Rick Baird Opens 2008 Southern Tour with Victory in Burlington

15 March 2008 - Burlington, N.C. - Defending 2007 PPA National Champion, Rick Baird, of Pineville, N.C. fired a 49 over the final two rounds of the opening tournament for the 2008 season, which was good enough for a one-stroke victory over 2007 Southern Putting Tour Co-Player of the Year, Jeff Carr. Baird finished the tournament with a 34-under par 74, while Carr finished at 75. Jay Klapper finished in third place with a 76; while the trio of Matt Summey, Randy Carter, and Brad Lebo fired 79 to finish tied for fourth place.

First round action saw James White of Tiffin, OH fire a 13-under 23, including an opening perfect-9 on the front half of the course to grab an early two-stroke lead. Summey, an Arlington, VA resident shared second place with two fellow competitors, Thomasville, NC resident Carter, and Frank Warren of Martinez, GA, after logging 11-under 25s. Baird, Lawrenceville, GA resident, Klapper, Tony Jackson, of Spartanburg, SC and Tony Varnadore, of Rock Hill, SC shared fifth place another stroke back at 26. Nine more players were tied for ninth place at 27, while another seven sat at 28, tied for 18th place.

A thirteen-under par 23 for Baird in the second round catapulted him into the lead, by one stroke, at 49, over Varnadore who fired a 24 to finish the round at 50. 2006 PPA National Champion, Brad Lebo matched Varnadores 12-under to finish the round in a six-way tie for third place with Carr, Michael Hitt, and PPA Hall of Fame member Daryl Freeman, who all managed to post 25s. Also in the logjam at 52 were Klapper and Carter who shot 10-under and nine-under scores respectively. Tony Jackson and first-year pro Dennis Biesma were another stroke back at 53 tied for ninth, while White, who struggled to a second round 31, finished alone at 54, five strokes off the pace, in 11th place.

A third-round 11-under par, 25, for Baird was just enough to maintain a lead over Carr, who made a good charge in the final round, firing a 13-under 23, vaulting him into second place at 75, one stroke behind Baird. Klappers 24 in the last round was good enough to earn him third place honors at 76. Summey was able to match the 12-under posted by Klapper, moving him into a three-way tie with Carter and Lebo for fourth place. Jackson was able to slip into seventh place with a final round 27, finishing at 80. Three players tied for eighth at 81, while another seven players finished at 82, tying for 11th place. Tying for 18th place, and splitting the final cash spot were yet another group of seven players, who all finished at 83.

The win was Bairds 49th of career, and his first ever at Burlington. The Southern Putting Tour returns to action tomorrow, Sunday, March 16 at 10:00 a.m. for the Howard Loy Memorial Tournament.

Article and scores provided by Frank Warren, Dennis Biesma and the PPA Southern Putting Tour.

Professional Division of the Burlington Open
(Burlington, N.C. - Course # 1 - 15 March 2008)

    Round   Southern Prize
  Player 1 2 3 Total Tour Points Money
1 Rick Baird* 26 23 25 74 40.00  $ 150.00
2 Jeff Carr 27 25 23 75 34.00  $ 110.00
3 Jay Klapper 26 26 24 76 33.00  $   90.00
4 Matt Summey 25 30 24 79 31.00  $   75.00
  Randy Carter 25 27 27 79 31.00  $   75.00
  Brad Lebo 28 24 27 79 31.00  $   75.00
7 Tony Jackson 26 27 27 80 29.00  $   65.00
8 Tony Varnadore 26 24 31 81 27.00  $   55.00
  Ricky Schults 28 29 24 81 27.00  $   55.00
  Tom O'Brien 28 29 24 81 27.00  $   55.00
11 Rick Rybaczek 29 26 27 82 22.00  $   42.00
  Robert Johnson 28 27 27 82 22.00  $   42.00
  Daryl Freeman 27 25 30 82 22.00  $   42.00
  Frank Warren 25 32 25 82 22.00  $   42.00
  Vince Batten 29 26 27 82 22.00  $   42.00
  Allen Wall 30 25 27 82 22.00  $   42.00
  Bob Jackson 27 29 26 82 22.00  $   42.00
18 Randal Smith 29 27 27 83 15.00  $     6.00
  Steve Shively 27 29 27 83 15.00  $     6.00
  Randy Reeves 29 29 25 83 15.00  $     6.00
  James White 23 31 29 83 15.00  $     6.00
  Michael Hitt 27 25 31 83 15.00  $     6.00
  Rick Culverhouse 29 26 28 83 15.00  $     6.00
  Bill Baus 30 25 28 83 15.00  $     6.00
25 Dennis Biesma 27 26 31 84 10.50  
  Ray Guthrie 29 27 28 84 10.50  
27 Frankie Peters 30 30 25 85 8.00  
  Darrell Britt 27 28 30 85 8.00  
  Bob Haizlip 27 30 28 85 8.00  
30 Greg Newport 32 26 28 86 5.50  
  Lance Perdue 28 29 29 86 5.50  
32 Caleb Kennedy 28 28 31 87 5.00  
  Stan Seethoff 28 31 28 87 5.00  
  Matt McCaslin 27 31 29 87 5.00  
35 Lewis Burton 29 32 30 91 5.00  
36 Steve Toomey 33 31 31 95 5.00  
37 Michael Cardwell 37 37 29 103 5.00  

* Earned a qualification spot for the 2008 PPA Southern Putting Tour Championship.

Bonnie White Uses Final Round 27 to Post
One Stroke Victory in Amateur Field

15 March 2008 - Burlington, N.C. - The amateur division on the Southern Putting Tour was expected to be wide-open in 2008, after the move of three of the top players to the pro ranks this year. Bonnie White, of Tiffin, OH had other ideas, as she carded a 26-under par 82 to win the first event of the season by one stroke over Mark Lawson, of Asheboro, NC and Charlotte, NC resident, Billy Caudle.

White and Caudle jumped out to the first round lead, firing 10-under par 26s. Terry Whitaker was alone in third place, one stroke back at 27, while the duo of Todd Trent and Ben Blake were tied for fourth place at 28, another stroke back. Lawson, and 2006 PPA Ladies National Champion, Vanette Block were the only other amateurs to break 30 for the round, finishing with seven-under par 29s, and in a tie for sixth place.

Second round action saw the players scores close, rather than spread out. Block and Lawson both fired their own 10-under par 26s, catching both White and Caudle, who were only able to muster 29s in the middle stanza, at 55. Trent remained steady with a second round 29, coming in two strokes off the four leaders pace, at 57.

The final round had a lot of excitement, as White caught and passed both Lawson and Caudle over the final four holes of the tournament. A closing nine-under par, 27 saw White edge out Lawson and Caudle by one stroke. White ended with a final score of 82, while Lawson and Caudle had to settle for a second-place tie, one stroke back at 83. Block had to settle for a fourth place finish at 85, after a disappointing closing round 30. Trent finished at 86, in fifth place, while Chris Alley, of Spartanburg, SC fired a final round 26, to jump ahead of the other players into sixth place, and also earned the final expense reimbursement spot.

The Southern Putting Tour returns to action tomorrow, Sunday, March 16 at 10:00 a.m. for the Howard Loy Memorial Tournament.

Article and scores provided by Frank Warren, Dennis Biesma and the PPA Southern Putting Tour.

Amateur Division of the Burlington Open
(Burlington, N.C. - Course # 1 - 15 March 2008)

    Round   Southern Expense
  Player 1 2 3 Total Tour Points Money
1 Bonnie White 26 29 27 82 23.00  $   10.00
2 Mark Lawson 29 26 28 83 18.50  $   10.00
  Billy Caudle 26 29 28 83 18.50  $   10.00
4 Vanette Block 29 26 30 85 17.00  $   10.00
5 Todd Trent 28 29 29 86 16.00  $   10.00
6 Chris Alley 32 29 26 87 15.00  $   10.00
7