Rod Miller Wins
2003 PPA National Invitational
Rod Miller
2003 PPA National Invitational Champion29 June 2003 - Spartanburg, S.C. - Rod Miller's final round of 25 broke a three-way tie entering the final round and gave him his first major PPA National Tour Title. Entering the final round, Miller of Columbus, Ohio, was tied with Greg Ward, 2003 PPA World Match Play Champion, and first-day leader Joel Baker.
Final rounds of 27 by both Ward and Baker left them in a three-way tie for second at 202, 86-under par, with Randy Reeves who entered the final round one behind the trio of leaders. Miller's rounds of 25, 24, 26, 26, 26, 26, 22 and 25 made him the only player in the field to play all eight rounds with no round worse than 26.
For his win, Miller earned $1,200 and his second spot into the $30,000 PPA World Match Play Championship scheduled for late July in Lubbock, TX. Along with Miller, Greg Ward, Randy Reeves, Kevin Lacey, Andy Coradini and Brad Lebo all earned their second spot in the upcoming PPA World Match Play Championship.
Rounding out the top ten in the field were Kevin Lacey and Andy Coradini, tied for fifth at 205, Brad Lebo in seventh at 209, Manfred Stewart in eighth at 210, Lee Messinger in ninth at 211 and Charlie Greenwalt, John Bambling, Randal Smith and Rick Rybaczek at 212 in a four-way tie for tenth.
Brian Hutchins
2002 PPA National Invitational Amateur ChampionThe 2002 PPA National Invitational Champion, Mike Brown, finished in a five-way tie for fourteenth place at 213 with Frank Warren, Roger Beckerman, Greg Newport, and Tony Varnadore. The 2001 PPA National Invitational Champion and 2002 PPA National Champion, Cliff Matthews, finished in a tie for 22nd place at 215 with Tony Jackson, Thomas Rawles, Jeffrey Smith and Paul Sample.
The following PPA players earned byes in the first bracket of the 2003 PPA World Match Play Championship to be played in Lubbock, TX in late July 2003: Rod Miller, Greg Ward, Randy Reeves, Kevin, Lacey, Andy Coradini, Brad Lebo, Manfred Stewart, Lee Messinger, Charlie Greenwalt, John Bambling, Rick Rybaczek, Frank Warren, Roger Beckerman, Greg Newport, Tony Varnadore and Robert Johnson.
In the amateur division, Brian Hutchins of Ellenboro, N.C., held on to his first day lead with a second day score of 106 to finish three strokes ahead of Ricky D. Schults. Hutchins' rounds were 27, 27, 28, 27, 28, 27 25 and 26 for a 144-hole score of 215, 73-under par.
Schults finished alone in second at 218 with Edgar Hollifield in third at 219, Jeff Carr in fourth at 221 and Christopher Alley in fifth at 223. Rounding out the top ten in the amateur division were Larry Smith in sixth at 225, Donnie Carpenter in seventh at 226, Jeff Brown and Chris Kern in a tie for eight at 231 and J. L. Coffey and Jamie Sanders in a tie for tenth at 233.
Leaders of 2003 PPA National Invitational by Round
First Round Leader Charlie Greenwalt 22 (14-under par) Second Round Leader John Bambling 47 (25-under par) Third Round Leader Tony Varnadore 73 (35-under par) Fourth Round Leader Joel Baker 97 (47-under par) Fifth Round Leader Andy Coradini and Randy Reeves 124 (56-under par) Sixth Round Leader Randy Reeves 148 (68-under par) Seventh Round Leader Rod Miller, Greg Ward and Joel Baker 175 (77-under par) Professional Scores from the 2003 PPA National Invitational
(28-29 June 2003 - Spartanburg, S.C.)
Round Prize Points Player (Hometown) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Total Money Tour MP 1 Rod Miller (Columbus, OH) 25 24 26 26 26 26 22 25 200 $ 1,200.00 100 100 2 Greg Ward (Loganville, GA) 26 28 22 25 25 25 24 27 202 $ 916.67 96 97 Joel Baker (Arlington, TX) 28 24 22 23 29 26 23 27 202 $ 916.67 96 Randy Reeves (Montgomery, AL) 23 26 26 25 24 24 28 26 202 $ 916.67 96 97 5 Kevin Lacey (Cincinnati, OH) 24 27 23 25 29 28 24 25 205 $ 775.00 91 93 Andy Coradini (Loganville, GA) 23 25 26 28 22 25 30 26 205 $ 775.00 91 93 7 Brad Lebo (Shippensburg, PA) 27 23 29 25 26 28 25 26 209 $ 700.00 88 90 8 Manfred Stewart (Richmond, VA) 26 27 29 25 25 26 27 25 210 $ 650.00 86 88 9 Lee Messinger (Addison, TX) 24 25 26 27 27 27 28 27 211 $ 600.00 84 86 10 Charlie Greenwalt (Indianapolis, IN) 22 26 26 28 27 28 28 27 212 $ 537.50 79 82 John Bambling (Pittsburgh, PA) 24 23 27 29 25 28 26 30 212 $ 537.50 79 82 Randal Smith (Eden, N.C.) 27 28 24 28 27 25 27 26 212 $ 537.50 79 Rick Rybaczek (Greensboro, N.C.) 28 28 25 28 25 30 25 23 212 $ 537.50 79 82 14 Mike Brown (Springfield, PA) 26 28 24 26 28 26 27 28 213 $ 400.00 70 Frank Warren (Augusta, GA) 25 31 26 25 25 28 24 29 213 $ 400.00 70 75 Roger Beckerman (South Euclid, OH) 25 28 27 29 25 24 29 26 213 $ 400.00 70 75 Greg Newport (Liberty, N.C.) 26 26 23 28 27 30 28 25 213 $ 400.00 70 75 Tony Varnadore (Rock Hill, S.C.) 23 27 23 25 32 29 25 29 213 $ 400.00 70 75 19 Daryl Freeman (Bristol, TN) 28 26 27 31 28 24 23 27 214 $ 280.00 62 68 Robert Johnson (Lake Wylie, S.C.) 24 26 27 26 29 26 29 27 214 $ 280.00 62 68 Jay Klapper (Loganville, GA) 29 29 25 25 27 27 26 26 214 $ 280.00 62 68 22 Cliff Matthews (Arlington, TX) 25 27 27 27 27 31 27 24 215 $ 212.00 54 61 Tony Jackson (Spartanburg, S.C.) 26 25 28 27 26 27 29 27 215 $ 212.00 54
