Spring Lake, NC (October 1. 2001) - The final Major Championship of the Golfweek Amateur Golf Tour 2011 season proved to be yet another casualty of Hurricane Irene. Originally scheduled for August 25, the day the storm waltzed it's way up the Eastern Seaboard, the make-up barely produced half the numbers that the event has historically drawn. Nevertheless, a devoted contingent of Tour regulars took advantage of perfect weather today to compete in the final "double point" event of the season. Tour veterans took control of the A, B, and C Flights and won narrow victories in each.
Rob Reynolds of Raleigh shot a 74 for top honors in the A Flight. Greensboro's James Earles, also a long-standing Tour "vet", was 2 back at 76.
Johnnie Baggett of Dunn continued his excellent B Flight play this season with a narrow 1 shot win over Rolesville's Bill Wilkinson. Baggett has been no stranger to the winner's circle over the last few years, but Wilkinson's effort was notable due to the fact it was his first event after being promoted to the B Flight from "C" last week.
Raleigh's Shirral Davis enjoyed a 2-stroke margin of victory over James Eatmon of Sims in the C Flight. Davis also has been a Tour regular for a number of years. Of note in the C Flight was that the 3rd place finisher, Mike Hawkins of Pittsboro, who has been a Tour member since the Tour's inception, made his final Tour event a successful one. "I'm switching over to the Senior Tour after this" said Hawkins. "I like those (shorter) yardages better". "He'll be tough there", noted Tour Director Bruce Hallenbeck.
A Downeast Tour member, Rat Williams of Farmville emerged as king of the D Flight with a 92 and a 2-stroke edge over Summerfield's Craig Johnson. "There's been a contingent of Downeast guys who have been coming out with Rat recently who've added a bunch to our events", said Hallenbeck.
The Championship Flight was probably the greatest victim of the "Irene" rescheduling as only 4 members competed for the final Major of the year. Greensboro's Kevin Goedeck was top-dog with a 77, three strokes clear of Greensboro's Tod Dauler. "These guys play from way-back", stated Hallenbeck. "With the fairways pretty soft from a rainfall the previous night, it was a real challenge".
THE GOLFWEEK AMATEUR GOLF TOUR
ANDERSON CREEK GC EVENT (MAJOR)
TOP FIVE SCORES BY FLIGHT
CHAMPIONSHIP (6,600 yards)
Kevin Goedeck, Greensboro 77 Tod Dauler, Greensboro 80 Park Williams, Kernersville 81 Anthony Schumaker, Raleigh 85
A FLIGHT (6,250 yards)
Rob Reynolds, Raleigh 74 James Earles, Greensboro 76 Mike Crawford, Summerfield 77 Mark Cobb, Hope Mills 78 Henry Lister, Chapel Hill 80
B FLIGHT (6,250 yards)
Johnnie Baggett, Dunn 82 Bill Wilkinson, Rolesville 83 Jay Yergeau, Godwin 85 Nelson Peterson, Greensboro 85 Jim McLean, Hillsborough 86 Carl Hill, Cary 86 Johnny Brooks, Youngsville 86
C FLIGHT (6,250 yards)
Shirral Davis, Rleigh 89 James Eatmon, Sims 91 Mike Hawkins, Pittsboro 92 Johnny Sears, Fayetteville 93 Michael Hawkins, Kernersville 93 D FLIGHT (6,250 yards) Rat Williams, Farmville 92 Craig Johnson, Summerfield 94 Travis Evans, Farmville 103 Greg Green, Apex 105 Justin Weavil, Thomasville 108 Keith Thomas, Greensboro 108