Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, August 6, 1995 TAG: 9508070098
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: E-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
In an incredible feat for any player, much less a 5-handicapper, Hall recorded the lowest round in Countryside's 30-year history, firing a 9-under-par 62.
"I still can't believe it,'' said Hall, the 46-year-old principal at Roanoke County's Mountain View Elementary School.
"Sixty-two! You never think about something like that happening.''
Considering his lowest previous round ever was 68, Hall had no reason to think about breaking David Tolley's course record of 63.
Even par through five holes - he birdied the par-5 second and bogeyed the par-3 third - Hall birdied Nos. 6, 7 and 8 to make the turn in 3-under 33.
After making a par-4 at No. 10, Hall proceeded to birdie the next six holes.
"I had never made more than three birdies in a row ever,'' Hall said. "After you make six in a row, your mind starts going off and you begin to wonder what the course record is around here.''
In front of a mini-gallery at the par-4 18th, Hall knocked his approach on the green some 25 feet away.
"Before I stepped up to putt, one of my playing partners said, "If you make this one, you shoot 61.' Until that point, a number had never entered my mind.''
While Hall's round came from the white tees - Tolley's 63 was from the much-longer blues - the number 62 speaks for itself. No matter how short the course, you've still got to get the ball in the hole.
Hall missed only two greens in regulation. He had 26 putts - only 12 on the back side in which he shot 6-under 29.
By the way. Hall's foursome, which included Kevin Johnson, Al McAllister and John Finnerty, won the best-ball event at 31-under.
CHA-CHING: The cash register is ringing for Hot Springs native J.C. Snead these days. Snead has banked $826,057 this year, running his four-year PGA Senior Tour earnings to $2,631,000. That's more than $400,000 more than Snead made in 20 years on the the regular tour.
Snead's playoff victory over Jack Nicklaus in the Ford Senior Players Championship marked the Golden Bear's first overtime defeat as a senior. Nicklaus hadn't lost in a playoff since bowing to Tom Kite at the 1982 Bay Hill Classic.
AREA CLIPBOARD: John Reynolds, the former head professional at Cliftondale in Clifton Forge and Ivy Hills in Lynchburg, was killed in an automobile accident two weeks ago. ... Sherry McCoy didn't win, but she won't soon forget the recent Roanoke Valley Women's Golf Association City-County championship. McCoy finished a personal-best seventh, thanks to a second-round 75 at Hanging Rock, the lowest round of her career. ... Roanoke Country Club provided a birthday gift for member Watt Ellett recently. On his 74th birthday, Ellett posted a 74 at RCC. ... The team of John McNeese, Todd Hiler, Brian Miller and Ben Turpin collaborated on a 20-under 51 to capture the Roanoke Valley Golf Association's four-man best two-ball at Countryside. Frank Hayes, Melvin Huff, David Felts and George May had a 53 and took second on match of cards.
SAND BLASTS: The 1995 LPGA season continues to be a nightmare for Donna Andrews. After winning close to a half-million bucks in 1994, Andrews ranks 115th in earnings this season with only $18,125. Andrews is undergoing some swing changes in an effort to return to '94 form. ... Kelly Mitchum, who played golf for one year at Lord Botetourt High in the late 1980s, is trying his hand on the Nike Tour, the last stop before making the PGA Tour.
by CNB