Allen Wall Wins Alamance County Open to Win NCPPA Opener
19 March 2005 - Burlington, N.C. - On the official last day of winter, a field of 44 members of the PPA arrived in Burlington on a brisk, chilly day. The North Carolina Tour started the season for the second consecutive year in Burlington with the Alamance County Open held on Course 1.
The field consisted of 29 pros, including the defending 2004 APA North Carolina State Champion Brian Hutchins who turned professional just this week. Hutchins made an early statement to his career as he was contending the entire day. Hutchins had won previous events in Burlington as an amateur, including last year's encounter. Although he fared well in his first event as a Pro, his traveling buddy, Allen Wall, fared better as he came out on top of the field and was the only player under 80.
Allen Wall
2005 PPA Alamance County Open ChampionThe course had been re-carpeted a couple of weeks ago and scores reflected the change. Bear Landin led a group of five players at 26, and another three players were a shot back, including Hutchins. It was where Wall took over. At 28 through the first round, Wall blistered the course and the field by posting the day's best round of 24 to grab a two-shot lead on Hutchins and Brad Lebo. Wall pulled away even further in the final round. Hutchins and Landin both posted mediocre rounds in the 30's paving way for some of the more experienced players to finish ahead.
Wall shot 27 in the final round to win by three strokes and a score of 79. Daryl Freeman and Bill Kirby each finished tied for second at 82. Local player Mike Griffin wound up in fourth at 83, and Great Lakes veteran Bill Baus rounded out the top five at 84. Hutchins ended up in a tie for sixth with Brad Lebo with a score of 86.
Chuck Nance grabbed his first win on the APA circuit in almost a full season as he kicked off the season where he last placed victory. Just like Wall did in the second round, Nance used it to take the lead, but held on. Nance fired a 26 in the second to take a one-shot lead and despite a potential final round comeback from Bonnie White, Nance won with a score of 83. Nance narrowly escaped with a one-shot win over White, who shot 84 to finish second. Steve Helton and Ricky Schults both were tied for third at 86.
Wall grabbed the first qualifying spot into the North Carolina State Championship to be played in High Point. Kirby defeated Freeman in a playoff for the first Match Play spot, also to be played in High Point.
The North Carolina Tour concludes its weekend on Sunday, March 20 in Burlington on Course 1 at 10:00 a.m. for the 11th annual Howard Loy Memorial with Daryl Freeman as the defending champion.
Tournament results provided by Opie Roberts and Rick Rybaczek.
Professional Division of Alamance County Open
(Burlington, N.C. - Course #1 - 19 March 2005)
Round Prize Player 1 2 3 Total Money 1 Allen Wall
28 24 27 79 $ 150.00 2 Daryl Freeman 27 29 26 82 $ 100.00 Bill Kirby 29 26 27 82 $ 100.00 4 Mike Griffin 29 25 29 83 $ 80.00 5 Bill Baus 28 27 29 84 $ 75.00 6 Brian Hutchins 27 26 32 85 $ 68.00 Brad Lebo 26 30 29 85 $ 68.00 8 Rick Baird 29 28 29 86 $ 49.00 Tommy Barbour 31 27 28 86 $ 49.00 Robert Johnson 29 29 28 86 $ 49.00 Bear Landin 26 27 33 86 $ 49.00 James White 27 28 31 86 $ 49.00 13 Don Thompson 26 31 30 87 $ 40.00 14 Jeff Spainhour 29 30 29 88 $ 40.00 15 Randy Carter 30 28 31 89 Billy Caudle 28 30 31 89 Greg Newport 26 28 33 89 Lance Perdue 30 29 30 89 Rusty Taylor 34 29 26 89 20 Rick Rybaczek 30 28 32 90 Randal Smith 28 30 32 90 22 Ben Blake 32 31 28 91 Ray Guthrie 30 33 28 91 Tony Jackson 32 33 26 91 25 Matt Summey 33 29 31 93 26 Bob Haizlip 31 33 31 95 27 Chris Bunting 35 29 33 97 28 Michael Cardwell 30 35 33 98 29 Robert Ward 34 33 32 99 Amateur Division of Alamance County Open
(Burlington, N.C. - Course #1 - 19 March 2005)
Round Expense Player 1 2 3 Total Money 1 Chuck Nance
29 26 28 83 $ 10.00 2 Bonnie White 30 28 26 84 $ 10.00 3 Steve Helton 28 30 28 86 $ 10.00 Ricky Schults 29 27 30 86 $ 10.00 5 Jeff Carr 30 29 28 87 Barry Moore 30 29 28 87 7 Dennis Biesma 32 29 30 91 Mark Lawson 32 31 28 91 9 James LeBrun 32 30 30 92 Frankie Peters 32 32 28 92 11 Larry Hoover 32 32 30 94 12 Caleb Kennedy 31 34 33 98 13 Walter Kolb 35 31 33 99
