28 March 2009 - Lynchburg, VA - On a cool, rainy early-spring afternoon, the Virginia PPA Tour contested the second of three weekend 54-hole tournaments on course # 2 at PPA Tour Commissioner Joe Aboid's Lynchburg, VA Putt-Putt Fun Center. Despite the rain-induced enigmatic playing conditions, scoring near the top of the professional leaderboard actually improved slightly over that recorded in the day's earlier tournament.

Rick Rybaczek

Two-time PPA National Doubles Champion Rick Rybaczek fired rounds of 25, 25, and 29 for a 54-hole total of 79 to capture 2007 PPA Tournament Players Champion Vince Batten's clubhouse lead and force an 18-hole playoff. Due to the deteriorating weather conditions in the late afternoon, the first round of the next day's tournament also served as the playoff between Rybaczek and Batten. In the playoff, the duo matched 14's on the outward nine. Rybaczek aced the 10th and 11th holes to establish a two-stroke lead. After acing the skillful 17th hole, Rybaczek's lead soared to three strokes with one hole remaining. Batten aced the final hole to cut the deficit to two strokes, but Rybaczek emerged victorious in the playoff, 26-28, and notched his first win of the 2009 PPA season.

Two-time Virginia Open Champion Manfred Stewart, a playoff loser in the day's earlier event, endured a second-consecutive close loss, shooting 80 to finish alone in third place. Two-time PPA Senior National Champion Bill Baus completed the tournament in fourth position at 81. At 83, defending champion Brad Lebo and Augusta, GA's Stan Seethoff shared fifth place. The final of the eight money spots awarded in the professional division in the event fell at 87.

John Petrie

In the amateur division, defending champion John Petrie successfully completed a rare four-peat. The William & Mary College student posted solid rounds of 28, 28, and 26 for a 54-hole total of 82 to record his fourth consecutive amateur division victory on the Lynchburg, VA course # 2 layout. The win was the fifth of Petrie's amateur career. First-round leader Conway Coffey settled for runner-up honors at 84. At 85, 1999 VA State APA Champion Malcolm Shumaker finished in third place. Asheboro, NC's Mark Lawson completed the event in fourth position at 88 and in the process captured the final amateur division expense reimbursement spot. Reigning North Carolina APA State Champion Todd Trent rounded out the tournament's top five amateur finishers at 89.

Action will resume on the Virginia PPA Tour with another 54-hole event on course # 2 at the Lynchburg, VA Putt-Putt Fun Center commencing at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday, March 29, 2009.