Bob Haizlip Wins
2006 Howard Loy Memorial in a Playoff19 March 2006 - Burlington, N.C. - The 11th annual Howard Loy Memorial was played on Sunday with continual nice weather from Saturday, but a dip in the temperature gauge. The event was played with temperatures in the low 40's with a slight wind that prompted most of the players to go double-layered on their selection of attire. This tournament would have a controversial moment that ultimately decided the outcome. Bob Haizlip fired an incredible second round score of 23 to take the lead at 49. But a scorecard from his group was turned in incorrectly and that resulted in a one-stroke penalty for Haizlip. Haizlip would have to start the final round with a score of 50 and began the final round tied with Greg Ward. Each had fired a 27 in the final round to force a playoff in the Pro Division for the second consecutive day.
Bob HaizlipThe day began with Robert Johnson, who was involved in the playoff on Saturday, jumping out to the early lead. Johnson started off with a 13 on the front, and would start making a nice run. Johnson aced out the last six holes to finish the round with a 24 for a one-stroke lead on Ray Guthrie, Michael Hitt and Matt Summey. Haizlip was tied for fifth at 26. His morning started a bit slower than the other leaders by opening two for six. Haizlip then got to the top five after he aced out the last three to finish at 26. He was in a two-way tie for sixth after the first 18 of play.
Johnson was playing well as the second round began, but was challenged against Haizlip's front nine. Although Johnson started out five for seven, he couldn't find any aces throughout the next six holes and it gave Haizlip an opportunity to cash in. Haizlip ran in the first seven to tie Johnson and then made four of the next six to jump out in front. Finishing with a round of 23, Haizlip grabbed the outright lead.
Greg Ward made a run of his own to start the second round. After a slow start with a 28, Ward shot 10 on the front of the second round and blistered his way to a round of 22 (which ties for best round of the weekend). Ward was second at 50, one back of Haizlip, with Brad Lebo holding in at 51 at the third position, and Johnson in a four-way tie for fourth at 52.
As Haizlip was about to enter his third and final round, he and his group was given a one-stroke penalty as one the players incorrectly turned in his scorecard. The infraction put Haizlip in a tie for first with Ward.
Both Haizlip and Ward would trade leads in the final round. Ward made the first two, but only finished the front nine with a 15. Haizlip jumped out again with six consecutive aces and finished the front with a 12. After he had missed the last three on the front, Haizlip continued to stretch the deuces through hole 12. In that stretch, Ward made those three and continued to pile on more aces on 13 and 14. Haizlip made those two holes on top of Ward and then retook the lead on hole 15 with an ace.
With Ward in the group ahead of Haizlip, he stepped onto hole 18 needing to make it to tie Haizlip. Ward's ability to perform in clutch situations proved satisfactory as he drained his tee shot to the center of the cup. Haizlip had missed 16 and 17 and an ace would send him home with his second Howard Loy Memorial title. Haizlip left his tee shot short and left and forced the playoff. Not only was Haizlip gunning for his second Howard Loy title, but Ward was in the running for his second. Haizlip won the event in 1998, while Ward won it the following season.
Ward began the playoff with a miss on the first hole, opening the door for Haizlip. Haizlip would ace the first four holes and would be ahead by two shots through seven holes. Ward took the strokes back on holes 8 and 9 and both were tied at 5 under through the front nine. After both missed 10 and 11, Haizlip grabbed the lead on 12 and was up by two again with four to play. Haizlip won the playoff as he made 16 and then 17. After a par on the final hole, Haizlip shot 27 to win by one over Ward. The win is his first of the Southern Tour, but it marked his first PPA win since 2000, when he dominated in White Lake.
Guthrie and Johnson each finished in a tie for third at 78. Darrell Britt, Rick Rybaczek and Ricky Schults were each tied for fifth at 79. There were 15 money spots awarded in the Pro Division. A score of 83 was good enough to earn a full share. Haizlip and Johnson ended the first weekend with a share of the lead in the Southern Putting Tour points race with 66 points apiece.
Special thanks to Brian Patterson for his graciousness in allowing the Southern Putting Tour to open their program on his course. The course was once again in excellent shape as it has been over the years.
The Southern Putting Tour will resume play next weekend in Spartanburg. The weekend will get underway on Saturday at 12:00pm on Course 2 for the Impact Open. The weekend will be completed on Sunday at 10:00 a.m., also on Course 2, for the first annual PPASouthernTour.com Open.
Article and scores provided by Opie Roberts and the PPA Southern Putting Tour.
Professional Division of 2006 Howard Loy Memorial
(Burlington, N.C. - Course #1 - 19 March 2006)
Round Southern Prize Player 1 2 3 Total Tour Points Money 1 Haizlip, Bob* 26 24 27 77 40.00 $ 150.00 2 Ward, Greg 28 22 27 77 34.00 $ 110.00 3 Johnson, Robert* 24 28 26 78 32.50 $ 85.00 Guthrie, Ray 25 28 25 78 32.50 $ 85.00 5 Britt, Darrell 29 24 26 79 30.00 $ 70.00 Schults, Ricky 27 25 27 79 30.00 $ 70.00 Rybaczek, Rick 28 24 27 79 30.00 $ 70.00 8 Summey, Matt 25 27 28 80 27.50 $ 58.00 Hitt, Michael 25 28 27 80 27.50 $ 58.00 10 Warren, Frank 28 26 27 81 26.00 $ 50.00 11 Lebo, Brad 26 25 31 82 24.50 $ 45.00 Klapper, Jay 29 25 28 82 24.50 $ 45.00 13 Perdue, Lance 31 26 26 83 22.00 $ 40.00 Stewart, Manfred 27 26 30 83 22.00 $ 40.00 Caudle, Billy 29 27 27 83 22.00 $ 40.00 16 Kirby, Bill 30 25 29 84 19.00 Freeman, Daryl 28 28 28 84 19.00 Davis, Bob 27 27 30 84 19.00 19 Shively, Steve 29 28 30 87 16.50 Baus, Bill 32 28 27 87 16.50 21 Roberts, Opie 29 28 31 88 14.50 Newport, Greg 31 29 28 88 14.50 23 Jackson, Tony 31 30 28 89 12.00 Hester, Gary 30 32 27 89 12.00 Baird, Rick 30 28 31 89 12.00 26 White, James 30 31 29 90 10.00 27 Coradini, Andy 31 28 34 93 9.00 28 Carter, Randy 36 31 29 96 7.50 Bunting, Chris 34 32 30 96 7.50 30 Cardwell, Michael 30 32 35 97 6.00 31 Ward, Robert 33 35 32 100 5.00 * Earned a qualification spot for the 2006 PPA Southern Putting Tour Championship.
Tommy Hutchinson Wins
2006 Howard Loy Memorial18 March 2006 - Burlington, N.C. - Frigid temperatures met the field Sunday morning as the amateurs returned to the carpets for the finale of the new Southern Tour's opening weekend. The weekend saw 2001 North Carolina State Champion Tommy Hutchinson returning to the tour after only spotty appearances over the last few years. After a slow start in Saturday's event, Hutchinson returned in fine fashion, blasting the field with an opening round 12 under par on Sunday and going for the wire to wire win.
Tommy HutchinsonHutchinson's 12 under par was the low round for the day, and put him in the early lead three strokes ahead of Frankie Peters and Jeff Carr. Another stroke back was Dennis Biesma, with Chuck Nance and Saturday's winner Chris Alley one more stroke back at 29.
Hutchinson's second round wasn't as strong, but his 6 under par kept him in the lead at 54 after two rounds. Peters and Biesma took advantage and were both two strokes out of the lead going into the final round, with Nance still one more stroke back.
The final round saw a return of better scores by the leaders. Bonnie White fired a final round 10 under par, and shooting in the day's first group was the early leader in the clubhouse for the second day in a row at 84. That lead would hold up until Peters finished with a final round 8 under par to join White for a share of the lead at 84. One more group back was Hutchinson however, who regained his composure in the final round shooting 8 under par to overtake the leader board with a final three round score of 82.
The win was Hutchinson's first victory since 2002. Hutchinson dominated much of the South Carolina tour from 2000 to 2002, and is a four time South Carolina State Championship in addition to holding the North Carolina State Championship in 2001.
Peters and White split second place. With back to back second place finishes, White moves to the top of the Southern Tour points standings after the opening weekend events.
Carr finished 4th at 85, with Nance another stroke back at 86. Barry Moore finished sixth at 87, and Mark Lawson took the last expense reimbursement at 88.
The Southern Tour extends their many thanks to Brian Patterson and his staff at Burlington for hosting the tour's opening weekend. As always, the courses were in great shape and remain one of the nicest facilities in the Southeast. On behalf of everyone who attended this weekend, we would also like to send our gratitude to the course, who provided the amateur trophies and professional division plaques for the weekend's events.
The Southern Tour returns to action next weekend in Spartanburg, SC for two 54 hole events. The weekend, originally scheduled for Columbia, was recently changed to Spartanburg's Course #2 due to circumstances at the Columbia course. Saturday's event kicks off at noon on Course #2, and Sunday's tee time is 10 a.m.
Article and scores provided by AmPutters.com.
Amateur Division of 2006 Howard Loy Memorial
(Burlington, N.C. - Course #1 - 19 March 2006)
Round Southern Expense Player 1 2 3 Total Tour Points Money 1 Hutchinson, Tommy 24 30 28 82 23.00 $ 10.00 2 White, Bonnie 30 28 26 84 18.50 $ 10.00 Peters, Frankie 27 29 28 84 18.50 $ 10.00 4 Carr, Jeff 27 31 27 85 17.00 $ 10.00 5 Nance, Chuck 29 28 29 86 16.00 $ 10.00 6 Moore, Barry 30 28 29 87 15.00 $ 10.00 7 Lawson, Mark 32 28 28 88 14.00 $ 10.00 8 Kennedy, Caleb 30 31 28 89 12.00 Helton, Steve 31 27 31 89 12.00 Hoover, Larry 35 26 28 89 12.00 11 Biesma, Dennis
