Final Round 24 Earns Robert Johnson
2004 Wayne Hancock Memorial Title
Robert Johnson
2003 PPA National Champion19 June 2004 - High Point, N.C. - Robert Johnson had enough resolve to come from three shots down and nearly a quarter of the field to win the 12th annual Wayne Hancock Memorial on Course 1 in High Point this past Saturday afternoon. After trailing by four shots in the opening round, Johnson had the best two-round finish of any professional to win by two shots.
Johnson opened play with a 28. But in a 26-player field, it was good enough to place just below the midpoint of the standings. Opening with the lead at 24 were Tony Varnadore and Lee Witcofski, with a five-way tie for third at 25, including defending champion Rick Rybaczek, and another five were two back of the lead at 26. These were typical Saturday scores in High Point as they jumble for positions and score compactly tight.
In the second round of the event, local player Billy Caudle put himself in the driver's seat. Caudle shot the 24 for the Pros to grab the lead at 50 and took a one-shot lead over Witcofski, Gary Hester, and Daryl Freeman, winner of the last PPA event held in High Point earlier this season. Three more players were two shots back at 52, and a quartet of players, of those that would include Johnson, were tied for eighth at 53.
Johnson would find a way to rally to his first win of the season on the North Carolina tour. Johnson posted the third round's lowest score of 24 to overtake the players that were ahead of him and eventually would win with a score of 77. This came after Caudle, playing in his group, stumbled to a final round 29 and finished at 79. It would tie Gary English for second with that score.
However, Johnson would not have the lowest score shot that day. Asheboro product Frankie Peters captured his first APA career victory in dominating fashion. Peters trailed Brian Hutchins by two shots after the first round, but would step up by firing rounds of 24 and 24 and win by four shots over Ricky D. Schults. Peters won the Hancock Memorial with a final score of 74 and Larry Hoover, who finished in second at 78. Hutchins followed behind Hoover for third at 79.
Five players finished tied for fourth at 80. Those included Rybaczek, Hester, Ray Guthrie, Andy Coradini, and Brad Lebo. The cash line was at 82 and four players scored that and split the last available spot. Temperatures were in the upper 80's throughout the afternoon and conditions were hot and humid. A severe thunderstorm came through High Point moments after the tournament was completed. Johnson's winning score was earnable enough to get the North Carolina State Championship and Match Play qualifying spots.
The next tournament is set for Sunday at 10:00 a.m. in High Point for the eighth annual Barbara Nance Memorial.
Tournament recap provided by Opie Roberts with scores from Rick Rybaczek.
Professional Division of the 2004 Wayne Hancock Memorial
(High Point, N.C. Event - 19 June 2004)
Round Prize Player 1 2 3 Total Money 1 Robert Johnson
28 25 24 77 $ 150.00 2 Billy Caudle 26 24 29 79 $ 100.00 Gary English 25 27 27 79 $ 100.00 4 Andy Coradini 28 27 25 80 $ 70.00 Ray Guthrie 25 28 27 80 $ 70.00 Gary Hester 25 26 29 80 $ 70.00 Brad Lebo 29 26 25 80 $ 70.00 Rick Rybaczek 25 26 29 80 $ 70.00 9 Rick Baird 26 27 28 81 $ 44.00 Bob Haizlip 27 25 29 81 $ 44.00 Bill Kirby 26 26 29 81 $ 44.00 Lee Witcofski 24 27 30 81 $ 44.00 13 Darrell Britt 26 30 26 82 $ 10.00 Daryl Freeman 26 25 31 82 $ 10.00 Michael Hitt 28 29 25 82 $ 10.00 Tony Varnadore 24 30 28 82 $ 10.00 17 Steve Lyon 25 28 30 83 Lance Perdue 25 29 29 83 19 Randy Carter 30 27 28 85 20 Allen Wall 30 25 31 86 21 Gary Moore 28 33 27 88 22 Mike Griffin 33 27 29 89 Randal Smith 31 31 27 89 24 Michael Cardwell 27 33 30 90 Don Thompson 32 31 27 90 26 Bob Jackson 31 33 31 95 Amateur Division of the 2004 Wayne Hancock Memorial
(High Point, N.C. Event - 19 June 2004)
Round Expense Player 1 2 3 Total Reimbursement 1 Frankie Peters
26 24 24 74 $ 10.00 2 Larry Hoover 27 27 24 78 $ 10.00 3 Brian Hutchins 24 29 26 79 $ 10.00 4 Ricky D. Schults 26 28 28 82 $ 10.00 5 Adam Smith 30 27 28 85 6 Chris Alley 29 27 30 86 7 Keith Waters 32 28 27 87 8 David Gregor 28 31 30 89 9 Mark Lawson 31 33 28 92 10 Dennis Biesma 28 32 33 93 11 Walter Kolb 32 32 31 95 12 Mark Rinker 37 30 31 98 13 James LeBrun 33 37 30 100
