Matt Summey Fires 75 in Violent Winds to Win Virginia PPA Tour Opener
1 April 2006 - Richmond, VA - The Virginia PPA Tour opened its 2006 schedule with a 54-hole event on course # 1 in Richmond, Virginia. Pundits of the sport had projected record-breaking scores for the weekend on the immaculately-maintained course which historically has yielded very low scores. However, violent and swirling high winds wreaked havoc with the 20 professional and 19 amateur contestants in the field and put scoring records out of reach. Local player Matt Summey managed his game well in the difficult conditions, posting rounds of 23, 27, and 25 for a 54-hole total of 75 to capture the first tour title of the season and notch his first victory since winning the 2004 Virginia State Championship.
Matt Summey2005 North Carolina State Champion Brad Lebo, who fired 77 to secure runner-up honors in the tournament, saw his bid to win his third consecutive Virginia PPA Tour season opener thwarted as he suffered two consecutive untimely wind-aided bogies on his final nine holes. Tied for third place at 78 were 2004 APA National Champion Ricky Schults and PPA Hall of Fame legend Daryl Freeman. Rounding out the top five at 79 were 2005 Virginia State Champion Darrell Anderson, Thomas Rawles and local standout Gilbert Sharpe.
Action began with Richmond players Summey and Ed Grajewski employing their local prowess to seize opening-round co-leadership at 23. Continuing his stellar rookie-season play, Schults posted a first-round 25 to join Rawles and Ray Guthrie in a third-place tie.
Field scoring improved slightly in the second round of play as players attempted to adjust to the difficult playing conditions. Lebo fired a blistering second-round 22 to jump to the top of the 36-hole leader board at 49. Summey cooled off to a second-round 27 but lurked just a stroke off the lead, alone in second place at 50. Schults hovered another stroke back in third position at 51. Deadlocked in a fourth-place logjam at 52 were Anderson, Rawles, Bill Baus, and Grajewski.
Disaster struck for second-round leader Lebo on the 11th and 12th holes of the final round, as he recorded his only bogies of the weekend consecutively on those holes. Lebo rebounded to ace four of his remaining six holes, but his final-round 28 would open the door for Summey. Summey carded a solid third-round 25 for a 54-hole total of 75, enough to capture his first victory of the 2006 season. Lebo finished in second place at 77. Tied for third position at 78 were Freeman, who climbed up the leader board with a final-round 24, and Schults. Rounding out the top five in a fifth-place tie at 79 were Anderson, Rawles, and Sharpe. The cash line for the ten money spots awarded in the event fell at 81.
James WalkerIn the amateur division, tour sophomore James Walker of Richmond, VA charged from behind with a sparkling final-round 22 to capture the first victory of his young career in dramatic fashion. Walker carded rounds of 29, 26, and 22 for a 54-hole total of 77 and a two-stroke win over Barry Moore, who shot 79. Reigning APA National Champion Walt Kizzie finished in third place at 81. Second-round leader Brandon Whitton endured final-round misfortunes but held on to finish in fourth position at 82. 2003 APA National Champion Bonnie White, John Petrie, and 2005 Virginia Open APA Champion Conway Coffey completed the event tied for fifth place at 83.
Play began in the amateur division with Lynchburg player Bill Petrie posting a spectacular opening-round 24 to take the early lead. Kizzie's first-round 25 gave him sole possession of second position. A third-place logjam at 26 included Moore, Whitton, Coffey, and local rookie Jeremy Motes.
A brilliant second-round 23 pole-vaulted Whitton to the top of the 36-hole leader board at 49. Kizzie maintained second position at 51. White's second-round 24 moved her into third position at 53. Coffey hovered another stroke off the lead in fourth place at 54. Tied for fifth position at 55 were Walker and John Petrie.
Whitton struggled mightily in the third round of action, enabling several players to make major final-round moves. Walker carded a sizzling third-round 22, giving him a 54-hole total of 77 and a two-stroke victory over Moore. Moore also finished strongly, posting a final-round 23 to surge into second place at 79. Kizzie finished in third position at 81. Whitten fell to fourth place at 82. Rounding out the amateur division top five at 83 and splitting the final amateur expense reimbursement spot were White, John Petrie, and Coffey.
The Virginia PPA Tour will return to action with another 54-hole event on course # 1 in Richmond, Virginia beginning at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday, April 2, 2006.
Scores and Article provided by Brad Lebo and Rick Rybaczek.
Professional Division of Richmond, VA Tournament
(Richmond, VA - Course # 1 - 1 April 2006)
Round VA Prize Player 1 2 3 Total Points Money 1 Summey, Matt 23 27 25 75 25.00 $ 200.00 2 Lebo, Brad 27 22 28 77 24.00 $ 140.00 3 Schults, Ricky 25 26 27 78 22.50 $ 105.00 Freeman, Daryl 27 27 24 78 22.50 $ 105.00 5 Anderson, Darrell 29 23 27 79 20.00 $ 71.66 Rawles, Thomas 25 27 27 79 20.00 $ 71.66 Sharpe, Gilbert 29 26 24 79 20.00 $ 71.66 8 Batten, Vince 29 25 27 81 16.50 $ 41.25 White, James 30 26 25 81 16.50 $ 41.25 Guthrie, Ray 25 30 26 81 16.50 $ 41.25 Baus, Bill 26 26 29 81 16.50 $ 41.25 12 Grajewski, Ed 23 29 31 83 14.00 13 Schooler, Ken 31 27 26 84 13.00 14 Rybaczek, Rick 29 28 28 85 11.50 O'Brien, Tom 28 27 30 85 11.50 16 Stewart, Manfred 28 28 30 86 10.00 17 Taylor, Rusty 29 30 28 87 8.50 Handschuh, Rich 31 31 25 87 8.50 19 Ward, Robert 31 31 30 92 7.00 20 Logan, Gil 32 34 30 96 6.00 Amateur Division of Richmond, VA Tournament
(Richmond, VA - Course # 1 - 1 April 2006)
Round VA Expense Player 1 2 3 Total Points Money 1 Walker, James 29 26 22 77 20.00 $ 30.00 2 Moore, Barry 26 30 23 79 18.00 $ 25.00 3 Kizzie, Walt 25 26 30 81 17.00 $ 20.00 4 Whitton, Brandon 26 23 33 82 16.00 $ 15.00 5 White, Bonnie 29 24 30 83 14.00 $ 3.33 Petrie, John 28 27 28 83 14.00 $ 3.33 Coffey, Conway 26 28 29 83 14.00 $ 3.33 8 Smith, Amy 30 29 25 84 12.00 $ - 9 Dibbs, Chuck 29 31 27 87 10.50 $ - Driskill, Wade 29 28 30 87 10.50 $ - 11 Kolb, Walter 28 29 32 89 9.00 $ - 12 Matthews, Mike 34 28 28 90 7.00 $ - Motes, Jeremy 26 33 31 90 7.00 $ - Cyr, Chuck 31 31 28 90 7.00 $ - 15 Shumaker, Malcolm 29 33 31 93 4.50 $ - Baldwin, Randy 31 27 35 93 4.50 $ - 17 Carter, Ryan 32 31 31 94 3.00 $ - 18 Petrie, Bill 24 38 35 97 2.00 $ - 19 Carter, Dennis 40 31 31 102 1.00 $ -
