Vince Batten Earns Victory in Martinsville with Perfect Back Nine in Second Round
Vince Batten playing the 11th hole on course #3 in Richmond, VA during the 2004 PPA World Match Play Championship.8 August 2004 - Martinsville, VA - Arguably, the dominance between Brad Lebo and Vince Batten for Player of the Year honors in two states will be decided within the next six weeks. Saturday, Lebo gained the upper hand in winning his sixth PPA event of the season on Saturday, but on Sunday, Batten returned the favor as he grabbed his sixth win of the season with a two-shot win in Martinsville. Batten's day was capped off by a first ever perfect back nine recorded in Martinsville history on Course 2.
Although Batten led after every round, Daryl Freeman had a legitimate chance at capturing his first win in North Carolina since April and his first this year in Virginia. Batten began the day opening with a 25 to share the first round lead with Glenwood Arrington and Robert Johnson. Four more players were a shot back at 26, including Lebo, while Freeman was tied at 27, two off the lead. Batten opened it up through the second round. His perfect back nine, the first ever recorded in tournament history on Course 2 in Martinsville, concluded a stellar round of 22 and put him in at 47. He would take a four-shot lead over Freeman and Randal Smith into the final round.
Batten continued to hang on to the lead as much as he could. On the final hole of regulation (a very steep ramp hole), Batten lagged the ramp and had to re-tee for his deuce. His attempt failed and he had to settle for a bogey three that finished his round at 28 and a score of 75 for the day. Playing a couple of groups behind Batten, Freeman had a chance to force a playoff with Batten by making 18. Freeman also had difficulty as he lagged the ramp and it resulted in a bogey that would have him finish alone in second at 77.
Dennis BiesmaBatten's win would be the sixth overall this season, but it would be his fifth win on the Virginia tour and his third in North Carolina. Of his wins in Virginia, two of those were in a combined event with North Carolina, including this one.
Also winning in the APA Division Sunday was Dennis Biesma. Biesma fired a final round 26 that would have him come from behind to win for the third time this season, but his first in North Carolina. The final round of 26 enabled Biesma to post a final score of 81 and win by two strokes over Conway Coffey. Coffey shot 83 to finish in second, while third went to Chris Alley, Walter Kolb, and Amy Smith, all finishing at 85.
In the professional ranks, Randal Smith would finish alone in third at 78, while Greg Newport came in fourth at 80. Arrington and Lebo each finished tied for fifth at 81. Despite conditions remaining the same from the day before, scores did increase throughout the day. Sunday's cash line matched Saturday's and it was a full share. The North Carolina State Championship and Match Play spots went to Smith, while Steve Shively grabbed the two-day low qualifying spot offered this weekend. James LeBrun earned the APA State Qualifying spot when he had the best two-day non-qualifying score.
The next tournament on the schedule is on the North Carolina tour and it will be played this coming weekend in Burlington. The 30th annual Elton Davis Memorial will be played over the two-day weekend on Saturday and Sunday, August 14 & 15, with Daryl Freeman competing as the defending champion. The next stop on the Virginia tour will be on the weekend of August 28 & 29 in Fredericksburg. They, too, will have a major that weekend as the Virginia Putting Classic, defended by Dave Taylor, will be played on Sunday, August 29.
Tournament recap and scores provided by Opie Roberts.
Professional Division of the Martinsville, VA Event
(Martinsville, VA - Course #2 - 8 August 2004)
Round Prize Player 1 2 3 Total Money 1 Vince Batten
25 22 28 75 $ 150.00 2 Daryl Freeman 27 24 26 77 $ 110.00 3 Randal Smith 28 23 27 78 $ 90.00 4 Greg Newport 27 29 24 80 $ 80.00 5 Glenwood Arrington 25 28 28 81 $ 73.00 Brad Lebo 26 27 28 81 $ 73.00 7 Andy Coradini 31 25 26 82 $ 63.00 Steve Shively 28 27 27 82 $ 63.00 9 Darrell Anderson 27 26 30 83 $ 45.00 Ray Guthrie 26 27 30 83 $ 45.00 Thomas Rawles 31 28 24 83 $ 45.00 12 Bob Haizlip 31 28 25 84 $ 40.00 Gilbert Sharpe 30 27 27 84 $ 40.00 14 Rick Baird 26 31 28 85 Opie Roberts 28 30 27 85 16 Lance Perdue 29 30 27 86 17 Bart Bason 29 30 28 87 Robert Johnson 25 29 33 87 Lee Witcofski 29 28 30 87 20 Mike Brown 26 30 32 88 21 Billy Caudle 31 30 28 89 Matt Summey 27 30 32 89 23 Russell Sigmon, Jr. 31 29 30 90 24 Jonathan Moore 30 30 31 91 25 Bob Jackson 29 31 32 92 26 Don Thompson 35 31 28 94 27 Randy Carter 34 31 31 96 Amateur Division of the Martinsville, VA Event
(Martinsville, VA - Course #2 - 8 August 2004)
Round Expense Player 1 2 3 Total Reimbursement 1 Dennis Biesma
28 27 26 81 $ 10.00 2 Conway Coffey 27 27 29 83 $ 10.00 3 Chris Alley 28 27 30 85 $ 10.00 Walter Kolb 27 31 27 85 $ 10.00 Amy Smith 28 30 27 85 $ 10.00 6 Bill Garrett 26 28 32 86 7 Larry Hoover 28 27 33 87 James LeBrun 27 30 30 87 9 Barry Moore 32 30 27 89 Chuck Nance 29 30 30 89 Keith Waters 30 29 30 89 12 Wade Driskill 33 30 33 91 Mark Lawson 27 31 33 91 14 Frankie Peters 33 28 31 92 15 Dale Miller 33 32 31 96 16 Randy Baldwin 35 32 35 102
