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2008
Professional Putters Association (PPA®) 26 February 2008 - Lake Charles, LA; High Point, N.C.; Louisville, KY; and Richmond, VA will be the host sites for the 2008 PPA National Tour. The PPA Western Open will be hosted by the Texas State Tour in Lake Charles, LA on May 4th. The PPA Southern Open will be hosted by the Southern Putting Tour in High Point, N.C. on June 22nd. The 2008 JPA National Championship will be played on the Burlington, N.C. course on Saturday, July 26th. The PPA Northern Open will be hosted by the Northern Putting Tour in Louisville, KY on August 24th. The Virginia State Tour will be hosting the ProPutters.com Classic, PPA Tournament Player's Championship, PPA National Seniors Championship and PPA National Doubles Championship on the Richmond, VA course. The PPA will be hosting the 2008 PPA and APA National Championships in Richmond, VA on September 18-20. Corporate sponsorship of the events as well as sponsorships of individual professional putters are still available. For more information on sponsoring an event or a player, please contact PPA Commissioner Joe Aboid by e-mail at commissioner@proputters.com. 2008 PPA Membership Application For the 2008 season, there will be a single PPA Pro membership fee of $75 with a membership fee which makes the member eligible for national, state and local tournament competitions. Applications will be mailed to all current members of the PPA and APA. A downloadable version of the 2008 PPA Application is also available for download in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format.
PPA Pro Membership ($75) Amateur Putters Association
Membership ($25) Please send your completed application to the
following address: Please do not send your application with a return signature receipt required as this will significantly delay the delivery of your application. 2008 PPA Rule Book
The 2008 PPA Rule Book (available for download) is unchanged from 2007. For any questions please contact Joe Aboid or a member of the Player advisory board (names are listed in this year’s book) for explanation. Official PPA Golf Ball for 2008 The PPA golf ball rule will remain unchanged for the 2008 season. For the 2008 PPA tournament season, any golf ball that appears on the USGA conforming golf ball list published on January 2nd, 2008 or on a subsequent listing during 2008 (list is updated on the first Wednesday of each month) will be legal for PPA practice and tournament play. The 2004 PPA golf balls (Top Flite Strata Tour Soft) will continue to be legal for tournament play in 2008. PPA golf balls from 2003 and prior years are not legal for the 2006 PPA tournament season. In addition, only white golf balls will be allowed and the only logo (besides the manufacturer's) that may appear on the golf ball is the PPA mark on the 2004 PPA golf balls.
PPA National Tournaments for 2008
2008
PPA Western Open
Initially contested in Denver, CO in 1967, the PPA Western Open will return to the PPA National Tour schedule for the first time since 1999, when 2001 PPA National Champion Greg Ward dominated the field for an 11-stroke victory in the event in Memphis, TN. The PPA Texas Tour and course owner Greg Simpson will host the 72-hole tournament on course # 1 at the beautiful Lake Charles, LA Putt-Putt Fun Center. The venue undoubtedly will evoke for players fond memories of former Lake Charles course owner, long-time PPA Pro, and revered PPA Hall of Fame member Al Simpson, who passed away in 2007. For those players flying in for the tournament, the Lake Charles Regional Airport (LCH) is 3 miles from the course. Story provided by Brad Lebo. Course Owner:
Greg Simpson Rounds: 4 (Course #1) 2008 PPA Southern
Open
The PPA Southern Putting Tour will host the 72-hole PPA Southern Open, first contested in Atlanta, GA in 1961, on course # 1 at the picturesque High Point, NC Putt-Putt Fun Center. Course owner Todd Lecka, course manager Chris Graney, and host PPA professional Randy Carter will welcome the PPA National Tour to the High Point facility for the PPA Southern Open for the second consecutive year. Last season, 2006 PPA National Champion Brad Lebo aced his final three holes to post a 72-hole total of 102 amidst tricky winds to win a very tightly-contested tournament by one stroke over three other players. The 2008 event promises to be a close battle as well, as the High Point facility boasts a strong local contingent of PPA professionals and is a frequent stop on the PPA Southern Putting Tour. Story provided by Brad Lebo. Course Owner:
Todd Lecka Rounds: 4 (Course #1)
The 2008 JPA Team and Individual National Championship will be held on Saturday, July 26, 2008, at the Putt-Putt Golf Course in Burlington, North Carolina. Brian Patterson of Burlington has made arrangements with the Ramada Inn for the JPA weekend July 25 and 26. This is the same hotel we stayed at the last time we were in Burlington for JPA. Please call 336-227-5541 for reservations and tell them you are with Putt-Putt for the discount. Brian was able to secure a room rate of $63 per night. 2008 PPA Northern
Open
The PPA National Tour will return to the Louisville, KY Putt-Putt Fun Center, the site of the 2005 PPA National Championship week, to contest the 2008 PPA Northern Open, first won by Daryl Hayden in Youngstown, OH in 1969. The 72-hole event will be hosted by the PPA Northern Putting Tour and course owners Susan and Tim Greenert. Last season, defending champion Rick Culverhouse fired a blistering final-round 21 in Columbus, IN to notch a dramatic come-from-behind PPA Northern Open victory. Tim Greenert, who won the 2005 PPA ProPutters.com Classic in Louisville, headlines a deep field of local PPA professionals. Story provided by Brad Lebo. Course Owners:
Susan and Tim Greenert Rounds: 4 (Course #3) The 2008 PPA
National Championship Week The Professional Putters Association today announced that the 49th annual PPA National Championship will be played in Richmond, Virginia the week of September 15 -20th, 2008. “We thank Todd and June Lecka along with Gary and Patsy Hinshaw for hosting our most prestigious event,” said Jim Evans, PPA Executive Director. “The Richmond facility always provides a true test of skill and is among the most beautiful and well maintained Putt-Putt operations in the United States.” “I look forward to defending my title in Richmond,” said current National Champion Rick Baird. “Richmond always has a large turnout of the very best players in the PPA. It is a very fair test of every player’s putting ability.” General
Information on the Greens Fees: Greens fees of $6 per player (PPA
Pro and APA) per day will be charged for practice prior to Sunday,
September 14th, for all players at the Richmond, Virginia Putt-Putt Golf
Course. Beginning on Sunday, September 14th, a player can practice the day
before and the day of any PPA National event that he/she has paid their
entry fee. Any player practicing without paying proper greens fees will
assessed a $25.00 fine.
Special room rates have been arranged at the Comfort Inn and Days Inn near the Richmond, VA course. Details on each are provided below: Comfort Inn Click here for more information on the Comfort Inn (Richmond, VA) The rooms are blocked under Pro. Putters - Putt-Putt Golf. Room rates are $89 plus tax for a queen double room and $99 plus tax for a King double room. The Comfort Inn was totally renovated in 2007. Days Inn The rooms are blocked under Putt-Putt Golf and Professional Putters Association. Room rates are $74.99 plus tax for a double room. The Days Inn is located adjacent to the Chesterfield Town Center shopping mall which is four miles west of the course.
2008 ProPutters.com Classic The 2008 PPA National Championship week will kick off with the contesting of the 7th annual ProPutters.com Classic, which will be hosted by the Virginia PPA Tour on course # 3 at the Richmond, VA Putt-Putt Fun Center. Course manager and host PPA professional Gary Hinshaw and his wife Patsy will welcome players to their immaculately-maintained facility for the 54-hole tournament. Defending champion Greg Newport will seek his third career ProPutters.com title on a course on which he has captured three Virginia Open titles and which historically has yielded record-low scoring. In the 2004 ProPutters.com Classic, Roger Beckerman fired a final-round 19 on course # 3 en route to victory. Since then, Daryl Freeman (twice), Vince Batten, and Brad Lebo also have shot 19 on the course. In 2005, Freeman set the all-time 54-hole PPA scoring record of 63 in a Virginia PPA Tour event on course # 3. The next day, Darrell Anderson established a new 108-hole PPA scoring record of 139 in the Virginia State Championship on course # 3, eclipsing the previous 108-hole mark of 142, which, appropriately, also was set on course # 3, by Lebo in the 2002 Virginia Open. Story provided by Brad Lebo. Rounds: 3 (Course #3)
2008 PPA Tournament
Players Championship The PPA Tournament Players Championship will be contested for the third time in PPA history on courses # 2 and # 3 at the picturesque Richmond, VA Putt-Putt Fun Center. Jay Klapper won the inaugural event in 1993 in Columbus, OH. The tournament then went on hiatus until last season, when Richmond's Vince Batten captured the title in a playoff over James Taylor in Columbus, IN. The 72-hole 2008 PPA Tournament Players Championship, which will be hosted by the Virginia PPA Tour, will feature 54 PPA Pros and 30 APA members who have qualified through the tournaments held during the 2008 PPA National Tour season. The PPA Western, Southern, and Northern Opens and the ProPutters.com Classic each will have available ten pro and six amateur qualification spots for the PPA Tournament Players Championship. Thirteen pro and five amateur spots will be awarded by 2008 PPA National Tour points rankings following the ProPutters.com Classic to those players without a qualification spot. Defending champions Vince Batten in the professional division and Brandon Davis in the amateur division are qualified automatically for their respective fields. Story provided by Brad Lebo. Rounds: 4 (Courses #2,3,2,3 (PPA) and Courses #3,2,3,2 (APA))
2008 PPA and APA
Seniors National Championship The 10th PPA Seniors National Championship will be held on courses # 2 and # 3 at the storied Richmond, VA Putt-Putt Fun Center. The event was contested in 1984-85 and from 2001-07. The 72-hole tournament will be played concurrently with the 2008 Tournament Players Championship and hosted by the Virginia PPA Tour. Only players 50 years of age and older by September 16, 2008 will be eligible to participate. PPA Hall of Fame member Buddy Taylor captured the inaugural PPA Seniors title in 1984 and is likely to be in the 2008 field. Other past PPA Seniors champions expected to compete include defending champion Frank Warren, Steve Toomey, Roger Beckerman, and two-time champions Bill Baus and Robert Johnson. Beckerman won the event in 2004 in Richmond, VA and in the process set a new 72-hole PPA scoring record of 89. Story provided by Brad Lebo. Rounds: 4 (played in conjunction with the TPC) 2008 PPA/APA National Doubles Championship The 8th annual PPA National Doubles Championship will be contested on courses # 2 and # 3 at the beautiful Richmond Putt-Putt Fun Center. The 72-hole event will be run by the Virginia PPA Tour. The format will consist of successive rounds of alternate hole, better ball, better ball, and alternate hole played on courses # 2, 3, 2, and 3, respectively. Defending champions Greg Newport and Rick Rybaczek will attempt to notch their third career PPA Nationals Doubles title. History indicates that the North Carolina tandem should be among the favorites in the 2008 tournament, as they captured the first of their two titles in the event in Richmond during the 2004 PPA National Championship week. Story provided by Brad Lebo. Rounds: 4 rounds - one round of better ball and one round of
alternate stroke on both courses 2 and 3 2008 APA
National Championship
Reigning champion Nathan Andersonn will attempt to defend his APA National Championship title on courses # 2 and # 3 at the Richmond, VA Putt-Putt Fun Center. Anderson dominated the amateur field in the 2007 event in Webster, TX, firing a final-round 23 to cruise to a four-stroke victory. The APA National Championship, first won by Jack Bien in 1961, will be contested for the 48th consecutive year. The 2008 event will consist of a two-day, 144-hole format. Past champions anticipated to challenge Anderson for the 2008 title include Walt Kizzie, Bonnie White, Jeff Brown, two-time champion Clayton Craft, and Dennis Pasquantino. Other likely contenders expected to compete include reigning VA State APA Champion Conway Coffey, five-time VA State APA Champion Chuck Dibbs, Mike Matthews, 2007 National Tour APA points leader Vanette Block, 2006 APA National Championship runner-up Larry Smith, 2007 Tournament Players Championship APA Champion Brandon Davis, and 2007 Northern Open APA Champion Ken Stanfill. Story provided by Brad Lebo. Rounds: 8 (Course order is 3, 2, 3, 2 on day one and 2, 3, 2,
3 on day two) 2008 PPA
National Championship
The 49th annual PPA National Championship, professional putting's premier event, will be contested on courses # 2 and # 3 at the historic Richmond, VA Putt-Putt Fun Center. PPA Hall of Fame member Neil Conner captured the first PPA National Championship title in 1960 in Atlanta, GA. Last season in Webster, TX, Rick Baird orchestrated a dramatic closing clubhouse charge en route to victory. Trailing defending champion and 7th-round leader Brad Lebo by four strokes entering the last round, Baird carded a brilliant final-round 24 to defeat runners-up Lebo and Jay Klapper by four strokes. The 2008 tournament, a 216-hole, three-day event hosted by the PPA National Tour, promises to be a low-scoring affair. In the 2004 PPA National Championship in Richmond, Cliff Matthews shattered the 216-hole PPA scoring record, posting a winning score of 281 (151-under par) to defeat John Bambling by a single stroke. Past PPA National Champions expected to challenge defending champion Rick Baird for the 2008 title include Brad Lebo, Jay Klapper, Cliff Matthews, Robert Johnson, Greg Ward, Lewis Burton, Randy Reeves, Mike Brown, Bill Kirby, Jr., Andy Coradini, Roger Beckerman, Daryl Freeman, and Vance Randall. A mighty contingent of local players, featuring 2007 PPA Tournament Players Champion Vince Batten and 2004 PPA World Match Play Champion Darrell Anderson, also should figure prominently in the event's outcome. Story provided by Brad Lebo. Rounds: 8 (Course order is 2, 3, 2, 3 on day one; 3, 2, 3, 2
on day two; and 2, 3, 2, 3 on day three) Summary of Entry Fees for 2008 The following is a summary of the entry fees and prize money for the 2008 National Tournaments. A PPA Pro may earn one spot in the 2008 PPA Tournament Players Championship.
* The entry fees listed for the 2008 National Doubles Championship are per player with each player on a doubles team required to pay the listed entry fee. ** The entry fee listed for the 2008 PPA/APA Tournament Players Championship is payable at the time the player qualifies for the event. Summary of Prize Money for 2008 Prize monies for all of the 2008 PPA National Tournaments will be determined by the number entries in each division (professional and amateur). Expenses for trophies to the winners of all tournaments as well as any expenses for player of the year, stroke average and PPA Hall of Fame awards will be paid from the entry fees for these tournaments. All remaining funds will be used for prize money. Please note that all entry fees and qualification fees for 2008 PPA National Tournaments are non-refundable.
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