Bill Kirby, Jr. Dominates Field to Earn Emotional Victory in Richmond, VA24 July 2010 - Richmond, VA - The Virginia PPA Tour ventured to the immaculately-maintained Richmond, VA Putt-Putt Fun Center to contest the first of two weekend tournaments, a 54-hole event on historic course # 3. The only thing hotter than the day's record-setting oppressive mid-summer heat was the magical putting wand of PPA Hall of Fame member Bill Kirby, Jr., who recorded a long-overdue, wire-to-wire victory in impressive fashion.
After having been one of the sport's winningest and most dominant professionals during the 1980's and 1990's, Kirby drastically reduced his playing schedule throughout much of the past decade. While still highly competitive, Kirby endured a victory drought during that period. After rededicating himself to the game in 2010, Kirby ended that drought in style by firing rounds of 24, 25, and 24 to notch an emphatic three-stroke triumph with a 54-hole total of 73. Kirby dedicated the emotional win to the memory of his mother, Mrs. Marian Kirby, a highly-respected and beloved Fayetteville, NC resident who passed away in December 2009 at the age of 88.
In the amateur division, Richmond local standout Malcolm Shumaker employed his extensive local course knowledge and experience to capture a wire-to-wire, two-stroke victory. Shumaker followed a tournament-low opening round of 23 with rounds of 27 and 29 to post a 54-hole total of 79 and earn his second win of the 2010 season. 2004 JPA National Champion John Petrie finished alone in second place at 81. At 83, James LeBrun, Joey Graybeal, and 2008 APA National Doubles Champion Mike Matthews tied for third position and garnered the final amateur division expense reimbursement spots allocated in the event. Article provided by Brad Lebo |
Professional Division
(Richmond, VA - Course # 3 - 24 July 2010)
Round Points Prize Player Name 1 2 3 Total Earned Money 1 Bill Kirby 24 25 24 73 25.00 $ 175.00 2 Rick Baird 27 25 24 76 24.00 $ 130.00 3 Matt McCaslin 27 25 25 77 23.00 $ 105.00 4 Rick Rybaczek 25 28 25 78 20.00 $ 73.00 David McCollister 25 26 27 78 20.00 $ 73.00 Ed Grajewski 24 28 26 78 20.00 $ 73.00 Brad Lebo 27 26 25 78 20.00 $ 73.00 Greg Newport 24 28 26 78 20.00 $ 73.00 9 Daryl Freeman 26 26 27 79 17.00 $ 55.00 10 Matt Summey 27 28 25 80 16.00 $ 50.00 11 Michael Hitt 28 25 28 81 15.00 $ 50.00 12 Tony Jackson 29 28 25 82 13.50 Robert Johnson 28 28 26 82 13.50 14 Dennis Biesma 29 29 25 83 11.50 Manfred Stewart 30 27 26 83 11.50 16 Vince Batten 30 26 28 84 9.00 Bill Baus 31 28 25 84 9.00 Ken Schooler 29 27 28 84 9.00 19 Gary Hinshaw 30 29 28 87 7.00 20 Danny McCaslin 30 31 28 89 6.00 21 Jeff Spainhour 33 29 28 90 5.00 Amateur Division
(Richmond, VA - Course # 3 - 24 July 2010)
Round Points Expense Player Name 1 2 3 Total Earned Money 1 Malcolm Shumaker 23 27 29 79 20.00 $ 30.00 2 John Petrie 28 27 26 81 18.00 $ 25.00 3 James LeBrun 29 28 26 83 16.00 $ 15.00 Joey Graybeal 28 27 28 83 16.00 $ 15.00 Mike Matthews 25 28 30 83 16.00 $ 15.00 6 Ben Blake 27 30 27 84 14.00 7 Chuck Dibbs 29 28 29 86 12.50 Terry Sanner 28 27 31 86 12.50 9 Clayton Craft 28 27 32 87 11.00 10 John Warriner 30 31 28 89 10.00 11 Bill Petrie 31 29 30 90 9.00 12 Marty Handschuh 30 30 31 91 7.50 Randy Baldwin 31 31 29 91 7.50 14 Jerry Sanner 32 28 32 92 6.00