Brad Lebo Fires 67 to Coast to Victory
 in Abingdon, MD

18 June 2006 - Abingdon, MD - On another hot, beautiful, late-spring day, the Virginia PPA Tour contested the second of two weekend 54-hole events on course # 1 in Abingdon, MD. With minimal winds and immaculate course conditions, the course was ripe for low scoring. Many of the players in the field took advantage of the opportunity. 2006 North Carolina State Champion Brad Lebo fired bogey-free rounds of 22, 23, and 22 for a 54-hole total of 67 and a five-stroke victory over defending champion Darrell Anderson, who finished alone in second place at 72. The victory was the first of the season on the Virginia Tour for Lebo and was his second overall win of the 2006 PPA season. Lebo's 67 was the second-lowest 54-hole score posted in Virginia Tour history, eclipsed only by Daryl Freeman's all-time PPA 54-hole scoring record of 63, which Freeman carded in a 2005 Virginia Tour event in Richmond, VA. Manfred Stewart finished alone in third position at 74. 2004 Virginia State Champion Matt Summey completed the day in fourth place at 76, with 2005 South Carolina State Champion Vince Batten rounding out the event's top five finishers at 78.

Play commenced with some blistering scoring by the professional field. Lebo and Stewart fired sizzling first-round 22's to move to the top of the opening-round leader board. Deadlocked in a three-way tie for third place at 24 were Anderson, Summey, and local standout Rusty Taylor.

Lebo continued his torrid pace in the second round of action, carding a second-round 23 and taking the 36-hole lead at 45. Stewart posted a middle-round 25 to stay just two strokes off of the lead, in second place at 47. Anderson fired his second consecutive 24 and lurked in third place at 48. Summey remained in contention with a second-round 25, assuming fourth position at 49. Rusty Taylor dropped into fifth place at 50.

Aware that the scoring conditions were ideal and that almost no lead was safe, Lebo did not let up on the scoring accelerator in the final round. Lebo aced seven of his last eight holes of the tournament to post a final-round 22 and a 54-hole total of 67, enough for a five-stroke win over Anderson. The victory was the first of the 2006 season on the Virginia Tour and second overall of the PPA season for the reigning USPMGA U.S. Open Champion. Anderson carded his third consecutive 24 of the day in the final round to finish alone in second place at 72. Stewart notched a third-place finish at 74. Summey ended the day in fourth position at 76. After a disappointing opening-round 28, Batten rebounded strongly to leapfrog into fifth place at 78. For the second consecutive day, the cash line for the seven money spots awarded in the tournament fell at 81.

With a two-day, 108-hole total of 163, Rusty Taylor earned his second qualifying spot for the 2006 PPA World Match Play Championship. The spot was offered by the Virginia Tour to the player in the field with the lowest two-day total for the weekend who did not already have two such qualifying spots. The Virginia Tour also awarded a qualifying spot into the 2006 PPA World Match Play Championship to the player with the highest Virginia Tour points total for the season after the Abingdon events who did not already have two such qualifying spots. That spot was earned by Tom O'Brien.

In the amateur division, Dennis "the APA" Biesma notched his first victory of the 2006 season by firing steady rounds of 26, 27, and 28 for a 54-hole total of 81. Defending champion Malcolm Shumaker's valiant effort to sweep the amateur division for the weekend fell a stroke short of success, as he finished in second place at 82. Richmond local player Amy Smith completed the day in third position at 83. At 85, 2006 Palmetto Classic APA Champion Barry Moore and 2003 APA National Champion Bonnie White tied for fourth place.

Action began in the amateur ranks with Shumaker picking up where he left off in the previous day's event. Shumaker fired a brilliant opening-round 25 to assume first-round leadership. Bunched in second position at 26 were Biesma, the fashionably-attired James Walker, and Randy Baldwin. Another stroke back in fifth place at 27 was newly-crowned 2006 Dogwood Open APA Champion Conway Coffey.

Biesma continued his steady play in the second round, carding 27 to soar into the 36-hole lead at 53. Baldwin cooled to a second-round 29 but maintained second place at 55. Shumaker stumbled to a second-round 31 and dropped into a tie for third position at 56 with Moore and Charlottesville's Shane Shiflett, who climbed up the leader board with a middle-round 25.

Biesma fired a final-round 28 to narrowly defeat the charging Shumaker. Biesma's 54-hole total of 81 was just enough to earn him his first win of the 2006 campaign. Shumaker rebounded courageously from his second-round difficulties to card a third-round 26 and secure runner-up honors at 82. Smith soared into third place at 83 with a final-round 26. White and Moore tied for fourth position at 85 and split the event's final amateur expense reimbursement spot.

In the Old Dominion Cup competition in the amateur division, the team of Shumaker/Smith posted a convincing five-stroke victory with a 54-hole team score of 76. The Moore/Biesma tandem secured runner-up honors at 81 and continued to hold a commanding lead in the season-long Old Dominion Cup points standings. The Lynchburg squad of Coffey/Baldwin finished in third place at 83.

The Virginia PPA Tour would like to extend thanks and express great appreciation to the ownership, management, and staff of the scenic Abingdon, MD Putt-Putt facility for welcoming the tour and hosting a weekend of very successful events. The Virginia PPA Tour returns to action on July 15 and 16 with tournaments to be held on historic course # 3 in Richmond, VA. A 54-hole event will begin at noon on Saturday, July 15. The Virginia PPA Tour will contest its second major championship of the season, the 108-hole Virginia Open, on Sunday, July 16 beginning at 9:30 a.m.

Scores and Article provided by Brad Lebo and Rick Rybaczek.