Brad Lebo Holds on for Victory in Lumberton
Brad Lebo18 April 2004 - Lumberton, N.C. - Brad Lebo took command of the tournament on Sunday after he took a four on the difficult twelfth hole in the first round. After that four, Lebo went on to shoot 26 for the round and then fired a second round 25 to earn a three-shot lead going into the final round. The lead was just enough as Lebo fired a final round 31 to win by just a single stroke on Sunday.
Lebo's 4 on the 12th hole dropped him out of the first round lead. Frank Warren got the day off and rolling by firing a 25 to lead by one on Lebo and Andy Coradini. The second round was the deciding factor as Lebo fired a 25 to go in the house at 51, with Warren firing a 29 behind him to fall down to second at 54.
With Lebo firing a final round 31, Warren could not capitalize. Lebo only aced one hole on the front nine (hole 4) , while Warren shaved off two strokes and trailed by one after the turn. Warren then would only shoot 16 on the back and Vince Batten, who was six back after two rounds, finished the tournament with a 26 to go in at 83. An ace on 17 clinched the win for Lebo, as it got him to score a total of 82. Batten was second at 83, and Warren joined Coradini and Tony Varnadore in a tie for third at 85.
The win for Lebo is his second PPA win of the season and his first North Carolina win since the 2001 tournament in Raleigh and his first South Carolina title since the eve of the 2000 State Championship. Lebo also became the first player to record wins on three tours this season.
Ricky D. Schults bested Lebo in terms of finishing score. Schults dominated from the beginning in the APA Division to win his first tournament of the season. Schults' opened with a round of 26 and won by five shots over Brian Hutchins and the 15 player amateur field. Schults was leading by one through 36 holes and posted a final round 27 to open up the final margin of victory of five shots.
Schults won his first tournament since winning the 2003 South Carolina State Amateur Championship by shooting 81. Brain Hutchins came in second at 86 with Dennis Biesma in third on Sunday at 90. Schults' score on Sunday was enough to earn the North Carolina low 2-day APA medal spot.
Numerous spots were awarded for the Pro Division. Lebo grabbed the #6 seed in the Match Play tournament to be played in Burlington in September. He also took the North Carolina and South Carolina medal spots. Daryl Freeman took the low South Carolina 2-day medal spot and the low 2-day World Match Play spot offered by the North Carolina tour.
Both tours will return to action in two weeks in White Lake. Two tournaments will be played on Saturday, May 1 at 12:00 p.m. for both tours and 6:00 p.m. on North Carolina's schedule only. Vince Batten will be defending the Carolinas' Open. The 20th annual event will be played on Sunday, May 2 at 9:00 a.m.
Tournament recap and scores provided by Opie Roberts.
Professional Division of the Lumberton, N.C. Event - 18 April 2004
Round Prize Player 1 2 3 Total Money 1 Brad Lebo
26 25 31 82 $ 150.00 2 Vince Batten 27 30 26 83 $ 110.00 3 Andy Coradini 26 29 30 85 $ 82.00 Tony Varnadore 30 29 26 85 $ 82.00 Frank Warren 25 29 31 85 $ 82.00 6 Randy Carter 29 31 27 87 $ 68.00 Opie Roberts 29 31 27 87 $ 68.00 8 Rick Baird 31 28 29 88 $ 47.00 Daryl Freeman 32 25 31 88 $ 47.00 Bob Haizlip 27 31 30 88 $ 47.00 Bob Jackson 28 31 29 88 $ 47.00 Robert Johnson 27 31 30 88 $ 47.00 13 Gary English 31 30 28 89 $ 8.00 Tony Jackson 26 31 32 89 $ 8.00 Jay Klapper 32 29 28 89 $ 8.00 Greg Newport 27 31 31 89 $ 8.00 Greg Ward 34 28 27 89 $ 8.00 18 Allen Wall 29 31 30 90 19 Darrell Britt 28 30 34 92 20 Michael Hitt 35 31 27 93 Bill Kirby 34 27 32 93 Rick Rybaczek 30 32 31 93 23 Ray Guthrie 35 31 29 95 Manfred Stewart 31 32 32 95 25 Rick Culverhouse 30 32 34 96 26 Gary Moore 33 32 33 98 Amateur Division of the Lumberton, N.C. Event - 18 April 2004
Round Expense Player 1 2 3 Total Reimbursement 1 Ricky D. Schults
26 28 27 81 $ 10.00 2 Brian Hutchins 29 26 31 86 $ 10.00 3 Dennis Biesma 30 31 29 90 $ 10.00 4 Chris Alley 32 28 31 91 $ 10.00 Adam Smith 32 27 32 91 $ 10.00 6 Steve Helton 31 31 30 92 Keith Waters 28 31 33 92 8 Mark Lawson 34 29 32 95 9 Walter Kolb 32 34 30 96 10 Jeff Carr 32 31 34 97 Todd Trent 31 33 33 97 12 Chuck Nance 36 32 35 103 13 Larry Hoover 38 31 36 105 14 Linwood Moist 37 34 35 106 15 Darren Harvey 41 39 35 115
