2001 Senior Four-Ball Championship

Edwards and Vallo Capture Senior Four-Ball Championship

KINGSLAND, GA - Charlie Edwards of Newnan and Ted Vallo of Peachtree City combined for a tournament low 65 and a total of 13-under par 203 to overtake the leaders and win by one stroke at the Georgia Senior Four-Ball Championship, which was held at Laurel Island Links in Kingsland and Osprey Cove Golf Club in St. Mary's, November 14 - 16. Despite a four-under 68, first and second round leaders Joe Estes and Amos Jones of Atlanta were relegated to second place by the winning pair, who came from the Championship B Flight to take the overall honors.

Edwards and Vallo, who started the day two strokes off the lead, opened their final round with five straight birdies. Estes and Jones, who combined for six birdies and two bogeys on the day, learned of the clubhouse leaders on 16 and knew they needed to close with two birdies. After draining an eight-foot birdie putt on the par-3 17th hole, Estes, a two-time GSGA Senior Champion, fell short of forcing a playoff when his 27-foot birdie try lipped out of the cup.

Edwards and Vallo's final round birdie run started on the strength of their putting, with Vallo draining a 15-footer on number one and Edwards following with a forty-foot bomb on two. Vallo then stuck it to six feet on the 156-yard par 3, while Edwards carded a two-putt birdie on the par-5 fourth and dropped a putt of some 10 feet on five. Their other two birdies came on the back nine, with Vallo sinking a putt of about 20 feet on the par-4 10th hole and a three footer on the par-5 15th. Competing in the event for the first time, the pair of 55-year-olds turned in an impressive 14 birdies and only one bogey, which came in the first round, over the course of the three-day championship.

Finishing in a tie for third overall at 208 were Eddie Wiggins and Ron Baggett of Warner Robins and Bill Lepley of Alpharetta and Benny Tumbleston of Marietta, who shot a 66 to move up the leaderboard and take second in the Championship B Flight.

Other Flight winners were First - Wayne Harrell of Stone Mountain and Cliff Cleveland of Atlanta (74-72-72-218), Second - (Tie) Glenn Whitmire and Jim Copeland of Gainesville (69-74-77-220), Jim Carter and Rick Wagner of Snellville (74-72-72-220) and Ed Nelson and Fred Laist of Savannah (73-73-74-220); Third - Tom Burke of Peachtree City and Ron Eulenfeld of St. Simons (72-73-71-217); Fourth - Wayne Farley and Carl Ryals of Peachtree City (73-73-74-220); Fifth - Ron Durham of Cohutta and Bill Durham of Dalton (79-75-76-230); Sixth - Donald Farris of Duluth and Tony Pistorio of Jasper (76-78-73-227). The Third through Sixth Flights competed at Osprey Cove for the first and final rounds.

The low 24 teams based on combined handicap index comprised the Championship Flights. The remainder of the field was determined on a first-come, first-served basis and flighted by handicap. Entries were open to male amateur golfers who are at least 55 years old, members of a GSGA member club and residents of Georgia. The maximum handicap differential between partners was six strokes.

GSGA conducts 16 statewide competitions for men and women of all age groups, four interstate matches, two Atlanta area competitions and 17 USGA qualifying events each year. Other services include computerized handicapping, course rating and measuring, a summer-long junior sectional competitions program, Golf Georgia magazine and two college scholarship programs.

 

Final Results

Top Ten Overall
1 Charlie Edwards, Newnan 69 69 65 203
Ted Vallo, Peachtree City
2 Amos Jones, Atlanta 66 70 68 204
Joe Estes, Atlanta
3 Bill Lepley, Alpharetta 72 70 66 208
Benny Tumbleston, Marietta
3 Eddie Wiggins, Warner Robins 71 69 68 208
Ron Baggett, Warner Robins
5 Joe Jillson, Ball Ground 69 71 69 209
Eddie Brown, Duluth
5 Bernie Tibbs, Newnan 69 72 68 209
Jim Duncan, Newnan
5 Paul Cobb Jr., Norcross 70 68 71 209
Tommy Barnes Jr., Duluth
8 Dennis McNamara, Alpharetta 70 71 69 210
Ken Benson, Alpharetta
9 Bill White, Peachtree City 71 73 67 211
Jim Crayton, Zebulon
9 Boyd Johnson, Statesboro 69 72 70 211
Bob Smith, Swainsboro
9 Curtis Wagner, Peachtree City 71 68 72 211
Richard Tatum, Atlanta

 

Championship A Flight
1 Amos Jones, Atlanta 66 70 68 204
Joe Estes, Atlanta
2 Ron Baggett, Warner Robins 71 69 68 208
Eddie Wiggins, Warner Robins
3 Bernie Tibbs, Newnan 69 72 68 209
Jim Duncan, Newnan
3 Paul Cobb Jr., Norcross 70 68 71 209
Tommy Barnes Jr., Duluth
5 Bill White, Peachtree City 71 73 67 211
Jim Crayton, Zebulon
5 Bob Smith, Swainsboro 69 72 70 211
Boyd Johnson, Statesboro
5 Curtis Wagner, Peachtree City 71 68 72 211
Richard Tatum, Atlanta
8 Spencer Sappington, Alpharetta 70 70 72 212
Bill Ploeger, Columbus
9 John Carter, Greensboro 67 73 73 213
Mike Sprouts, Greensboro
10 Bill Myers, Marietta 74 73 71 218
Ron Royer, Canton
11 Jimmy Coppage, Columbus 75 76 71 222
Bill Evans, Columbus
12 Horace Drew Jr., Albany 75 81 70 226
William Rhuland, Sumner

 

Championship B Flight
1 Ted Vallo, Peachtree City 69 69 65 203
Charlie Edwards, Newnan
2 Benny Tumbleston, Marietta 72 70 66 208
Bill Lepley, Alpharetta
3 Eddie Brown, Duluth 69 71 69 209
Joe Jillson, Ball Ground
4 Dennis McNamara, Alpharetta 70 71 69 210
Ken Benson, Alpharetta
5 Don Heilman, Roswell 72 71 69 212
Ron Savastano, Roswell
6 Tim McFall, Atlanta 72 73 70 215
Dick Donegan, Kennesaw
6 Walt Fugate, Macon 69 75 71 215
Andy Bargeron, Chatsworth
8 Stan Thorn, Alpharetta 73 72 71 216
Douglas Busz, Duluth
9 Julian Saul, Dalton 74 76 69 219
Bob Nance, Calhoun
10 John Wicklund, Atlnata 74 74 72 220
Gerald Carmichael, Dunwoody
11 Ed Barnes, Peachtree City 76 73 73 222
Roy Johnson, Alpharetta
12 Fred Atterberry, Cumming 84 85 72 241
Frank Otten, Athens

 

First Flight
1 Wayne Harrell, Stone Mtn. 74 72 72 218
Cliff Cleveland, Atlanta
2 Frank Garbutt, Sandersville 73 79 68 220
Wade Brown, Tennille
2 Jim Montgomery, Alpharetta 73 75 72 220
Bill Flinn, Norcross
2 James Walden, Atlanta 73 73 74 220
Morris Copeland, Cumming
2 Pat Jenkins, Alpharetta 73 73 74 220
Charlie Strickland, Alpharetta
6 Lanier Browning, Savannah 75 73 73 221
Lee Cassady, Savannah
6 Johnny Capes, Covington 72 73 76 221
John Chestnut, Covington
8 Jack Callaham, Atlanta 79 73 70 222
Roland Sorel, Dunwoody
8 Jack Madden, Greensboro 71 77 74 222
Bob Foehl, Eatonton
10 Fleming Norvell, Augusta 73 78 72 223
Tom Herndon, St. Simons
11 Roger Stapp, Gainesville 71 76 77 224
Bud Black, Cleveland
12 Bill Newman, Columbus 78 81 76 235
Arthur Gunter, Roswell

 

Second Flight
1 Jim Carter, Snellville 74 72 74 220
Rick Wagner, Snellville
1 Ed Nelson, Savannah 73 73 74 220
Fred Laist, Savannah
1 Glenn Whitmire, Gainesville 69 74 77 220
Jim Copeland, Gainesville
4 Donald Veal, Tifton 74 71 76 221
Tom Moody, Tifton
5 Jim Crowley, Atlanta 74 75 73 222
John Tienken, Atlanta
6 Billy Howell, Bainbridge 72 75 76 223
Tracy Dixon, Bainbridge
6 Bill Zachary, Atlanta 74 71 78 223
Larry Boddie, Williamson
8 Larry Askew, Lilburn 74 73 77 224
Nick Kirkland, Snellville
9 Bud Baker, Savannah 78 74 73 225
Jim Naylor, Savannah
10 Jim Morris, Rocky Face 79 76 73 228
Raiford McDonald, Dalton
11 William Davis, Marietta 84 89 79 252
James Whitlock, Roswell
12 Matt Estes Jr., Rochelle 78 81 WD WD
Cliff Mashburn, Rochelle

 

Third Flight
1 Tom Burke, Peachtree City 73 73 71 217
Ron Eulenfeld, St. Simons
2 Jeff Talley, Marietta 72 71 75 218
Jerry Grote, Dallas
3 Jim Hester, St. Mary's 74 70 75 219
Jim Valigura, St. Mary's
4 Jeff Tindle, Alpharetta 73 76 72 221
Lynn Nunley, Duluth
5 Mike Crawley, Savannah 80 72 72 224
Mickey Coffee, Savannah
6 Richard Doyle, Fayetteville 76 74 75 225
Gerald Patrie, Fayetteville
7 Andy Weidner, Alpharetta 77 73 76 226
Chuck Strong, Alpharetta
8 Preston Kirkendall, St. Simons 81 77 71 229
Richard McKinna, Brunswick
8 John Lee, McDonough 79 77 73 229
Kenneth Newsome, Sharpsburg
10 Bobby Wind, Cairo 79 77 75 231
Jim Hester, Cairo
10 Stan Lichtman, Peachtree City 79 76 76 231
Bob Hagman, Fayetteville
12 George Pass, Cordele 87 WD WD WD
Don Whittle, Cordele

 

Fourth Flight
1 Wayne Farley, Peachtree City 73 73 74 220
Carl Ryals, Peachtree City
2 John Somers, Atlanta 74 73 76 223
John Dazey, Marietta
3 Steve Malley, Lawrenceville 79 69 76 224
Jack Macauley, Lawrenceville
4 Carl Rainey, P'tree City 74 74 78 226
Ron Tatum, P'tree City
5 Charles Tatum, Auburn 75 75 78 228
Ed Crump, Hartwell
6 John Kennedy III, Senoia 76 77 76 229
Fred Lindstrom, Peachtree City
7 Phil Colston, Peachtree City 78 81 75 234
Paul Murphy, Fayetteville
8 Closs West, Alpharetta 79 79 77 235
Augie Bruns, Cumming
9 Sam Smith, Macon 82 78 77 237
Jim Brown, Evans
9 Thomas Mercer, Macon 78 78 81 237
Gene Fisher, Macon
9 Marv Vaughn, Marietta 83 81 73 237
Tony Urbano, Marietta
12 Kelly Dimon, Ellerslie 82 74 82 238
Jerry Averett, Columbus

 

Fifth Flight
1 Ron Durham, Cohutta 79 75 76 230
Bill Durham, Dalton
2 Jack Weinhart, Stone Mtn. 80 73 78 231
Edward Santos, Stone Mtn.
2 Bob Davis, Cordele 76 78 77 231
Bob Blanton, Sycamore
2 Jerry Atkins, Jonesboro 78 80 73 231
Joe Hamilton, Jonesboro
5 Warren Tucker, Marietta 80 76 79 235
Bill Abbott, Douglasville
6 George Agee, Marietta 82 76 80 238
Travis Glover, Marietta
6 Jim Stowers, Snellville 79 82 77 238
Bobby Johnson, Snellville
8 John Iorillo, Marietta 81 78 81 240
Kirby Holt, Marietta
8 John Mahle, Newnan 80 84 76 240
Royce LeVaughn, Newnan
10 Henry Riecke, Roswell 87 83 79 249
Joseph Gionfriddo, Alpharetta
11 Edwin Wheeler, LaGrange 81 81 90 252
Ralph Johnson, LaGrange
12 William Rary, Alpharetta 88 WD WD WD
J.R. Nichols, Smyrna

 

Sixth Flight
1 Donald Farris, Duluth 76 78 73 227
Tony Pistorio, Jasper
2 Don Knobloch, Newnan 83 75 78 236
Robert Miller, Newnan
3 Roger Cordes, Decatur 78 78 81 237
Ron Cebulski, Snellville
4 Eugene Neal, Marietta 78 84 79 241
Jack Hughes, Marietta
5 Ronnie Jones, Atlanta 82 75 85 242
James Benson, Cumming
6 Bill Verner, St. Simons 85 80 80 245
Bob Lynch, St. Simons
7 Jerry Gafford, Covington 81 86 87 254
Kent Campbell, Covington
8 Joe Perusse, Marietta 89 83 88 260
Sidney Avesian, Marietta
8 Bob Henning, Roswell 86 85 89 260
Alan Katz, Marietta
10 John McDermond, LaGrange 94 89 81 264
Richard Mohler, LaGrange
11 Joe Dougherty, LaGrange 91 86 95 272
Corky Avera, LaGrange
12 Chuck Childs, Alpharetta 88 WD WD WD
Bob Allen, Atlanta