3 July 2005 - High Point, NC - Under mostly cloudy skies on a calm, seasonably-warm day, the North Carolina PPA Tour contested the second of two weekend 54-hole events on course # 1 in High Point, NC. A field of 35 professional and 17 amateur players vied for the Guilford County Open title. Local standout Ray Guthrie took command of the tournament after 36 holes and eventually obliterated the field by firing a spectacular final-round 21. Guthrie posted a final 54-hole total of 69 for an impressive eight-stroke margin of victory. The win was Guthrie's second of the 2005 PPA season. The trio of Michael Hitt, Matt Summey and Brad Lebo, winner of the previous day's event, shared second place at 77. The first-round leader board would not portend the tournament's final results. Opening-round scores were very tightly bunched, with seventeen players firing scores between 25 and 27 and twenty-four players shooting scores between 25 and 28. Five players shared the first-round lead at 25. They included reigning Palmetto Classic Champion Guthrie, reigning North Carolina Match Play Champion Hitt, Jay Klapper, Bill Baus, and Russell Sigmon. In a four-way sixth-place tie at 26 were host professional Randy Carter, Vince Batten, Rick Baird, and reigning North Carolina State Champion Gary English.
Guthrie assumed the lead for good after the second round, posting a second-round 23 for a 36-hole total of 48. With a second-round 23, reigning Virginia State Champion Summey surged up the leader board into sole possession of second place at 50. Klapper was alone in third position at 51. Still in striking distance of the lead and tied for fourth place at 52 were Hitt, Baus, and reigning 2004 PPA National Doubles Champions Greg Newport and Rick Rybaczek. Any potential drama concerning the tournament's outcome was eliminated by Guthrie firing a blistering third-round 21, the low round of the tournament and weekend. Guthrie's 54-hole total of 69 earned him a dominating eight-stroke victory and the Guilford County Open title. A heated battle ensued for second place, however. Hitt posted a solid final-round 25 to establish 77 as the score to beat for runner-up honors. Summey mustered a third-round 27 and tied Hitt at 77. Reigning South Carolina State Champion Lebo made a significant move in the final round, firing 23 to tie Hitt and Summey at 77. Hitt, Summey, and Lebo would share second place at 77. Rounding out the top five in a tie for fifth position at 78 were Lee Witcofski, Tony Jackson, Billy Caudle and Klapper. The cash line for the seventeen money spots awarded in this tournament fell at 82. At several points during the tournament, Guthrie noted that his lone goal of the day and weekend was to earn the available two-day qualifying spot for the 2005 PPA World Match Play Championship. Guthrie entered Sunday's final round tied for the weekend with Baus for that spot, but his inspired final-round 21 allowed to earn not only the Guilford County Open title, but the coveted two-day spot for the 2005 PPA World Match Play Championship. The spot represents Guthrie's first in the event. With his victory, Guthrie also received spots in the North Carolina State Championship and North Carolina Match Play Championship. Summey earned and accepted the North Carolina PPA Tour's points spot for the 2005 PPA World Match Play Championship, awarded to the winner of a season-long points race for the spot which ended at the conclusion of this event. The spot is Summey's second in the tournament. Klapper was awarded the two-day spot available this weekend for the North Carolina State Championship. In the amateur division, Caleb Kennedy and 2004 APA ProPutters.com Classic Champion Jeff Carr separated from the field and tied for the lead at the end of regulation play, each posting a 54-hole total of 75. Kennedy aced the final two holes of a closely-contested 18-hole playoff to defeat Carr 25-28 and earn the third win of his rookie campaign on tour. Amateur action opened with Kennedy firing a first-round 24 and taking the early lead. Tied for second place at 25 were Dennis Biesma and local standout Larry Hoover, who crafted a brilliant 73 three days earlier to win the 54-hole weekly local tournament on the same course. Rounding out the first-round top five were Keith Waters and Barry Moore, who shot respective rounds of 26 and 27. Carr battled back from a lackluster first-round 28 to post a sizzling second-round 23 and tie Kennedy for the 36-hole lead at 51. Biesma and Hoover shared third position at 53. Lurking another stroke back alone in fifth place at 54 was reigning APA Palmetto Classic Champion Frankie Peters. The tournament quickly developed into a two-player contest in the final round. Kennedy and Carr each fired a final-round 24 and were tied for the 54-hole lead at 75. Biesma and Peters finished deadlocked in third place at 80. Chris Alley posted a sensational third-round 22, low amateur round of the day, to soar up the leader board. Alley and Hoover shared fifth position at 81 and earned the final amateur expense reimbursement spots. In the ensuing 18-hole playoff, Kennedy jumped to an early two-stroke lead after five holes, as Carr recorded an untimely bogey at the 5th hole to move back to even-par for the playoff. The determined Carr fought back mightily, however, acing eight of his next nine holes to square the match after fourteen holes. Kennedy made a fortuitous ace behind Carr on the fourteenth hole, hitting high on the triangular obstacle and making an ace directly off the back rail instead of out of the corner, which is the prescribed ace path. With that good fortune, the momentum appeared to swing back to the youthful Kennedy, as he aced three of the last four holes while Carr deuced all four remaining holes. Kennedy ultimately defeated Carr in the playoff by a score of 25-28 to notch the win, his third of the 2005 PPA season. Hoover earned and accepted the two-day spot available in the amateur division this weekend for the North Carolina State Championship. The North Carolina PPA Tour would like to extend thanks to High Point course manager Chris Grainey, host PPA professional Randy Carter, and their staff for welcoming the tour to the beautiful High Point, NC Putt-Putt facility and hosting a weekend of very successful tour events. The tour players were greatly appreciative of the diligent efforts made to maintain the course in outstanding playing condition for the weekend tournaments. The North Carolina PPA Tour returns to action on August 13 and 14 with its second major tournament of the season, the two-day, 144-hole Elton Davis Memorial Tournament in Burlington, NC. Action begins at noon on Saturday, August 13 and at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday, August 14. The event will be played on both courses at the Burlington Putt-Putt facility. Scores and Article provided by Brad Lebo and Rick Rybaczek. |
Professional Division of Guilford Count Open
(High Point, NC - Course # 1 - 3 July 2005)
Round NC Prize Player 1 2 3 Total Points Money 1 Guthrie, Ray 25 23 21 69 40.00 $ 150.00 2 Hitt, Michael 25 27 25 77 33.00 $ 94.00 Summey, Matt 27 23 27 77 33.00 $ 94.00 Lebo, Brad 27 27 23 77 33.00 $ 94.00 5 Witcofski, Lee 28 26 24 78 29.50 $ 68.00 Jackson, Tony 27 26 25 78 29.50 $ 68.00 Caudle, Billy 31 23 24 78 29.50 $ 68.00 Klapper, Jay 25 26 27 78 29.50 $ 68.00 9 Rybaczek, Rick 28 24 27 79 27.00 $ 55.00 10 Freeman, Daryl 29 24 27 80 26.00 $ 50.00 11 Comer, Jimmy 27 30 24 81 23.00 $ 42.00 Carter, Randy 26 30 25 81 23.00 $ 42.00 Batten, Vince 26 28 27 81 23.00 $ 42.00 Baus, Bill 25 27 29 81 23.00 $ 42.00 Smith, Randal 28 26 27 81 23.00 $ 42.00 16 Newport, Greg 27 25 30 82 18.50 $ 20.00 Baird, Rick 26 30 26 82 18.50 $ 20.00 Sigmon Jr., Russell 25 31 26 82 18.50 $ 20.00 Coradini, Andy 28 25 29 82 18.50 $ 20.00 20 Varnadore, Tony 28 28 27 83 14.50 Cardwell, Michael 28 27 28 83 14.50 Moore, Gary 27 29 27 83 14.50 Landin, Bear 29 28 26 83 14.50 24 English, Gary 26 30 28 84 10.00 Perdue, Lance 27 28 29 84 10.00 Carter, Rick 30 27 27 84 10.00 Haizlip, Bob 28 27 29 84 10.00 O'Brien, Tom 27 28 29 84 10.00 29 Bunting, Chris 30 25 31 86 7.00 30 Ward, Robert 32 25 30 87 6.00 31 Thompson, Don 29 29 30 88 5.00 Kirby Jr., Bill 30 29 29 88 5.00 33 White, James 31 32 30 93 5.00 34 Britt, Darrell 34 29 32 95 5.00 35 Johnson, Robert Withdrew (WD) 5.00 Amateur Division of Guilford Count Open
(High Point, NC - Course # 1 - 3 July 2005)
Round NC Expense Player 1 2 3 Total Points Money 1 Kennedy, Caleb 24 27 24 75 23.00 $ 10.00 2 Carr, Jeff 28 23 24 75 19.00 $ 10.00 3 Biesma, Dennis 25 28 27 80 17.50 $ 10.00 Peters, Frankie 28 26 26 80 17.50 $ 10.00 5 Hoover, Larry 25 28 28 81 15.50 $ 10.00 Alley, Chris 31 28 22 81 15.50 $ 10.00 7 Moore, Barry 27 29 28 84 14.00 8 Schults, Ricky D 31 31 23