Vince Batten Wins
2007 Virginia State Championship

30 September 2007 - Lynchburg, VA - On the challenging course # 2 layout at the beautiful Lynchburg, VA Putt-Putt Fun Center, the Virginia PPA Tour gathered to contest its final tournament of the 2007 season, the 108-hole VA State Championship. 2007 PPA Tournament Players Champion Vince Batten used a stellar final-round 26 to emerge victorious in a tournament-long, tightly-contested battle with 2006 PPA National Champion Brad Lebo. Batten fired rounds of 25, 23, 31, 27, 24, and 26 for a 108-hole total of 156 to capture his second career VA State Championship title and third victory of the season on the VA Tour. Lebo notched runner-up honors at 159 and in the process earned the dubious distinction of finishing as runner-up in all four of the 2007 VA Tour major tournaments. 2004 APA National Champion Ricky Schults made a spirited charge in the event's final two rounds to finish in third place at 164. Two-time PPA National Doubles Champion Rick Rybaczek completed the tournament in fourth position at 167. At 168, 2004 PPA World Match Play Champion Darrell Anderson rounded out the event's top five finishers.

Play began with Batten and two-time PPA Seniors National Champion Bill Baus seizing the opening-round lead at 25. Lebo lurked one stroke behind the leaders, in third place at 26. 2006 VA Putting Classic Champion Dave Taylor stood in fourth position at 27. At 28, Schults had sole possession of fifth place.

Batten continued his torrid pace in the second round, posting a spectacular second-round 23 to take a five-stroke lead at 48. 2007 VA Open Champion Matt Summey recorded a second-round 25 to jump into a second-place tie with Lebo at 53. Baus dropped into fourth position at 55. Schults remained in fifth place at 56.

The fickle course layout took its toll on Batten in the third round, as he fired 31. As a result, Batten dropped into a first-place tie with Lebo at 79 at the tournament's halfway mark. Baus moved into third place at 82. Schults was in fourth position at 84. A two-way fifth-place tie at 86 included Rybaczek and Dave Taylor.

After a short lunch break, the players were re-paired and teed off in inverted order according to their 54-hole scores. Lebo had the hot putter in the fourth round, posting 24 to open a three-stroke lead at 103. Batten fell into second place at 106. Batten and Lebo began to put some breathing room between themselves and the rest of the field in the fourth round, as Baus was in third place at 111. Anderson made a significant move up the leader board, carding a fourth-round 25 to leapfrog into fourth place at 113. At 114, Schults and Rybaczek shared fifth position.

Batten fought back mightily in the tournament's penultimate round, firing 24 to move back into a tie for the lead with Lebo at 130. Schults posted a blistering fifth-round 24 to soar into third position at 138. Rybaczek was in fourth place at 140. A fifth-place tie at 141 included Anderson and Baus.

In the final round, Batten took early control by acing the first two holes to open a two-stroke lead. Lebo cut the margin to one stroke by acing the fourth hole. The event's turning point may have come at the tedious eighth hole, where Lebo made an untimely bogey. Batten followed with an ace at the eighth to take a three-stroke advantage. Lebo aced the ninth hole to make the turn down two strokes. After the duo matched cards on holes 10 and 11, Batten aced the difficult twelfth hole to widen his lead to three strokes. Lebo attempted to make a final charge by acing holes 13, 14, and 15. But Batten recorded clutch aces at 14 and 15 behind Lebo to maintain a two-stroke advantage with three holes remaining. After both players deuced hole 16, Batten sealed the victory with an ace at 17. Batten's 108-hole total of 156 gave him a three-stroke win and his second career VA State Championship title. Lebo finished in second place at 159. Schults continued his stellar afternoon performance in the final round to hold on to third position at 164. Rybaczek finished in fourth place at 167. At 168, Anderson completed the event in fifth position.

In the amateur division, Lynchburg local legend Conway Coffey carded a brilliant fifth-round 23 to pull away from the amateur field in a dominating performance to win his first VA State APA Championship. Coffey canned rounds of 24, 24, 32, 26, 23, and 31 for a 108-hole total of 160 and a six-stroke victory. Coffey made VA Tour history as well, as he became the first player in either the professional or amateur division to win all four VA Tour major tournaments in the same season. The victory was Coffey's eighth of the 2007 season. Two-time defending VA State APA Champion Chuck Dibbs and 2007 Elton Davis Memorial APA Champion Barry Moore shared second place at 166. 1983 VA State APA Champion Mike Matthews finished in fourth position at 167. Dennis Biesma, winner of three 2007 APA National events, completed the tournament in fifth place at 168.

Action commenced in the amateur division with Coffey charging into the first-round lead at 24. Hovering in a three-way second-place tie at 26 were Dibbs, Moore, and 1999 VA State APA Champion Malcolm Shumaker. Biesma held fifth position at 28.

Coffey continued his blistering pace in the second round, brewing up a second-consecutive 24. Even more spectacular, however, was Moore's tournament-low second-round 22, which pole-vaulted him into a tie for the second-round lead with Coffey at 48. Biesma and Shumaker shared third position at 54, a distant six strokes off of the lead. A three-way fifth-place tie at 57 included Dibbs, Mike Matthews, and Pittsburgh's Gerald Vick, who soared up the leader board with a second-round 25.

The hot Coffey cooled in the third round, as Coffey stumbled to a third-round 32. Moore took advantage, posting 29 for a 54-hole total of 77. Moore enjoyed a three-stroke lead at the tournament's halfway point, as Coffey dropped into second place at 80. Biesma lurked in third place at 82. Mike Matthews and Shumaker were tied for fifth position at 83.

Coffey rebounded strongly from his third-round follies in the fourth round of play, brewing up a fourth-round 26 to retake the lead at 106. Moore dropped into second place at 107 after a fourth-round 30. Bill Petrie leapfrogged into contention with a sizzling fourth-round 24, moving him into third position at 108. Mike Matthews and Biesma shared fourth place at 110.

In the fifth round of action, Coffey recorded a sensational fifth-round 23 to take a commanding nine-stroke lead at 129. The only drama remaining in the event would be the heated battle for second place. Biesma leaped into second place at 138 with a fifth-round 28. A four-way third-place logjam at 139 included Dibbs, Moore, Mike Matthews, and Bill Petrie.

Prudently, Coffey place conservatively in the final round. Coffey's sixth-round 31 was enough to give him a six-stroke victory with a 108-hole total of 160. With the win, his eighth of the 2007 season, Coffey wrapped up VA Tour APA Player of the Year honors as well as an unprecedented single-season sweep of the four VA Tour major tournaments. Dibbs and Moore matched final-round 27's to tie for second place at 166. Mike Matthews finished in fourth position at 167. At 168, Biesma completed the event in fifth place. The cash line for the nine amateur division expense reimbursement spots awarded in the tournament fell at 176.

Several season-long honors were finalized in the professional and amateur divisions at the conclusion of the VA State Championship tournament. In the professional division, Brad Lebo won his third career Virginia PPA Player of the Year and Low Stroke Average Awards. Conway Coffey captured the 2007 Virginia Tour APA Player of the Year Award, edging out Dennis Biesma for the honor in a tightly-contested, season-long battle. Coffey and Biesma each won eight amateur titles on the Virginia Tour in 2007, but Coffey tipped the balance in his favor by earning extra bonus points with his victories in the tour's four major tournaments. The 2007 Virginia Tour APA Low Stroke Average Award went to Biesma.

Prior to the commencement of play in the VA State Championship, players voted for the 2008 Virginia PPA Tour Committee and for professional and amateur division 2007 Sportsmanship Award winners. Gary Hinshaw remained as permanent Virginia PPA Tour Committee chairperson. Professionals Vince Batten, Bill Baus, Brad Lebo, Rick Rybaczek and Matt Summey and amateurs Conway Coffey and Amy Smith were elected as 2008 Virginia PPA Tour Committee members. The tour membership voted Matt Summey and Amy Smith as well-deserved 2007 Sportsmanship Award recipients in the professional and amateur divisions, respectively.

The Virginia PPA Tour took time during the VA State Championship weekend to remember 20-year amateur division veteran Wayne Saunders, Jr., who passed away recently. Saunders began his amateur career in Newport News, VA and later became a Richmond, VA local stalwart. Saunders captured fifteen career amateur titles, most notably the 2000 VA State APA Championship and the 2001 APA National Doubles Championship with Steven Jones. The Virginia PPA Tour will greatly miss Saunders and fondly remember him.

The Virginia PPA Tour membership would like to extend its thanks and great appreciation to course owner and PPA Commissioner Joe Aboid and his staff for graciously welcoming the tour to the picturesque Lynchburg, VA Putt-Putt Fun Center and hosting a weekend of very successful tournaments. The VA State Championship concluded the 2007 Virginia PPA Tour schedule.

Article provided by Brad Lebo