robin Trent 39 34 36 109  
14 Linwood Moist 39 33 39 111  
15 Darren Harvey 37 42 39 118  
 
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