27 August 2006 - Lynchburg, VA - Greeted by bright sunshine and oppressive heat, the Virginia PPA Tour contested the second of two weekend 54-hole events on course # 2 at PPA Tour Commissioner Joe Aboid's beautiful Lynchburg, VA Putt-Putt facility. In the immortal words of Yankee great Yogi Berra, it was "deja vu all over again." For the second-consecutive day, 2006 PPA National Champion and defending champion Brad Lebo was forced into an 18-hole play-off after 2004 VA State Champion Matt Summey aced his final hole of regulation play. Lebo and Summey tied at the end of regulation play with a 54-hole total of 80. In the ensuing 18-hole play-off, Lebo again defeated Summey by one stroke, this time by a lackluster score of 30-31. The victory was Lebo's sixth of the 2006 PPA season and gave Lebo a sweep of the weekend events in Lynchburg, VA. 2006 Dogwood Open Champion Vince Batten's courageous final-round clubhouse charge fell several strokes short of success, as he notched third-place honors at 82. 2004 PPA National Doubles Champion Rick Rybaczek recorded a brilliant final-round 25 for a 54-hole total of 83 to finish eerily in fourth position for the second day in a row. At 87, 2005 VA State Champion Darrell Anderson and 1991 VA State Champion Ed Grajewski shared fifth place.

Play began with Summey carding a sizzling opening-round 25 to jump into the first-round lead. Lebo and Anderson each posted 27 to move into a second-place tie. Deadlocked in fourth position at 28 were Batten and two-time Virginia Open Champion Manfred Stewart.

Summey continued his stellar play in the second round, firing 26 to maintain a two-stroke lead at 51. Lebo matched Summey's second-round 26 and remained two strokes off of the lead, in second place at 53. Batten moved into third position at 55. Bunched in a fourth-place tie at 58 were Rybaczek, Anderson, and Grajewski.

Appropriately, the third round of action featured final-hole drama for the second-consecutive day. With one hole remaining in regulation play, Lebo had wrestled the lead away from Summey by one stroke as the duo battled for the win. Lebo's ace effort on the 18th hole was on line but just short of the cup, giving him a final-round 27 and setting the stage for Summey to force a play-off. For the second day in a row, Summey confidently hit a perfect putt and aced the final hole of regulation play. That ace gave Summey a third-round 29, enough to force an 18-hole play-off with Lebo as the two players tied with a 54-hole total of 80. Batten's third-round 27 enabled him to maintain third place at 82. A final-round 25 allowed the hard-charging Rybaczek to finish alone in fourth position at 83. Anderson and Grajewski matched fourth-round 29's to share fifth place and split the final cash spot awarded in the event.

In the ensuing 18-hole play-off, both players struggled. With an untimely bogey by Lebo on the 9th hole of the play-off, Summey was able to establish a two-stroke lead in the play-off despite an outward-nine 15. Lebo regrouped on the inward nine holes and seized a one-stroke lead after an ace on the 16th hole. The players matched aces on the 17th hole, setting up further final-hole drama. Lebo's ace effort on the 18th hole again was on line but slightly short, giving Summey the opportunity to extend the play-off to sudden death. Summey's ace effort narrowly missed, giving Lebo a hard-fought play-off victory, 30-31. The win was Lebo's sixth of the 2006 PPA season and completed a sweep of the weekend events for Lebo.

In the amateur division, local standout and defending champion Conway Coffey took his cue from the professional division, completing a sweep of the weekend events on his home course. Coffey percolated rounds of 29, 27, and 24 for a 54-hole total of 80 and his second-consecutive three-stroke victory. The victory was Coffey's fourth of the 2006 season. Lynchburg local player Bill Petrie fired 83 to earn runner-up honors. Dennis Biesma continued his recent outstanding play, finishing in third place at 87. At 90, Richmond, VA local standout Malcolm Shumaker and former JPA National Champion John Petrie tied for fifth position.

Amateur division action commenced with Bill Petrie charging into a commanding three-stroke first-round lead with a scorching opening-round 26. A second-place logjam at 29 included Coffey, Biesma, Amy Smith, and 2006 Virginia Open APA Champion Barry Moore.

The leader board tightened after the second round in the amateur division, with Bill Petrie still clinging to the 36-hole lead at 54. Biesma carded a second-round 26 to take sole possession of second place at 55. Coffey hovered another stroke off of the lead, in third place at 56. A two-way tie for fourth place at 61 featured John Petrie and the exquisitely-attired James Walker.

As was the case in the previous day's tournament, a sensational final-round performance separated Coffey from the remainder of the amateur field. Coffey fired a spectacular third-round 24 for a 54-hole total of 80 to post his second-consecutive three-stroke victory. The win was Coffey's fourth of the 2006 season and moved him ahead of season-long frontrunner Moore into the lead in the VA Tour APA Player of the Year race. Bill Petrie held on to finish comfortably in second place at 83. Biesma suffered a disappointing third-round 32 to drop into third place at 87. At 90, Shumaker and John Petrie shared fourth position and captured the final two amateur division expense reimbursement spots awarded in the event.

Old Dominion Cup competition in the amateur division was dominated by several Lynchburg, VA local teams. The local duo of Coffey and Randy Baldwin shot 80 to record a two-stroke victory over the Lynchburg father-and-son tandem of Bill Petrie and John Petrie, who finished in second place at 82. The Richmond, VA squad of Shumaker and Amy Smith took third-place honors at 85. Despite a fourth-place finish at 86, Biesma and Barry Moore maintained their position atop the season-long Old Dominion Cup standings.

In the novice division, 1982 VA State Champion and Lynchburg, VA resident Jimmy Bower maintained the theme of the day and successfully defended his novice title of the previous day. Bower's outstanding 54-hole total of 89 enabled him to complete a sweep of the novice division events for the weekend.

The Virginia PPA Tour would like to extend thanks and express its great appreciation to course owner and manager Joe Aboid and his staff for welcoming the tour to the picturesque Lynchburg, VA Putt-Putt complex and hosting a weekend of very successful tournaments. The Virginia PPA Tour resumes play on September 16 and 17 with three events to be held on historic course # 3 in Richmond, VA. A regular 54-hole tour event will begin at a special starting time of 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, September 16. Following that regular tour event, a Pro-Am tournament will be held on Saturday, September 16 beginning at 3:00 p.m. The format for the Pro-Am event will be two rounds of better ball of the professional and amateur partners, with two-player teams each consisting of a professional and amateur player being determined by luck-of-the-draw. A regular 54-hole tour event also will be held on Sunday, September 17 starting at 10:00 a.m.