2002 Four-Ball Tournament

O'Rourke and Bissell Win the Georgia Four-Ball Tournament in Playoff

MACON, GA - Mike O'Rourke and Rob Bissell of Evans won the Georgia Four Ball Tournament in a sudden-death playoff over Charlie Edwards of Newnan and Ted Vallo of Peachtree City. After the teams split the first three holes with pars, Bissell provided the decisive stroke, dropping a 20-foot birdie putt on the fourth playoff hole, the par-3 number two. Both teams finished at nine-under 207 for the tournament, which was held at Oakview Golf and Country Club in Macon and Landings Golf Club in Warner Robins, March 22-24.

O'Rourke and Bissell, who shot 68 Sunday, started the day two back of the lead and one off Edwards and Vallo, who were looking for their second GSGA title in a row, having won the final 2001 event, the Georgia Senior Four Ball in November. Bissell, the 2000 Mid-Am Tournament winner, and his partner O'Rourke bettered their third place finish from the previous year's tournament.

Finishing third overall and one stroke back were Bo Bozeman of Macon and G.L. Dawson of Warner Robins (71-69-68-208). Tied for fourth at 209 were David Myers and Ed Wolfe of Warner Robins (72-98-69-209) and third-flight winners Rick Farage of Macon and Billy Blackmon of Warner Robins (71-70-68-209). Bobby Filkins of Acworth and Tim McPherson of Kennesaw, who shot 65 Saturday to jump into the 36-hole lead, dropped back with a final round 73, to finish at 210 and tied for sixth with Carl Wade and Danny Daniels of Kingsland.

Other flights winners were: First - Frank Calvert and Larry Carlson of Gainesville (75-66-72-213), Second - Brad Brown and Hal Lamb of Calhoun (68-71-74-213), Fourth - Nick Kirkland and Peyton Bradshaw of Snellville (69-72-69-210), Fifth - Jeff Thorne of Albany and Ron Bannister of Thomasville (72-69-70-211), Sixth - Kirk Cave and Sean Pender of Snellville (76-71-72-219) and Seventh - Buddy Guidry of Acworth and Rusty Stevens of Canton (75-80-76-231).

The 96-team field was divided into eight flights by team handicap index. The Championship through the Third flights were eligible for the overall honors. The field alternated between the two host clubs, with the top flights playing their first and third rounds at Oakview.

Entries were open to two-man teams of male amateur golfers who are members of a GSGA member club and residents of Georgia and whose combined handicap index is 6.0 or higher. The Four-Ball Tournament field is determined by lottery and precedes the Annual Four-Ball Championship, in which the entrants with the lowest 80 team handicap indexes comprise the field.

GSGA conducts 18 statewide competitions for men and women of all age groups, three interstate matches, one Atlanta area competition 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
1Mike O'Rourke, Evans 70 69 68 207
*Rob Bissell, Evans

 

2Charlie Edwards, Newnan 70 68 69 207
Ted Vallo, Peachtree City

 

3Bo Bozeman, Macon 71 69 68 208
G.L. Dawson, Warner Robins

 

4David Myers, Warner Robins 72 68 69 209
Ed Wolfe, Warner Robins

 

4Billy Blackmon, Warner Robins 71 70 68 209
Rick Farage, Macon

 

6Bobby Filkins, Acworth 72 65 73 210
Tim McPherson, Kennesaw

 

6Carl Wade, Kingsland 72 68 70 210
Danny Daniels, Kingsland

 

8Eric Pope, Watkinsville 71 72 69 212
Joe Peters, Watkinsville

 

9Melvin Nichelson, Calhoun 70 70 73 213
Pete Webster, Ringgold

 

9Scott Kennedy, Snellville 70 71 72 213
Scott Shepherd, Lawrenceville

 

9Frank Calvert, Gainesville 75 66 72 213
Larry Carlson, Gainesville

 

9Brad Brown, Calhoun 68 71 74 213
Hal Lamb, Calhoun

 

Flight: Championship
1Mike O'Rourke, Evans 70 69 68 207
*Rob Bissell, Evans

 

2Charlie Edwards, Newnan 70 68 69 207
Ted Vallo, Peachtree City

 

3Bo Bozeman, Macon 71 69 68 208
G.L. Dawson, Warner Robins

 

4David Myers, Warner Robins 72 68 69 209
Ed Wolfe, Warner Robins

 

5Bobby Filkins, Acworth 72 65 73 210
Tim McPherson, Kennesaw

 

5Carl Wade, Kingsland 72 68 70 210
Danny Daniels, Kingsland

 

7Eric Pope, Watkinsville 71 72 69 212
Joe Peters, Watkinsville

 

8Melvin Nichelson, Calhoun 70 70 73 213
Pete Webster, Ringgold

 

8Scott Kennedy, Snellville 70 71 72 213
Scott Shepherd, Lawrenceville

 

10Melvin Hester, Dublin 76 72 70 218
Ron Baggett, Warner Robins

 

10Gregg Leonard, Roswell 75 75 68 218
Scott Hootselle, Cumming

 

12Glenn Kavanaugh, Powder Springs 70 76 75 221
Scott Petit, Kennesaw

 

13Ed Bowen, Roswell 78 76 74 228
James Morrow, Roswell

 

Flight: First
1Frank Calvert, Gainesville 75 66 72 213
Larry Carlson, Gainesville

 

2Barry Snell, Kennesaw 74 66 74 214
Chris Fryer, Roswell

 

3Larry Fowler, Marietta 70 75 70 215
Wade Turner, Roberta

 

4Larry Saheim, Peachtree City 70 69 78 217
Ted Colbert, Fayetteville

 

5Ron Godwin, Kennesaw 74 74 70 218
Weldon Wintter, Kennesaw

 

6Norman Kennedy, Hampton 73 73 73 219
Robert Wilson, Zebulon

 

7Brandon Martin, Cumming 76 73 71 220
Mark Benefield, Norcross

 

8Erik Stang, Duluth 71 71 79 221
Mitch Mills, Lilburn

 

9Bruce Connors, Newnan 74 75 75 224
David Schultze, Sharpsburg

 

10Ed West, Canton 77 72 76 225
Richard Burman, Kennesaw

 

11Mike Corr, Fayetteville 77 72 76 225
Tim Slough, Fayetteville

 

12Paul Vant Hof, Peachtree City 77 75 77 229
Rich Doyle, Fayetteville

 

13Dave Harman, Roswell 79 78 75 232
Wes Hudson, Roswell

 

Flight: Second
1Brad Brown, Calhoun 68 71 74 213
Hal Lamb, Calhoun

 

2Joe Ingram, Gainesville 69 72 73 214
Leroy Harper, Gainesville

 

2Paul Arrington, Dacula 75 72 67 214
William Peoples, Lawrenceville

 

4David Mansfield, Dalton 73 71 72 216
Tim Mackey, Bogart

 

5Billy Duke, McDonough 71 71 75 217
Rick Dubois, McDonough

 

5Gary Kiphart, Warner Robins 73 70 74 217
Tom Miller, Warner Robins

 

5Dale Bone, Fayetteville 75 72 70 217
Mike Rainwater, Jonesboro

 

8Danny Russell, Kingsland 73 70 76 219
Mike Ingles, Kingsland

 

9Barry McClure, Warner Robins 76 71 74 221
Bob Campbell, Warner Robins

 

10John Golden, Newnan 78 73 74 225
Neil Monroe, Sharpsburg

 

11Don Thompson, Dalton 79 75 74 228
Sparky Whitener, Dalton

 

11Davis Camp, Haralson 78 78 72 228
Scott Camp, Haralson

 

Flight: Third
1Billy Blackmon, Warner Robins 71 70 68 209
Rick Farage, Macon

 

2Bobby Bell, Reynolds 74 73 69 216
Tony Clark, Byron

 

3Dick Donegan, Kennesaw 73 75 72 220
Doug Tindall, Marietta

 

4J.R. Nichols, Smyrna 78 71 72 221
Rob Nichols, Kennesaw

 

5Bart Greet, Valdosta 73 74 75 222
Drew Respess, Valdosta

 

6Bob Barner, Kennesaw 73 75 77 225
Thomas Blackburn, Peachtree City

 

6Craig Steed, Duluth 74 74 77 225
Roger Moore, Conyers

 

8Ron Eulenfeld, St. Simons Island 78 72 76 226
Tom Burke, Peachtree City

 

8Isaac Frank, Atlanta 77 74 75 226
Phillip Williams, Atlanta

 

10Fred Lindstrom, Peachtree City 75 78 76 229
Wayne Farley, Peachtree City

 

11Phil Colston, Peachtree City 75 82 74 231
Thomas Humber, Fayetteville

 

12Gary Cole, Dalton 76 85 75 236
Michael Cole, Dalton

 

Flight: Fourth
1Nick Kirkland, Snellville 69 72 69 210
Peyton Bradshaw, Snellville

 

2George LaPorte, Peachtree City 71 73 70 214
Ronnie Tatum, Peachtree City

 

3Barry Bell, Reynolds 75 68 72 215
Mark Minter, Macon

 

4Lee Smith, Forsyth 73 70 74 217
Pat O'Brien, Macon

 

4Joe Brogdon, Macon 72 75 70 217
Russ Vaughn, Macon

 

6Roland Sorel, Dunwoody 75 73 73 221
Steven Mann, Duluth

 

7J.D. Snell, Loganville 80 72 73 225
T.H. Williams, Madison

 

8Gary Sowell, Alpharetta 71 77 78 226
Phil Jessup, Kennesaw

 

9David Boucher, Roswell 75 77 75 227
Don Heilman, Roswell

 

10Michael Dickens, Marietta 81 76 73 230
Mike Roberts, Kennesaw

 

11John Lee, McDonough 79 79 81 239
Kenneth Newsome, Sharpsburg

 

12Lee Bradley, Duluth WD
Shawn Dalton, Duluth

 

Flight: Fifth
1Jeff Thorne, Albany 72 69 70 211
Ron Bannister, Thomasville

 

2Bill Prater, Marietta 73 67 73 213
Sam Prater, Dallas

 

3Larry Hobgood, Duluth 72 73 72 217
Mike Stimak, Duluth

 

4David Smith, Warner Robins 76 74 75 225
George Coffey, Warner Robins

 

5George Pass, Cordele 79 77 72 228
Robert Davis, Cordele

 

5Charles Tatum, Auburn 79 77 72 228
Ed Crump, Hartwell

 

7Dick Weisenborn, Snellville 76 74 79 229
Tom Umpress, Lawrenceville

 

8Bryan Stansell, Atlanta 73 80 77 230
Randy Gordy, Clarkesville

 

8David Roberts, Soperton 81 73 76 230
Todd Early, Decatur

 

10John Pendergast, Conyers 77 76 79 232
Michael Green, McDonough

 

11Bob Wagener, Marietta 80 74 82 236
John Manganelli, Roswell

 

12Larry Crabtree, Snellville 82 WD
Paul Smith, Atlanta

 

Flight: Sixth
1Kirk Cave, Snellville 76 71 72 219
Sean Pender, Snellville

 

2Charlie Huff, East Anollee 75 72 77 224
Ron Allen, Toccoa

 

2Bert Isenbetter, Marietta 78 70 76 224
Don Gardner, Kennesaw

 

2Jeff Wright, Dacula 74 75 75 224
Mike Marler, Marietta

 

5Barry Whatley, Peachtree City 76 70 80 226
Craig Evans, Conyers

 

6Bill Wills, Atlanta 77 72 79 228
Mike Johnston, Marietta

 

7Dodd Rentz, Athens 79 71 79 229
Edward Wilson, Alpharetta

 

7Jim Brown, Evans 75 76 78 229
Samuel Smith, Macon

 

9Ron Douglass, Roswell 78 71 82 231
Terry Traynor, Roswell

 

9Ed Allen, Kennesaw 82 72 77 231
George Whitman, Marietta

 

11Joseph Crisafulli, Marietta 78 80 78 236
Richard Gupta, Dunwoody

 

12Mike Kay, Martin 78 77 82 237
Otto Jakel, Clermont

 

Flight: Seventh
1Buddy Guidry, Acworth 75 80 76 231
Rusty Stevens, Canton

 

2Carl Mothershed, Monroe 82 74 76 232
W.L. Wight, Loganville

 

3Jerry Locke, Sharpsburg 80 74 79 233
Tom Gonnella, Newnan

 

3Douglas Thompson, Sharpsburg 77 80 76 233
Rich Gottardo, Newnan

 

5Dwight Blanchard, Dalton 81 82 77 240
James Blanchard, Dalton

 

6Charles Chastain, Talking Rock 86 79 84 249
Michael Chastain, Jasper

 

7Jerry Chastain, Jasper 85 78 87 250
John Chastain, Jasper

 

8John Womack, Alpharetta 85 87 79 251
Larry Womack, Alpharetta

 

9Fred Dezouche, Kingsland 90 85 87 262
Larry Brown, Kingsland

 

10Joe Perusse, Marietta 91 85 89 265
Sidney Avesian, Marietta

 

10Bob Flynn, Kennesaw 88 79 WD
Jerry Blackburn

 

* determined in playoff