Ray Guthrie Wins First Title of
2003 Season in Columbia, SC
Ray Guthrie26 April 2003 - Columbia, SC - Ray Guthrie finally responded from a horrible finish in last year's encounter at Columbia. After failing to break 30 in all seven rounds played on Course 2 last season, Guthrie played strong throughout the seasonable late April day with rounds of 25, 29, and 27 to post a two-shot win over Lewis Burton.
Guthrie jumped out ahead with a 25 to lead by two shots over Rick Rybaczek. Although his second round 29 was his worst round, he was still leading after the second round at 54, and was still garnering a two-stroke advantage, this time to Robert Johnson. A resurgent Lewis Burton, after an opening round 32, jumped back in contention and was five back of Guthrie.
Burton tried his best to catch Guthrie down the stretch. He opened the final round of play by posting an incredible front nine score of 11 and found himself within one shot of Guthrie with three holes to play. Burton did finish the tournament with a final round 24 (lowest round of the day) to wind up at 83. But, Guthrie managed to take control in those final three holes and made two of them to seal a two-shot win over Burton.
Guthrie walked away as the winner, firing a final score of 81. The score matched Opie Roberts' winning score set at the inaugural event on the Clemson Road course last August. With the win, Guthrie earned his qualifying spot into the South Carolina State Championship to be played on Course #1 here in Columbia. Burton finished in second at 83, while Darrell Britt also had a strong show in the tournament by firing a final round 25 to finish third at 84. Robert Johnson was alone in fourth at 86, and Michael Hitt and Jay Klapper each finished tied for fifth at 87.
Christopher Alley won his second career APA event, and first since winning the 2002 opener in Rock Hill after he came from behind to post an impressive four-shot win over Tommy Hutchinson and Chris Popwell. After opening with a first round 32 and trailed by four shots, Alley rebounded to shoot 25 in the second round to get to within one shot.
Then, Alley took it in the final round as he posted a 27 for a super final score of 84. Alley won by four shots and that score was the lowest ever shot in the APA Division in Columbia on any course. Hutchinson and Popwell finished tied for second at 88, and Larry Hoover, Chris Hudson, and Larry Smith were tied for fourth at 92.
Later in the afternoon, the second South Carolina Match Play bracket was held as the top eight eligible scores in the Pros and four in the APA fought off in their respective divisions. In the Pro Division, Klapper, who drew the six seed, had an easy time against Johnson, the four seed and won the second bracket. He joins Todd Fowler and two other players to be determined later this season in the Final Four in Spartanburg. Hutchinson knocked off Hoover in the final match for the APA Division after Hoover, needing to make 18 to force sudden death, lipped out.
The South Carolina tour will resume play this Sunday, April 27, at 10:00am for the 7th annual Palmetto Classic. Greg Ward is the defending champion of the event and the event will be played on Course 2 for the second consecutive season.
Tournament recap provided by Opie Roberts and scores provided by Rick Rybaczek..
Professional Division of Columbia, SC Event
(Columbia, SC - 26 April 2003)
Round SC Tour Prize Player 1 2 3 Total Points Money 1 Guthrie, Ray 25 29 27 81 40.00 $ 120.00 2 Burton, Lewis 32 27 24 83 37.00 $ 80.00 3 Britt, Darrell 30 29 25 84 36.00 $ 65.00 4 Johnson, Robert 31 25 30 86 35.00 $ 55.00 5 Hitt, Michael 32 28 27 87 33.50 $ 48.00 Klapper, Jay 28 30 29 87 33.50 $ 48.00 7 Caudle, Billy 29 32 27 88 30.00 $ 37.00 Coradini, Andy 31 29 28 88 30.00 $ 37.00 Varnadore, Tony 30 31 27 88 30.00 $ 37.00 Jackson, Bob 31 29 28 88 30.00 $ 37.00 Reid, Jonathan 30 29 29 88 30.00 $ 37.00 12 Fowler, Todd 30 31 28 89 26.50 $ 18.00 Pack, Tony 30 27 32 89 26.50 $ 18.00 14 Jackson, Tony 30 29 31 90 24.50 Reeves, Randy 32 30 28 90 24.50 16 Rybaczek, Rick 27 33 31 91 23.00 17 Randall, Vance 30 28 34 92 22.00 18 Ward, Greg 31 30 32 93 20.50 Barbour, Tommy 34 29 30 93 20.50 20 Baird, Rick 32 32 30 94 19.00 21 Wall, Allen 31 29 35 95 17.50 Warren, Frank 31 32 32 95 17.50 23 English, Gary 35 32 30 97 16.00 24 Anders, Dan 31 37 31 99 15.00 25 Roberts, Opie 34 32 34 100 14.00 Amateur Division of Columbia, SC Event
(Columbia, SC - 26 April 2003)
Round SC Tour Expense Player 1 2 3 Total Points Reimb. 1 Alley, Christopher 32 25 27 84 20.00 $ 10.00 2 Hutchinson, Tommy 31 25 32 88 16.50 $ 10.00 Popwell, Chris 30 29 29 88 16.50 $ 10.00 4 Hudson, Chris 31 30 31 92 14.00 $ 4.00 Smith, Larry 30 30 32 92 14.00 $ 4.00 Hoover, Larry 31 32 29 92 14.00 $ 4.00 7 Taylor, Russell 28 33 32 93 12.00 8 Schults, Ricky D 32 32 30 94 10.50 Helton, Steve 34 28 32 94 10.50 10 Coffey, J. L. 30 31 34 95 8.50 Carpenter, Donnie 29 36 30 95 8.50 12 Self, Lynn 33 31 32 96 7.00 13 Sanders, Jamie 30 35 32 97 5.50 Bruchac, Alex 33 32 32 97 5.50 15 Hendrix, Terry 35 34 35 104 4.00 16 Helton, Betty 39 41 38 118 3.00
