Jon Drexler Fires 74 in Martinsville to Capture His First Career Pro Title (Martinsville, VA

Jon Drexler Fires 74 in Martinsville to Capture His First Career Pro Title

11 May 2008 - Martinsville, VA - The Virginia PPA Tour held the second of two weekend 54-hole tournaments on course # 2 at the Laurel Park Mini Golf facility in Martinsville, VA. Overnight showers preceded an overcast, calm, and cool spring morning. The damp carpets and favorable weather led to general field scoring which was greatly improved over that of the previous day's event. Jon Drexler, winner of multiple international putting titles, took full advantage of the benign conditions, carding rounds of 21, 28, and 25 for an impressive 54-hole score of 74 to earn his first professional victory on U.S. soil. 2006 PPA National Champion Brad Lebo notched runner-up honors at 75. The trio of defending champion Tony Varnadore, PPA rookie star Dennis Biesma, and reigning PPA ProPutters.com Classic Champion Greg Newport tied for third place at 77.

Play commenced with Drexler taking early command of the tournament with a spectacular opening-round 21. Drexler employed a new Nicklausian interlocking grip for this event. The experiment certainly yielded Nicklausian results, as Drexler aced holes 2 through 16, inclusive, en route to his tournament-low and weekend-low round of 21. Lebo, PPA Hall of Fame legend Daryl Freeman, and 2007 VA Putting Classic Champion Tom O'Brien shared second position at 23. A fifth-place tie at 24 included Varnadore and reigning PPA National Champion Rick Baird.

Drexler's torrid pace cooled a bit in the tournament's second round, as he fired 28. Biesma recorded a solid second-round 24 to tie Drexler for the 36-hole lead at 49. Lebo and Freeman lurked a stroke behind the leaders, in a third-place tie at 50. Still in the title hunt were Varnadore and Newport, who were deadlocked in fifth position at 51.

As a steady rain settled in over the course for the final round, third-round scoring became bunched. Eight of the fifteen professional contestants posted either 25 or 26 in the last round. Carding a third-round 25, Lebo established the early clubhouse lead at 75. Playing in the final group of the day, Drexler was cognizant of his need to ace the final hole to avert a playoff with Lebo. Drexler confidently struck a perfect tee shot and with the resulting ace recorded a final-round 25, a 54-hole total of 74, and his first career professional victory in the United States. Lebo settled for a second-place finish at 75. Varnadore, Biesma, and Newport tied for third position at 77. The cash line for the eight money spots awarded in the event fell at 79.

Clayton Craft

In a very tightly-contested amateur division battle, two-time APA National Champion Clayton Craft emerged victorious. Craft crafted steady rounds of 27, 29, and 26 for a 54-hole total of 82 and a one-stroke win. Having recently returned to the sport after a lengthy competitive hiatus, Craft captured his first amateur title since 1998. Amateur division heavyweights Conway Coffey and Malcolm Shumaker shared second place at 83. 1998 VA State APA Champion Chuck Cyr finished in fourth position at 85. At 86, two-time Virginia Open APA Champion Amy Smith completed the event in fifth position.

Action began in the amateur division with Craft and Shumaker seizing early tournament co-leadership at 27. Coffey canned a first-round 28 to move into third place. Lynchburg's Randy Baldwin posted 29 and stood in fourth position. A large group tied for fifth place at 30 included Cyr, amateur veteran Chuck Nance, and Roanoke local amateur standouts James LeBrun and Mark Smith.

By virtue of a solid middle-round 26, Coffey leapfrogged into the 36-hole lead at 54. Craft hovered in second place at 56 after a second-round 29. At 57, Shumaker held third position. Cyr moved into fourth place at 58. A fifth-place tie at 59 included defending champion Keith Waters and Roanoke's Geoff Boyer.

For the second consecutive tournament, the usually-unflappable Coffey struggled in the final round of play and fired 29, which opened the door for Craft. The crafty veteran amateur took advantage of the opportunity, posting a final-round 26 for a 54-hole total of 82 and a one-stroke victory, his first since 1998. Shumaker carded a final-round 26 to tie Coffey for second place at 83. Cyr finished at 85 to secure fourth position and earn the final amateur expense reimbursement spot awarded in the event. Amy Smith overcame an inauspicious first two rounds of the tournament to fire a brilliant final-round 24, the low round of the event in the amateur division, to complete the tournament in fifth place at 86.

The Virginia PPA Tour would like to extend thanks and express its great appreciation to the Martinsville, VA Laurel Park Mini Golf's course owners and their staff for welcoming the tour to their beautiful facility and hosting a weekend of very successful tournaments. The Virginia PPA Tour resumes play on the weekend of June 7-8, 2008 with tournaments on course # 2 at the Charlottesville, VA Putt-Putt facility. A 54-hole event will commence at noon on Saturday, June 7. The 72-hole Dogwood Open, the first major tournament on the 2008 VA Tour schedule, will be begin at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday, June 8.

Article provided by Brad Lebo