Brad Lebo Defeats Tony Varnadore in Playoff to Capture 2005 Barbara Nance Memorial

10 September 2005 - High Point, N.C. - The North Carolina PPA Tour began a weekend of four tour events with the contesting of the 54-hole Barbara Nance Memorial tournament on course # 2 in High Point, NC. Hot and windy conditions led to some sluggish and erratic field scoring in the event. 2004 South Carolina State Champion Brad Lebo and 2003 South Carolina State Champion Tony Varnadore each fired steady rounds of 27, 26, and 28 for a 54-hole total of 81 to tie for the tournament lead at the end of regulation play. Lebo narrowly defeated Varnadore in a tightly-contested 18-hole play-off by a score of 28-29 to notch his ninth victory of the 2005 PPA season. With the win, Lebo mathematically closed out Matt Summey to capture North Carolina PPA Tour Player of the Year honors for the second consecutive season. Second-round leader Randal Smith finished alone in third position at 83. Finishing in a three-way tie for fourth place at 84 were Summey, Vince Batten and Greg Ward.

Action commenced with Smith and Rick Baird each firing 26 to share the opening-round lead. Lebo, Varnadore, and Bill Kirby lurked one stroke back in a tie for third position at 27. Billy Caudle hovered another stroke behind at 28.


Brad Lebo
2005 Furniture City Open Champion

Smith crafted a solid second-round 25 to take sole possession of the 36-hole lead at 51. Lebo, Varnadore, and Baird stood two strokes off the lead, in a three-way second-place logjam at 53. Ward and Kirby shared fifth position at 56.

Scoring among the leaders was lackluster in the final round of play, with the tournament developing into a war of attrition. Smith and Baird each posted disappointing third-round 32's to fall out of contention. Lebo survived two final-round bogeys to fire a third-round 28, which was matched by Varnadore. Lebo and Varnadore each posted a 54-hole total of 81, finishing regulation play in a tie for the lead. A winner would be decided in an 18-hole play-off. Smith finished alone in third position at 83. Summey, Ward, and Batten rounded out the top five, tied for fourth place at 84. The cash line for the 17 money spots awarded in the event fell at 88.

The 18-hole play-off developed into a tightly-contested seesaw battle between Lebo and Varnadore. The contestants completed the front nine tied at 14. Varnadore aced holes 10 and 11 to take a two-stroke lead. Lebo fought back with aces on holes 12, 13, and 14 to surge to a one-stroke advantage. Varnadore aced hole 16 to square the match. With honors, Varnadore endured an unfortunate break on the 17th hole and settled for a deuce. Lebo aced hole 17 behind Varnadore. Lebo gambled on hole 18, laying up on the difficult hole for a tap-in deuce. Varnadore had the opportunity to extend the match with an ace. Varnadore put his ace effort on line, but fell short of the hole, securing the victory for Lebo. Lebo defeated Varnadore in the play-off by a final score of 28-29. The win was Lebo's ninth of the 2005 PPA season. With the victory, Lebo also wrapped up North Carolina PPA Tour Player of the Year honors for the second consecutive year.

In the amateur division, 2005 Palmetto Classic APA Champion Frankie Peters survived a close battle with several other players to post a 54-hole total of 86 and capture his first Barbara Nance Memorial title and third amateur title of the 2005 season. Mark Lawson notched runner-up honors at 87. 2004 APA National Champion Ricky D. Schults and Chuck Nance tied for fourth place at 88. Rounding out the top five was local APA standout Keith Waters, who finished at 89.

Scoring was tightly-bunched after the opening round of play in the amateur division. Peters, Schults, and Chris Alley shared the first-round lead at 27. Barry Moore stood alone in fourth place at 28. Bunched in a fifth-place tie at 29 were Lawson, Nance, local teen sensation Caleb Kennedy and Dennis Biesma.

The tournament remained tightly-contested after two rounds of play. Peters and Nance shared the 36-hole lead at 56. Schults stood alone in third position just a stroke off of the lead at 57. Lawson, Kennedy, and Moore entered the final round tied for fourth place at 58.

With scoring rising among the leaders in the final round, Peters endured a final-round 31 to post a 54-hole total of 86, good for a one-stroke victory over Lawson, who finished alone in second place at 87 after a final-round 29. Schults and Nance finished in a third-place tie at 88. Waters fired a third-round 27 to surge into fifth position at 89. At 90, Kennedy, Moore, and Biesma tied for sixth place and split the final amateur expense reimbursement spot awarded in the event.

With his finish in the event, Schults wrapped up 2005 North Carolina Tour Player of the Year honors in the amateur division in a close year-long battle with 2005 AmPutters.com Classic Champion Jeff Carr. Schults also recently captured 2005 South Carolina Tour Player of the Year honors in the amateur division.

Prior to tee off in the event, APA member Chuck Nance presented the Barbara Nance Memorial Dedication Award, named posthumously for his mother and awarded annually in association with this tournament to a player who exhibits superior sportsmanship and dedication to the game. This year's recipient was Martinsville putting icon Randal Smith.

After a break of about an hour following completion of the Barbara Nance Memorial tournament, the North Carolina PPA Tour returns to action with a second 54-hole event, the Wayne Hancock Memorial, to be held on course # 2 in High Point, NC on Saturday, September 10.

Scores and Article provided by Brad Lebo and Rick Rybaczek.

Professional Division of the 2005 Barbara Nance Memorial
(High Point, N.C. - Course # 2 - 10 September 2005)

    Round   N.C. Prize
  Player 1 2 3 Total Points Money
1 Lebo, Brad 27 26 28 81     40.00 $ 150.00
2 Varnadore, Tony 27 26 28 81     34.00 $ 110.00
3 Smith, Randal 26 25 32 83     33.00 $   90.00
4 Batten, Vince 30 27 27 84     31.00 $   75.00
  Ward, Greg 29 27 28 84     31.00 $   75.00
  Summey, Matt 29 28 27 84     31.00 $   75.00
7 Baird, Rick 26 27 32 85     27.50 $   58.00
  Stewart, Manfred 32 29 24 85     27.50 $   58.00
  Freeman, Daryl 30 27 28 85     27.50 $   58.00
  Kirby Jr., Bill 27 29 29 85     27.50 $   58.00
11 Sigmon Jr., Russell 30 29 27 86     24.00 $   44.00
  Thompson, Don 30 27 29 86     24.00 $   44.00
  Moore, Gary 29 28 29 86     24.00 $   44.00
14 Klapper, Jay 29 30 28 87     22.00 $   40.00
15 English, Gary 30 31 27 88     20.00 $   40.00
  Haizlip, Bob 33 26 29 88     20.00 $   40.00
  Carter, Rick 33 29 26 88     20.00 $   40.00
18 Cardwell, Michael 30 29 30 89     17.00  
  Guthrie, Ray 29 28 32 89     17.00  
  Witcofski, Lee 35 27 27 89     17.00  
21 Johnson, Robert 30 34 26 90     14.50  
  Perdue, Lance 32 29 29 90     14.50  
23 Coradini, Andy 31 28 32 91     12.00  
  Reeves, Randy 29 29 33 91     12.00  
  Landin, Bear 29 31 31 91     12.00  
26 Jackson, Tony 31 31 30 92     10.00  
27 Britt, Darrell 31 29 33 93       9.00  
28 Rybaczek, Rick 33 29 33 95       6.50  
  Hitt, Michael 35 29 31 95       6.50  
  Bunting, Chris 30 33 32 95       6.50  
  Orr, Randy 33 31 31 95       6.50  
32 Comer, Jimmy 30 34 33 97       5.00  
33 Caudle, Billy 28 37 35 100       5.00  
34 White, James 35 34 32 101       5.00  
35 Ward, Robert 34 35 34 103       5.00  

Amateur Division of the 2005 Barbara Nance Memorial
(High Point, N.C. - Course # 2 - 10 September 2005)

    Round   N.C. Expense
  Player 1 2 3 Total Points Money
1 Peters, Frankie 27 28 31 86     23.00 $   10.00
2 Lawson, Mark 29 29 29 87     19.00 $   10.00
3 Schults, Ricky D 27 30 31 88     17.50 $   10.00
  Nance, Chuck 29 27 32 88     17.50 $   10.00
5 Waters, Keith 31 31 27 89     16.00 $   10.00
6 Kennedy, Caleb 29 29 32 90     14.00 $     4.00
  Moore, Barry 28 30 32 90     14.00 $     4.00
  Biesma, Dennis 29 30 31