Andy Coradini Defeats Greg Ward in Playoff
Andy Coradini16 May 2004 - Martinez, GA - Only three players broke 80 on Saturday, giving way to over half of the players breaking that same score on Sunday. Sunday's play featured a shootout amongst five of today's best players and scores somewhat similar to Course 3 in Spartanburg.
It was also a chance for Andy Coradini to seek revenge on an earlier playoff defeat of Greg Ward just two weeks ago at the 2004Carolinas' Open in White Lake. The similarities were there. Coradini shot 70 in the afternoon to make up a four-shot deficit before losing in the playoff. This time, it was Ward down three strokes to Coradini and six shots off the lead after the first round and fired a final two round total of 42 just to stay in the tournament.
Temperatures were only in the mid 70's at the 10:00 a.m. start of the tournament, but it was still humid. The carpet was laid down considerably, which was the prime reason 11 players out of the 23-player field shot 10-under or better in the opening round. Todd Fowler, who did not play in Saturday's event, led the way with a 22 to lead by one shot over Ray Guthrie and two on defending champion Frank Warren and Rick Culverhouse.
The action finally got intense. First, Coradini walked in the clubhouse after the second round by shooting 21, having missing 18 for a perfect nine on the back, to grab the lead at 46. Guthrie jumped to second with a 25 and then was joined by Culverhouse, who shot 24, as both were in at 48. Ward also fired a 21 in the second round, missing the last two, to go in at 49 and the torrid play from Ward was not over yet.
Coradini fired a 24 in the last round to finish at 70 and it looked like he was in the driver's seat. Ward missed only three more holes, giving him just six in the final two rounds, as another 21 kept him alive in the event and was in a playoff with Coradini. Ward made the last four holes on the front nine in the playoff to take a one-shot lead after nine holes, but lost his momentum after an errant tee shot on 10 went over the hill, hits the right rail and put him near the block. Ward would sink the deuce putt, then missed 11, giving Coradini a chance to take over. Coradini made the next six holes, coupled with Ward bogeying hole 14 after lagging his tee shot up the hill, and was up two shots 11-9. Both would deuce the last two, with Coradini insuring the victory by putting his ball within six inches of the uniquely baseball-designed hole 18. This would give him his first win of the season. Ward would settle for second.
Jeff Carr cruised to a six-shot win on Sunday that would give him a string of four consecutive wins at the Martinez location. Carr shot lights out with a pair of 25's and a closing round of 23 to finish the tournament with a score of 73. Steve Helton fired a final round 24 to take second at 79, while Todd Trent finished alone in third at 81. Carr's win on Sunday was his fourth of the season in South Carolina tournament competition.
Rounding out the top finishers for the Pros include Culverhouse and Warren, each tied for third at 72, while Guthrie finished alone in fifth at 73. Culverhouse was the low medalist qualifier for the South Carolina State Championship and the World Match Play. Tony Varnadore finished at 78, enough to give him the two-day South Carolina State spot.
The South Carolina returns to action this weekend, May 22 & 23 in Spartanburg on Course 1. The events get underway at 12:00 p.m. and Coradini will be on the tee first as the Spartanburg defender. The third set of South Carolina Match Play brackets will be played after the tournament on Saturday. Another tournament is scheduled for Sunday at 10:00 a.m. on the same course.
Tournament results provided by Opie Roberts.
Professional Division of Martinez, GA Event
(Martinez, GA - Red Course - 16 May 2004)
Round Prize Player 1 2 3 Total Money 1 Andy Coradini**
25 21 24 70 $ 120.00 2 Greg Ward 28 21 21 70 $ 80.00 3 Rick Culverhouse 24 24 24 72 $ 60.00 Frank Warren 24 25 23 72 $ 60.00 5 Ray Guthrie 23 25 25 73 $ 50.00 6 Rick Baird 25 25 26 76 $ 45.00 7 Dan Anders 26 24 27 77 $ 38.00 Todd Fowler 22 27 28 77 $ 38.00 9 Gary English 26 26 26 78 $ 27.00 Randy Reeves 29 24 25 78 $ 27.00 Mark Ross 25 26 27 78 $ 27.00 Tony Varnadore 27 26 25 78 $ 27.00 13 Darrell Britt 26 28 25 79 14 Michael Hitt 27 23 31 81 Randy Orr 26 27 28 81 16 Tony Jackson 31 28 25 84 Tony Pack 30 26 28 84 Opie Roberts 31 26 27 84 19 Stan Seethoff 32 25 28 85 20 Robert Johnson 27 31 28 86 21 Vance Randall 28 32 28 88 22 Mike Flavin 29 33 28 90 23 Steve Lyon 30 30 31 91 Amateur Division of Martinez, GA Event
(Martinez, GA - Red Course - 16 May 2004)
Round Expense Player 1 2 3 Total Money 1 Jeff Carr
25 25 23 73 $ 10.00 2 Steve Helton 27 28 24 79 $ 10.00 3 Todd Trent 27 26 28 81 4 Chris Alley 31 31 28 90 5 Ricky D. Schults 28 30 33 91 6 Terry Hendrix 32 32 32 96
