Tony Varnadore Dominates Field in Martinsville to Earn First Career Virginia Tour Win
10 May 2008 - Martinsville, VA - The Virginia PPA Tour
returned to the picturesque Laurel Park Mini Golf
facility in Martinsville, VA for the first time since
2005 to contest the first of two 54-hole weekend events
on course # 2. Sunny skies and warm spring
temperatures baked the course's carpets, which led to
erratic field scoring. The challenging conditions were
no match for
2003 PPA National Doubles Champion
Tony
Varnadore, however, as he posted brilliant rounds of 26,
24, and 23 for a 54-hole total of 73 to notch a
wire-to-wire five-stroke victory, his first career win
on the VA Tour and his first PPA title since capturing
the
2003 SC State Championship. Runner-up honors went
to 1987 Elton Davis Memorial Champion
Steve Shively at
78.
2006 PPA National Champion
Brad Lebo recovered from
a horrific start to the tournament to charge into third
place at 79. PPA rookie sensation
Dennis Biesma
finished in fourth position at 81. At 83, 2007 VA
Putting Classic Champion
Tom O'Brien completed the event
in fifth place.
Varnadore continued his stellar play in the second
round, carding a 24 to take the 36-hole lead at 50.
Shively also posted a middle-round 24 to move into
second place at 53. Lebo fired a second-round 23, tying
the low round of the tournament, to leapfrog into a
third-place tie with Biesma at 54. Bunched in a
fifth-place tie at 55 were O'Brien, Baus, and Smith.
Although he had not won a PPA event in over four years,
Varnadore handled the final-round pressure with a
sloth-like calmness. Varnadore recorded a sizzling
final-round 23, tying the event's low round, en route to
a five-stroke victory at 73. With a final-round 25,
Shively finished in second place at 78. Lebo also fired
a third-round 25 and completed the event in third
position at 79. At 81, Biesma finished in fourth
place. Rounding out the tournament's top five finishers
in fifth position at 83 was O'Brien.
Play commenced in the amateur division with 2007
Carolinas' Open APA Champion
Ben Blake climbing into the
18-hole lead at 28. A five-way tie for second place at
29 included Waters, Smith, Shumaker,
Mark Lawson, and
amateur veteran
Chuck Nance.
2007 VA State APA Champion
Conway Coffey brewed up a
second-round 26 to jump into a tie for the 36-hole lead
with Smith at 56. Waters hovered just a stroke behind
the leaders, in third place at 57. Bunched in a
fourth-place tie at 59 were Shumaker, LeBrun, Lawson,
and Nance.
Scoring among the leaders improved in the event's final
round. Waters posted a third-round 24, the low round of
the tournament in the amateur division, for a 54-hole
total of 81 to record his first victory of the 2008
season. Smith carded a final-round 26 to finish in
second place at 82. Myers fired an impressive
final-round 25 to soar into a third-place tie at 86 with
Shumaker and LeBrun.
The Virginia PPA Tour will return to action with another
54-hole event on course # 2 at the Laurel Park Mini Golf
facility in Martinsville, VA beginning at 10:00 a.m. on
Sunday, May 11, 2008.
Article provided by Brad Lebo |
Professional Division
(Martinsville, VA - Course # 2 - 10 May 2008)
Round Virginia Prize Player 1 2 3 Total Points Money 1 Varnadore, Tony 26 24 23 73 25.00 $ 175.00 2 Shively, Steve 29 24 25 78 24.00 $ 125.00 3 Lebo, Brad 31 23 25 79 23.00 $ 105.00 4 Biesma, Dennis 28 26 27 81 22.00 $ 90.00 5 O'Brien, Tom 28 27 28 83 21.00 $ 80.00 6 Newport, Greg 30 29 25 84 19.00 $ 62.00 Baus, Bill 27 28 29 84 19.00 $ 62.00 Smith, Randal 26 29 29 84 19.00 $ 62.00 9 Freeman, Daryl 32 27 26 85 15.50 $ 25.00 Summey, Matt 31 27 27 85 15.50 $ 25.00 Rybaczek, Rick 27 30 28 85 15.50 $ 25.00 Sharpe, Gilbert 27 29 29 85 15.50 $ 25.00 13 Drexler, Jonathan 29 29 29 87 13.00 14 Baird, Rick 30 27 31 88 11.50 Rawles, Thomas 31 30 27 88 11.50 16 Haizlip, Bob 30 30 31 91 10.00 17 Cardwell, Michael 31 35 32 98 9.00 18 Peters, Frankie 36 32 34 102 8.00 Amateur Division
(Martinsville, VA - Course # 2 - 10 May 2008)
Round Virginia Expense Player 1 2 3 Total Points Money 1 Waters, Keith 29 28 24 81 20.00 $ 30.00 2 Smith, Amy 29 27 26 82 18.00 $ 25.00 3 Shumaker, Malcolm 29 30 27 86 16.00 $ 15.00 Lebrun, James 31 28 27 86 16.00 $ 15.00 Myers, David 30 31 25 86 16.00 $ 15.00 6 Coffey, Conway 30 26 32 88 14.00 7 Lawson, Mark 29 30 31 90 12.00 Blake, Ben 28 33 29 90 12.00 Nance, Chuck 29 30 31 90 12.00 10 Jones, Grover 31 32 29 92 10.00 11 Smith, Mark 31 31 31 93 9.00 12 Gregor, David 30 34 31 95 8.00 13 Craft, Clayton 32 31 33 96 7.00 14 Baldwin, Randy 32 33 33 98 5.50 Cyr, Chuck 34 31 33 98 5.50