Tony Varnadore Edges Vince Batten by One Stroke for Victory in Richmond, VA
12 July 2008 - Richmond, VA - A field of 26 professionals
and 16 amateurs contested the first of two weekend
tournaments on historic course # 3 at the Richmond, VA
Putt-Putt Fun Center, which later in the season will host
the PPA National Championship week. 2003 South Carolina
State Champion
Tony
Varnadore continued his recent strong play, firing
steady rounds of 24, 24, and 23 for a 54-hole total of 71
and a one-stroke victory. The win was Varnadore's second of
the 2008 PPA season. 2007 PPA Tournament Players Champion
Vince
Batten notched runner-up honors at 72. Reigning USPMGA
U.S. Open Champion
Matt
McCaslin displayed the versatility of his putting
skills, carding 73 to finish in third place. At 74, PPA
Hall of Fame legend
Daryl
Freeman completed the tournament in fourth position.
Rounding out the top five finishers in fifth place at 75 was
2004 PPA World Match Play Champion
Darrell Anderson.
The early leaders continued their stellar play in the
event's second round. Freeman surged to the top of the
36-hole leader board at 46 by virtue of a sizzling
middle-round 22. Batten and McCaslin posted respective
rounds of 23 and 24 to share second place at 47. Varnadore
recorded his second-consecutive 24 and held fourth position
at 48. Grajewski remained in contention, in fifth place at
49.
The final round of play produced some very low field
scoring. Most impressive was a final-round 21 by PPA Hall
of Fame member and host professional
Gary
Hinshaw, which gave Hinshaw the low round of the
tournament and pole-vaulted him into a tie for the final
cash spot. Varnadore soared into the winner's circle with a
third-round 23 for a 54-hole total of 71, which earned him
his second win of the 2008 PPA season. Batten finished in
second place at 72. At 73, McCaslin completed the event in
third position. Second-round leader Freeman cooled off to a
final-round 28 but held on to finish fourth at 74.
Anderson's last-round 24 moved him into fifth place at 75.
The cash line for the fourteen money spots awarded in the
tournament came at 78.
Play began in the amateur division with Walker surging into
the opening round lead at 22. Lurking two strokes behind
Walker's lead in a second-place tie at 24 were Smith and
White.
Calvin Owens stood in fourth position at 25. At 27,
Matthews was in fifth place.
The amateur division leader board tightened after 36 holes.
Despite a second-round 28, Walker was able to maintain the
36-hole lead at 50. White hovered one stroke off of the
lead, in second place at 51. Carding a middle-round 25,
Matthews jumped into a third-place tie with Smith at 52. A
spectacular second-round 23 carried Lynchburg's
Dennis Carter into a fifth-place tie with Owens at 54.
Walker steadied in the final round of play, carding a
third-round 26 for a 54-hole score of 76, which was enough
for a one-stroke victory, Walker's first of the 2008
season. Matthews and Smith matched final-round 25's to
share second-place at 77. In a fifth-place tie at 80,
Shumaker and White earned the final amateur division expense
reimbursement spots awarded in the tournament.
The Virginia PPA Tour will resume action with its second
major tournament of the season, the Virginia Open. The
108-hole event will be held on course # 3 in Richmond,
Virginia and will begin at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, July 13,
2008.
Article provided by Brad Lebo |
Professional Division
(Richmond, VA - Course # 3 - 12 July 2008)
Round Virginia Prize Player 1 2 3 Total Points Money 1 Varnadore, Tony 24 24 23 71 25.00 $ 175.00 2 Batten, Vince 24 23 25 72 24.00 $ 130.00 3 McCaslin, Matt 23 24 26 73 23.00 $ 105.00 4 Freeman, Daryl 24 22 28 74 22.00 $ 95.00 5 Anderson, Darrell 27 24 24 75 21.00 $ 80.00 6 Watson, Gary 26 26 25 77 18.50 $ 66.25 McCaslin, Danny 27 27 23 77 18.50 $ 66.25 Lebo, Brad 25 26 26 77 18.50 $ 66.25 Stewart, Manfred 26 24 27 77 18.50 $ 66.25 10 Baird, Rick 26 26 26 78 13.50 $ 43.33 Newport, Greg 26 25 27 78 13.50 $ 43.33 Hinshaw, Gary 32 25 21 78 13.50 $ 43.33 White, James 30 26 22 78 13.50 $ 43.33 Grajewski, Ed 24 25 29 78 13.50 $ 43.33 Shively, Steve 25 25 28 78 13.50 $ 43.33 16 McCollister, David 25 28 26 79 10.00 17 Biesma, Dennis 29 23 28 80 8.50 O'Brien, Tom 27 24 29 80 8.50 19 Rybaczek, Rick 26 29 26 81 7.00 20 Sharpe, Gilbert 29 23 30 82 5.00 Johnson, Robert 28 27 27 82 5.00 Baus, Bill 24 28 30 82 5.00 23 Rawles, Thomas 27 26 30 83 3.00 24 Schooler, Ken 30 26 29 85 2.00 25 Summey, Matt 27 30 29 86 1.00 26 Drexler, Jonathan 28 31 30 89 1.00 Amateur Division
(Richmond, VA - Course # 3 - 12 July 2008)
Round Virginia Expense Player 1 2 3 Total Points Money 1 Walker, James 22 28 26 76 20.00 $ 30.00 2 Matthews, Mike 27 25 25 77 17.50 $ 22.50 Smith, Amy 24 28 25 77 17.50 $ 22.50 4 Shumaker, Malcolm 28 29 23 80 15.50 $ 12.50 White, Bonnie 24 27 29 80 15.50 $ 12.50 6 Owens, Calvin 25 29 27 81 14.00 7 Carter, Ryan 28 28 26 82 13.00 8 Petrie, Bill 30 27 27 84 12.00 9 Carter, Dennis 31 23 31 85 11.00 10 Handschuh, Marty 28 30 28 86 10.00 11 Cyr, Chuck 30 29 30 89 9.00 12 Petrie, John 31 31 28 90 8.00 13 Cheatham, Wayne 29 35 30 94 7.00 14 Sanner, Jerry 35 31 29 95 6.00 15 Ashley, Rodney 31 34 32 97 5.00 16 Kolb, Walter 37 38 36 111 4.00