Brad Lebo Defeats Manfred Stewart in Playoff to Win Virginia Tour Season Opener28 March 2009 - Lynchburg, VA - PPA Tour Commissioner and course owner Joe Aboid welcomed the Virginia PPA Tour to the first of three 54-hole weekend events to begin the 2009 Virginia Tour season on the imaginatively-redesigned course # 2 layout at the beautiful Lynchburg, VA Putt-Putt Fun Center. Threatening skies and cool temperatures provided the backdrop for a closely-contested battle in which a mere four strokes eventually separated first and eighth places.
Brad Lebo
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2006 PPA National Champion Brad Lebo aced his final two holes of the event to match two-time Virginia Open Champion Manfred Stewart's rounds of 28, 28, and 25 and tie for the lead at the end of regulation play with a 54-hole total of 81. In the ensuing 18-hole playoff, Lebo seized a commanding three-stroke lead after six holes. Stewart recovered quickly, however, to square the match after ten holes. Lebo regrouped to ace the next five holes and regain a two-stroke advantage after fifteen holes. Critical aces on the 16th and 17th holes moved Stewart to within a stroke of Lebo's lead with one hole remaining. With honors, Stewart narrowly missed his ace effort on the final hole. Lebo prudently laid up the 18th hole for a tap-in deuce to defeat Stewart in the playoff, 27-28. In the process, Lebo earned his first victory of the young 2009 PPA season.
2007 Virginia Open Champion Matt Summey fired 82 to share third-place honors with Augusta, GA's Stan Seethoff. Second-round leader and PPA Hall of Fame member Daryl Freeman carded a disappointing final-round 29 to fall into a tie for fifth position at 83 with tour sophomore Dennis Biesma. The cash line for the eight money spots awarded in the tournament fell at 85.
John Petrie
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In the amateur division, two-time defending amateur champion John Petrie took full advantage of his extensive home course knowledge and experience to fire spectacular rounds of 27, 24, and 26 for a 54-hole score of 77 and notch a dominating four-stroke triumph. The victory was the fourth of Petrie's amateur career. First-round leader and prohibitive pre-tournament amateur division favorite Conway Coffey completed the event in second position at 81. At 83, two-time APA National Champion Clayton Craft crafted a third-place finish. Asheboro, NC standout Mark Lawson captured fourth position at 86. Tour veteran Wayne Cheatham rounded out the tournament's top five finishers at 89 and secured the event's final amateur division expense reimbursement spot.
In a brief pre-tournament ceremony, several awards were presented for the 2008 Virginia PPA Tour season. In the professional division, Brad Lebo received the 2008 Virginia PPA Player of the Year and Low Stroke Average Awards, marking the second consecutive season and fourth time in his career in which Lebo won those awards. Malcolm Shumaker received the 2008 amateur division Player of the Year and Low Stroke Average Awards. Awarded by a vote of their peers on the Virginia PPA Tour, much-deserved 2008 Sportsmanship Awards were given to professional David McCollister and amateur Bill Petrie.
The Virginia PPA Tour will return to action with another 54-hole event on course # 2 at the Lynchburg, VA Putt-Putt Fun Center beginning at approximately 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 28, 2009. Article provided by Brad Lebo |
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Professional Division
(Lynchburg, VA - Course # 2 - 28 March 2009) | | Rounds | | Virginia | Prize | | Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | Total | Points | Money | | 1 | Brad Lebo | 28 | 28 | 25 | 81 | 25.00 | 175.00 | | 2 | Manfred Stewart | 28 | 28 | 25 | 81 | 24.00 | 115.00 | | 3 | Matt Summey | 30 | 25 | 27 | 82 | 22.50 | 85.00 | | Stan Seethoff | 25 | 30 | 27 | 82 | 22.50 | 85.00 | | 5 | Daryl Freeman | 28 | 26 | 29 | 83 | 20.50 | 57.50 | | Dennis Biesma | 28 | 27 | 28 | 83 | 20.50 | 57.50 | | 7 | Bill Baus | 28 | 30 | 27 | 85 | 18.50 | 50.00 | | Vince Batten | 30 | 29 | 26 | 85 | 18.50 | 50.00 | | 9 | Rick Baird | 34 | 28 | 27 | 89 | 16.50 | | | Thomas Rawles | 31 | 30 | 28 | 89 | 16.50 | | | 11 | Ed Grajewski | 30 | 28 | 32 | 90 | 15.00 | | | 12 | Jeff Spainhour | 34 | 29 | 28 | 91 | 13.50 | | | Rick Rybaczek | 30 | 32 | 29 | 91 | 13.50 | | | 14 | Ken Schooler | 31 | 32 | 31 | 94 | 12.00 | |
Amateur Division
(Lynchburg, VA - Course # 2 - 28 March 2009) | | Rounds | | Virginia | Expense | | Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | Total | Points | Money | | 1 | John Petrie | 27 | 24 | 26 | 77 | 20.00 | 30.00 | | 2 | Conway Coffey | 25 | 30 | 26 | 81 | 18.00 | 25.00 | | 3 | Clayton Craft | 30 | 26 | 27 | 83 | 17.00 | 20.00 | | 4 | Mark Lawson | 31 | 26 | 29 | 86 | 16.00 | 15.00 | | 5 | Wayne Cheatham | 26 | 33 | 30 | 89 | 15.00 | 10.00 | | 6 | Wade Driskill | 33 | 26 | 31 | 90 | 13.50 | | | Malcolm Shumaker | 32 | 27 | 31 | 90 | 13.50 | | | 8 | James LeBrun | 34 | 30 | 27 | 91 | 12.00 | | | 9 | Todd Trent | 30 | 35 | 33 | 98 | 10.50 | | | Bill Petrie | 32 | 31 | 35 | 98 | 10.50 | | | 11 | Amy Smith | 37 | 31 | 33 | 101 | 9.00 | | | 12 | Art Koerber | 37 | 31 | 39 | 107 | 8.00 | | | 13 | Chuck Cyr | 33 | 37 | 41 | 111 | 7.00 | |
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