Jay Klapper Wins
2004 Furniture City Open for
First Win in Five Years
Jay Klapper
2004 Furniture City Open Champion3 April 2004 - High Point, N.C. - Jay Klapper's stellar play on the front nine was the key element to winning his first tournament in nearly five seasons. Despite blustery winds that was the key ingredient in the course conditions on Saturday, Klapper missed just one hole on the front nine in the first two rounds, missing hole 9 in the second round in his bid for a second perfect front nine of the tournament.
Klapper began the afternoon on Course 1 in the next to last pairing in the Pro Division and jumped out with a perfect front nine. Klapper made 10 of the first 11 before cooling off in the round. After taking a bogey on 12 from 10 feet away, Klapper only made two more holes and finished with a 25. Daryl Freeman, winner of the last North Carolina event, opened play with the first round lead at 24.
Freeman then found himself struggling to open the second round. The PPA Hall of Fame member from Bristol, Tennessee deuced the first five holes, and only fired a 16 on the front. Klapper started the second round the way he began the first. Klapper aced the first eight and left the tee shot on 9 at least four feet short of the hole. Klapper sank in his par putt and continued to carry his streak into the back, where he shot 13 to finish with a 23 for the low round of the tournament. Klapper would carry a four-shot lead through the second round with an incredible score of 48.
Vince Batten was in second at 52 and had every opportunity to catch Klapper. Batten fired a final round 28 to go in at 80. Klapper fired a 13 on the front, and then was fading drastically on the back. Klapper only made one hole on the back and bogeyed hole 14, while missing the final seven holes and played them +1 through the stretch. It was barely enough to place his first win of the season and the only player to break 80 on Saturday.
After it was all said and done, Klapper finished with a final score of 79, with Batten in second. Freeman rebounded to finish third at 82, while Randy Carter, Ray Guthrie, and Robert Johnson finished in a tie for fourth at 83. The win for Klapper was his first win of the season, his first PPA win since winning the 1999 South Carolina State Championship, and his first win on the North Carolina tour since winning a 1994 event in Greensboro.
Also winning on Saturday was Brian Hutchins in the APA Division. Hutchins' win was led by a key misfortune from Mark Lawson, who was gunning for his first APA win in just his third attempt. Lawson opened play with a 25 to lead by four shots over a quartet of players, including Hutchins.
Lawson then felt the pressure in the second round when he fired a 34 in the second round to drop out of the lead, but was down a stroke to Hutchins, Keith Waters, and Dennis Biesma. Hutchins would get the victory in the late stages when he fired a 26. Waters had the event won with an 11 on the front nine, but lost it by firing an 18 on the back, including a pair of 4's within the final four holes.
Hutchins finished with a final score of 86, with Waters and Lawson each finishing tied for second at 87.
In the Pro Division, 15 money spots were paid out and 87 was a full share. Klapper qualified for the North Carolina State Championship and took the third seed in the Match Play later this year. He also is currently the low medalist for the World Match Play spot being offered by the North Carolina tour. The low two-day medalist will earn a qualifying spot into the World Match Play that will be played in Richmond during the 2004 Week of the Nationals.
The North Carolina PPA season will continue their weekend on Sunday, April 4 at 10:00 a.m. in High Point. The event is the Guilford County Open.
Tournament recap and scores provided by Opie Roberts.
Professional Division of the 2004 Furniture City Open
(High Point, N.C. Event - 3 April 2004)
Round Prize Player 1 2 3 Total Money 1 Jay Klapper
25 23 31 79 $ 150.00 2 Vince Batten 26 26 28 80 $ 110.00 3 Daryl Freeman 24 29 29 82 $ 90.00 4 Randy Carter 27 27 29 83 $ 75.00 Ray Guthrie 29 26 28 83 $ 75.00 Robert Johnson 28 27 28 83 $ 75.00 7 Greg Ward 28 29 27 84 $ 63.00 Rick Rybaczek 26 27 31 84 $ 63.00 9 Rick Baird 27 32 26 85 $ 49.00 Michael Hitt 30 29 26 85 $ 49.00 Brad Lebo 28 26 31 85 $ 49.00 Lance Perdue 25 29 31 85 $ 49.00 13 Gary Moore 33 28 26 87 $ 40.00 Opie Roberts 29 29 29 87 $ 40.00 Don Thompson 29 27 31 87 $ 40.00 16 Billy Caudle 28 29 31 88 Andy Coradini 25 34 29 88 Thomas Rawles 28 32 28 88 Russell Sigmon, Jr. 29 29 30 88 20 Ben Blake 30 31 28 89 Michael Cardwell 32 28 29 89 Rusty Taylor 26 34 29 89 23 Steve Shively 31 29 30 90 24 Chris Bunting 29 32 30 91 25 Tony Varnadore 32 30 30 92 Allen Wall 29 34 29 92 27 Tommy Barbour 31 33 29 93 Gary Hester 30 32 31 93 29 Steve Lyon 29 33 32 94 30 Bob Haizlip 32 32 31 95 Amateur Division of the 2004 Furniture City Open
(High Point, N.C. Event - 3 April 2004)
Round Expense Player 1 2 3 Total Reimbursement 1 Brian Hutchins
29 29 28 86 $ 10.00 2 Mark Lawson 25 34 28 87 $ 10.00 Keith Waters 29 29 29 87 $ 10.00 4 Frankie Peters 31 32 27 90 $ 5.00 Ricky D. Schults 29 30 31 90 $ 5.00 6 Dennis Biesma 29 29 33 91 7 Larry Hoover 35 28 32 95 8 Chuck Nance 31 35 32 98 9 Mark Rinker 35 32 32 99 Adam Smith 31 35 33 99 11 James LeBrun 33 32 40 105
