6 June 2009 - Charlottesville, VA - Long-time course owner and gracious Virginia PPA Tour supporter Lloyd Wood and his staff welcomed the Virginia PPA Tour to the first of two weekend events on the beautiful but enigmatic course # 2 at the Charlottesville, VA Putt-Putt Fun Center. Heavy overnight rainfall gave way to heat and bright sunshine by morning, leading to rapidly-changing course conditions as the course's devilish carpet fibers continued to rise throughout the tournament. Erratic and substandard general field scoring resulted.

Stan Seethoff

Despite having never played the course until the afternoon prior to the tournament, Martinez, GA's Stan Seethoff opened with rounds of 29 and 29 to enter the final round at 58, one stroke off of the lead and bunched in a group of seven players lurking within two shots of the 36-hole lead. Seethoff broke out of the logjam with a brilliant, tournament-low final round of 26 to post a 54-hole total of 84 and a two-stroke victory. The stellar performance earned Seethoff the first win of his professional career. As the other players near the top of the second-round leaderboard fell out of contention in the difficult final-round playing conditions, only second-round co-leader Ken Schooler provided any challenge for Seethoff. Schooler managed a third-round 29 to complete the event in second position at 86. Two-time PPA ProPutters.com Classic Champion Greg Newport drew upon his successful past history on the course to notch a third-place finish at 89. Defending champion and second-round co-leader Brad Lebo suffered a bogey-free, final-round 33 to drop into a fourth-place tie at 90 with 2007 PPA Tournament Players Champion Vince Batten and 2004 VA State Champion Matt Summey. The final of the nine money spots allotted in the professional division fell at a score of 92.

Conway Coffey

In the amateur division, a closely-fought battle brewed between several players. Among them was West Virginian Terry Sanner, who grew up in Charlottesville and played the course regularly throughout his childhood. Sanner employed his extensive knowledge of the Charlottesville layout to craft a spectacular middle-round 26 and take the second-round lead at 55. At 57, reigning VA APA State Champion Conway Coffey and first-round leader Chuck Dibbs hovered just two strokes behind Sanner. Coffey shot a final-round 28 to better Sanner's third-round 30 and forge a tie for the lead at the end of 54 holes of regulation play at 85. An 18-hole playoff would be necessary to determine a winner. With a closing-round 29, Dibbs narrowly missed joining the playoff and settled for third place at 86. At 88, 1999 VA APA State Champion Malcolm Shumaker finished in fourth position. Art Koerber made an inspired clubhouse charge with a third-round 27 and leapfrogged into fifth place at 90. The last of the seven amateur division expense reimbursement spots awarded in the tournament came at a total of 92.

In the ensuing 18-hole amateur division playoff, Coffey and Sanner exchanged two aces on the outward nine to match front-nine 16's. Sanner temporarily seized the lead after acing hole 11, but his untimely bogey at the 12th hole coupled with an ace by Coffey gave Coffey a lead he would not relinquish. Coffey percolated aces on the following two holes to increase his lead to three strokes with four holes remaining. The duo matched aces on holes 15 and 17, spoiling Sanner's homecoming and giving Coffey a playoff victory by a score of 29-32. The win was Coffey's second of the 2009 season.

The Virginia PPA Tour will resume its schedule with the contesting of its second major championship of the season, the 72-hole Dogwood Festival Open, on course # 2 at the Charlottesville, VA Putt-Putt Fun Center. Action in that event will commence at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday, June 7, 2009.