29 June 2008 - Roanoke, VA - On a pleasant, calm summer morning, the Virginia Tour held the second of two weekend 54-hole tournaments on course # 2 at the picturesque Roanoke, VA Putt-Putt Fun Center. The contestants took full advantage of the ideal playing conditions, which resulted in very low field scoring. Former long-time Roanoke, VA local player and rookie pro standout Dennis Biesma carded stellar rounds of 25, 23, and 23 for a 54-hole total of 71 and his third victory of the 2008 PPA season. Hard-charging two-time PPA National Doubles Champion Rick Rybaczek posted a final-round 22 but fell a stroke short of a playoff, finishing in second position at 72. Defending champion Daryl Freeman continued his impressive weekend play, completing the event in third place at 74. PPA Hall of Fame member Gary Hinshaw made a spirited final clubhouse run, bursting out of the pack by acing his last eleven holes of the event to shoot a third-round, course record-tying 21. Hinshaw finished in fourth position at 75. A three-way, fifth-place tie at 77 included reigning PPA National Champion Rick Baird, two-time PPA Seniors National Champion Bill Baus, and 2006 PPA National Champion Brad Lebo.

Dennis Biesma

Play began with very tightly-bunched opening-round scoring, with over 83% of the field hovering within two strokes of the lead. Biesma, Rybaczek, and Lebo shared the early lead at 25. A five-way, fourth-place tie at 26 featured Freeman, Baird, Bob Haizlip, Thomas Rawles, and 1997 PPA National Champion Randy Reeves.

Biesma seized a one-stroke lead after two rounds of play, recording a second-round 23 for a 36-hole total of 48. Freeman matched Biesma's middle-round 23 and took possession of second place at 49. Rybaczek held third position at 50. A four-way, fourth-place logjam at 51 included Lebo, Rawles, 1991 VA State Champion Ed Grajewski, and Reeves.

A third-round 23 was just enough to give Biesma his third victory of the 2008 PPA season, as he finished at 71 for a one-stroke win. Rybaczek fired a final-round 22 to capture runner-up honors at 72. Freeman finished third at 74. Hinshaw aced his final eleven holes of the tournament to tie the course record of 21 and complete the event in fourth place at 75. Hinshaw's course record-tying round of 21 included 16 aces, a deuce on the 3rd hole, and a bogey on the 7th hole. With the pomp and circumstance that would surround a presidential candidate, Baus stormed into the clubhouse with a final-round 23 to tie Baird and Lebo for fifth position at 77. The cash line for the seven money spots awarded in the tournament also fell at 77.

Malcolm Shumaker

In the amateur division, 1999 VA State APA Champion Malcolm Shumaker recorded consistent rounds of 26, 26, and 26 for a 54-hole total of 78 to earn a spot in a playoff against 2004 JPA National Champion John Petrie. In an extremely well-played 18-hole playoff, Shumaker defeated Petrie, 24-25, to earn his fourth victory of the 2008 season. Defending champion Clayton Craft, Esq. used a final-round 24 to charge into third place at 80. Reigning VA State APA Champion Conway Coffey canned an 81 to finish in fourth position. At 82, Lynchburg, VA compatriots Wade Driskill and Ryan Carter tied for fifth place.

Action commenced in the amateur division with Lynchburg, VA's Randy Baldwin taking early command with an impressive opening-round 23, which would be the low round of the event in the amateur division. Driskill fired 24 to move into solo second place. The Lynchburg theme continued with John Petrie and Ryan Carter each posting a 25 to share third position. At 26, Shumaker and Coffey were tied for fifth place.

Baldwin continued his solid play in the second round, carding 27 to open up a two-stroke lead on the amateur field at 50. With a middle-round 26, Shumaker pole-vaulted into second place at 52. John Petrie lurked three strokes off of the lead, in third position at 53. Coffey and Driskill shared fourth place at 54.

Trouble befell the second-round leader in the final round, as Baldwin shot 34 to fall out of contention at 84. With his third-consecutive round of 26, Shumaker posted the early clubhouse lead at 78. John Petrie carded a final-round 25 to tie Shumaker. A champion would be determined in an 18-hole playoff. Craft soared up the final leader board into third place at 80 with a final-round 24. Coffey completed the event in fourth position at 81. Driskill and Ryan Carter tied for fifth place at 82 and split the final amateur division expense reimbursement spot awarded in the tournament.

The ensuing 18-hole playoff would be a hard-fought battle. Petrie aced the second hole to take the early lead. An ace at the sixth hole by Shumaker once again squared the match. Both players recorded holes-in-one on the last three holes of the outward nine and were deadlocked at 12 at the turn. Shumaker aced the first three holes of the inward nine to seize a two-stroke lead over Petrie. After both contestants aced the 14th hole, Petrie made hole 15 to creep within one stroke of Shumaker's lead. After each player aced the 16th hole, Shumaker aced hole 17 to take a two-stroke lead into the final hole. With honors, Shumaker prudently laid up his tee shot on the 18th hole for an easy tap-in deuce. Shumaker ultimately won the playoff by a score of 24-25 and in the process earned his fourth win of the 2008 season.

The Virginia PPA Tour would like to extend thanks and express its appreciation to course owner and former PPA pro Dave Mitchell and his staff for their gracious hosting of a successful weekend of tour events at the Roanoke, VA Putt-Putt Fun Center. The Virginia PPA Tour looks forward to returning to Roanoke for the 2008 VA Tour Championship weekend on September 28-29. The next tournaments on the Virginia PPA Tour are scheduled for July 12 and 13, 2008 on course # 3 in Richmond, VA. A 54-hole event will begin at noon on Saturday, July 12. Play in the 108-hole Virginia Open, the Virginia PPA Tour's second major tournament of the season, will commence at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, July 13.