Paul Johns Wins 2003 PPA Great Lakes Tour Championship (Warren, OH

2003 Great Lakes Tour Championship

Paul Johns Defeats Mike Brown to Become First Two-Time Champion on Modern Great Lakes Tour

Paul Johns holding the 2003 PPA Great Lakes Tour Championship Trophy.

21 September 2003 - Warren, OH - Paul Johns of Gahanna, Ohio scored a 4 up victory over 1996 PPA National Champion Mike Brown to become the first player to repeat as Great Lakes Tour Champion since the tour resumed play in the mid-90’s. Johns played brilliantly in match play all weekend and that enabled him to seize control of the championship match early and claim the tour championship and the $1,000 first place prize money.

Paul Johns playing the final hole of his championship match against Mike Brown.

The GLT Championship format, unique among PPA state tours, pits the winner of a match play bracket against the winner of a 108-hole medal play bracket in a 36-hole championship match for the overall title. Johns advanced to the championship match via the match play, while Brown was victorious in the medal play bracket.

2003 PPA Great Lakes Tour
Championship Trophy.

In that championship match, Johns won the second hole to go one up. The two players traded wins on holes 7and 8 and halved the rest of the holes until hole 11 of the first half of the match. There Brown recorded the first of three consecutive misses on one of the more aceable stretches on the course, and Johns took full advantage to go four up. But with clutch aces on 16 and 17, Brown was able to trim the margin to two at the turn. Brown would trim one more shot off that lead on hole 1, but then costly misses at relatively easy holes 3 and 5 began his undoing. He trailed by three entering the final nine of play.

Almost anything can happen on the back nine of Warren #3, but unfortunately for Brown more bad things were going to happen for him. He missed a second time on the easy hole 11. He quickly won the honors back on hole 12 and forced Johns to ace at 13. Brown appeared determined to come back and he hit what appeared to be a good putt on hole 14, but a very unfortunate lip-out on the left side ultimately put the title out of reach for him. Johns aced behind him and closed him out on number 15 to win 4 up. Brown received a runner-up trophy and the $600 runner-up prize.

Walt Kizzie Defeats Anthony Amick to Win Great Lakes Tour APA Championship

Walt Kizzie holding the 2003 APA Great Lakes Tour Championship Trophy.

21 September 2003 - Warren, OH - Pittsburgh’s Walt Kizzie was probably not considered one of the favorites to win the GLT APA crown entering the tour championship weekend—except by Walt Kizzie that is. Although not a frequent participant on the GLT, Kizzie has enjoyed success, particularly at his home course in Monroeville, PA. Kizzie brings an intense desire to win to each event he enters.

Anthony Amick of Canal Winchester has been the most formidable match play opponent over the last two years among the amateurs on the Great Lakes Tour. When Amick and Kizzie met in the championship match of the GLT Championship those who knew both players knew it was going to be a battle.

Anthony Amick, APA Winner of the Match Play Bracket of the 2003 Great Lakes Tour Championship.

Kizzie built a four hole lead early on the front nine before Amick was able to regain his focus and erase that deficit by hole 15, where Kizzie made a costly bogey on a routine deuce. A perfect ace on the very difficult #18 gave Kizzie a one-up lead at the turn. The two players battled over the first four holes of the second round, alternating wins on holes 1 through 4. Then Kizzie stepped up his play another level and built a lead going into the back nine. Despite valiant attempts by Amick to come back, Kizzie maintained a solid level of play and defeated Amick by a final score of 3-2.

Walt Kizzie, APA Winner of the Medal Play Bracket of the 2003 Great Lakes Tour Championship.

Amick earned his berth in the championship match by winning Saturday’s match play competition over reigning APA World Match Play Champion Bonnie White of Concord Twp. in an intense match that saw White knock in the last hole to force sudden death. Amick won the match by acing hole #1. Zach Smith and Anthony Burns were semifinalist in the APA match play, losing to White and Amick respectively. Amick’s victory over Burns also came in sudden death.

Kizzie was a big winner in the APA medal play, where he took the lead after a sizzling fourth round and never looked back. His rounds of 31-24-31-24-29-28 gave him a score of 167, 49 under par and eight shots better than nearest competitor Anthony Burns of Springfield at 175. Defending GLT APA Champion Jeff Brown finished third at 176 and Don Ferrell was fourth at 179.

Paul Johns Defeats Robb Titchell to Win Match Play Bracket of the GLT Championship

20 September 2003 - Warren, OH - 2003 had been a relatively off year for Paul Johns entering the GLT Championship weekend. Despite playing most of the events, Johns finished twelfth in the points race. But the 1995 GLT Champion is always capable of turning in a winning performance and he demonstrated that throughout the match play bracket in the GLT Championship. He defeated Columbus pro Brandon Yee 3-2 in the opening round and then pulled off a comeback victory in sudden death over two-time PPA National Match Play champion Roger Beckerman. A 4 up victory over Jim Engel of Austintown sent Johns to the semis, where he faced his strongest challenge of the day in Rod Miller of Columbus, whom he defeated on the last hole of play.

That sent Johns to the bracket finals where Robb Titchell awaited him. Titchell had defeated Gene Reams in round one 3-2. He then faced the participants of last year’s GLT championship match. First he dispensed with 2002 GLT runner-up Bill Thompson 1 up, and then blitzed defending GLT champion Dave Nutini 7-6. A 2-1 victory over Bill Baus in the semis set the stage for Titchell to face Johns in the bracket finals.

But Titchell seemed to run out of gas in the final match. Johns took the lead early and kept acing to build a five hole margin at the turn. Titchell won holes on occasion, but could never build enough momentum to make a serious comeback. Johns won the match by a final score of 6-5 to advance to Sunday’s championship match.

Mike Brown Wins Medal Play of Great Lakes Tour Championship
in a Playoff over Rod Miller

21 September 2003 - Warren, OH - If not for the cancellation of Virginia State Tour events in Virginia Beach this weekend due to Hurricane Isabel, Mike Brown probably would not have made the trip to Ohio from Springfield, PA to claim his spot in the GLT finals. But the 1996 PPA National Champion and perennial contender in PPA major events did make the trip to Warren, and he demonstrated why he is considered one of the very best in the game today. Brown fired rounds of 22-25-28-29-23-25 for a score of 152, 64 under par. But he would need a playoff victory over Rod Miller of Columbus to win the medal play and advance to the GLT Championship match.

Mike Brown, PPA Winner of the Medal Play Bracket of the 2003 Great Lakes Tour Championship.

Brown led the competition by two over four players when he matched the course record with an opening 22. A follow-up 25 put him two ahead of Jay Hadsell of Olmsted Falls. Brown cooled off in the third round and a 23 by Cleveland’s Tom O’Brien put him at 76, just one stroke behind Brown at the lunch break.

O’Brien took advantage of another lackluster round by Brown in round 4 to take the lead at 100, but several players shot well in the fourth round and O’Brien clung to a one shot lead over Miller and a two-shot lead over Cincinnati’s Kevin Lacey. In round five, it was Miller who took command with an impressive 23. But Brown recovered from his slump and matched Miller’s 23 to set the stage entering the final round with Miller three shots ahead of both Brown and O’Brien.

It is extremely difficult to play six consecutive rounds on Warren #3 without a cool-off round. Despite the very low scores overall, no player kept all six rounds under 28. Unfortunately for Miller, his cool-off 28 came in the final round. Brown steadily aced until he caught Miller with an ace at #17. That forced the 18-hole playoff, which Brown won by two strokes to advance to the championship match.

Miller finished second in the medal play, with Lacey third, three back at 155, and Jim Cruse fourth at 156. Rounding out the top ten were John Bambling and Jay Hadsell, who tied for fifth at 157, O’Brien and Roger Beckerman tied for seventh at 158, Bill Baus ninth at 162 and Scott Buddie tenth at 163.

Jim Cruse Named 2003 Great Lakes Tour PPA Player of the Year

Jim Cruse
2003 PPA Great Lakes Tour
Player of the Year.

21 September 2003 - Warren, OH - Jim Cruse of Baltimore, OH was voted 2003 GLT Player of the Year by the GLT membership. Cruse won two tournaments, including a major title, the 2003 Michigan Open. He won two match play events and the points title, despite playing in only 15 events. Cruse was the tour’s leading money winner for 2003 and second in weighted stroke average entering the GLT Championship.

Five pros were awarded prize money for their rank in the points standings. The five were Jim Cruse ($150), Bill Thompson ($125), John Bambling ($100), Jim Engel ($75) and Roger Beckerman ($50).

Scott Copeland Named 2003 Great Lakes Tour APA Player of the Year

21 September 2003 - Warren, OH - Scott Copeland of Springfield, OH won five APA titles and two match play events. He was the leader in weighted stroke average and finished third in points, despite playing only 13 events. Copeland was voted GLT APA player of the year for 2003. He was unable to participate in the GLT Championship and accept his award in person.

John Bambling (PPA) and Bonnie White (APA) Named 2003 Great Lakes Tour Sportsmanship Award Winners

21 September 2003 - Warren, OH - Congratulations to John Bambling and Bonnie White who were voted PPA and APA Sportsmanship Award winners for the 2003 GLT season. Bambling and White are both congenial but determined competitors and most deserving of the accolade.

Scores provided and tournament recap provided by Bill Thompson

Professional Division of the 2003 Great Lakes Tour Championship
(Warren, OH - 20 September 2003)
Match-Play Competition

Amateur Division of the 2003 Great Lakes Tour Championship
(Warren, OH - 20 September 2003)
Match-Play Competition

Professional Division of the 2003 Great Lakes Tour Championship
(Warren, OH - 21 September 2003)
Medal-Play Competition