15 July 2006 - Richmond, VA - In the first of two weekend Virginia PPA Tour events contested on historic course # 3 in Richmond, VA, a field of 19 professional and 20 amateur players were challenged by extreme heat and humidity. The sweltering conditions were no match for defending champion Vince Batten. Batten's day was highlighted by a second-round 19. The 2005 South Carolina State Champion's only miss of the round occurred on the difficult 14th hole, where Batten's valiant ace effort hung on the lip of the cup, one rotation short of allowing Batten to tie the all-time PPA single-round scoring record of 18. Batten posted rounds of 26, 19, and 24 for a 54-hole total of 68, enough for a two-stroke victory over 2002 North Carolina State Champion Ray Guthrie, who shot 70. 2006 PPA National Champion Brad Lebo finished in third place at 71. PPA Hall of Fame legend Daryl Freeman carded 72 to complete the day in fourth position. Tied for fifth place at 73 were 2005 Virginia State Champion Darrell Anderson and 2004 Virginia State Champion Matt Summey.

Action commenced with Freeman posting a brilliant 22 to take the opening-round lead. Lurking a stroke off of the lead at 23 in a second-place tie were Guthrie and Lebo. Summey and 2005 PPA Senior National Champion Bill Baus shared fourth position at 24.

Batten's course record-tying 19 pole-vaulted him into the second-round lead at 44. Despite a second-round 23, Freeman dropped into second place at 45. Guthrie and Lebo remained in contention, tied for third position at 46. Summey took sole position of fifth place at 48.

Batten played solidly in the event's final round, carding a final-round 24 for a 54-hole total of 68. The victory was Batten's third of the 2006 PPA season. Guthrie's third-round 24 moved him into second place at 70. At 71, Lebo finished alone in third place. Freeman captured fourth place honors at 72. A final-round 24 enabled Anderson to jump into a fifth-place tie with Summey at 73. The cash line for the nine money spots awarded in the tournament fell at 75.

In the amateur division, 2006 Palmetto Classic Champion Barry Moore used a sizzling opening-round 21 to produce a wire-to-wire victory. Moore carded rounds of 21, 28, and 23 for a 54-hole total of 72 and a four-stroke victory over Mike Matthews, who finished alone in second place at 76. 2005 Virginia APA State Champion Chuck Dibbs fired 77 for a third-place finish. Teen prodigy Brandon Whitton completed the day in fourth position at 78. 2005 Virginia Open APA Champion Conway "the Can" Coffey and Richmond local player Amy Smith shared fifth place at 79.

Play began with Moore posting a brilliant opening-round 21, giving him a three-stroke lead over Coffey. Whitton and the fashionably-clad James Walker shared third place at 25. At 26, Lynchburg local player Wade Driskill was in fifth place.

Despite stumbling a bit with a second-round 28, Moore maintained the second-round lead at 49. Dibbs carded a scorching middle-round 22 to leapfrog into second place at 50. Coffey hovered two strokes off of the lead, in third position at 51. Bunched in a fourth-place tie at 52 were Whitton and Richmond local stalwarts Chuck Cyr and Malcolm Shumaker.

Moore rebounded courageously from his second-round struggles with a final-round 23, giving him a 54-hole total of 72 and a four-stroke wire-to-wire victory. The win was Moore's fifth of the 2006 APA campaign. Matthews fired a third-round 23 to move into second place at 76. Dibbs finished in third position at 77. At 78, Whitton secured a fourth-place finish. With a final-round 24, Smith charged into a tie for fifth place with Coffey at 79. Smith and Coffey split the final amateur division expense reimbursement spot for the tournament.

The Virginia PPA Tour will resume action with its second major tournament of the season, the Virginia Open. The 108-hole event will be held on course # 3 in Richmond, Virginia and will begin at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, July 16.