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The following article is reprinted with permission from the Monday, October
7, 2002 edition of the Panama City News
Herald.
Macoy
wins Tapper tourney
TIM HATHCOCK
Sports Editor
PORT ST. JOE - The finishing hole at the St. Joseph Bay Country Club does
not look imposing.
It is not long at less than 400 yards, and there are no hazards to speak
of, unless you count the trees that line every fairway.
Yet for some reason, the 18 th seems to take a chunk out of Brian Macoy
every time he plays it.
Fortunately for Macoy, his sterling play on the other 17 holes was plenty
good enough for a victory at the George G. Tapper Invitational on Sunday.
For the second time in as many days, Macoy made double bogey on the final
hole. And for the second day he shot a 1-over par 73.
His two-day total of 146 was six strokes better than Clay Smallwood, who
had won this tourney the last four years in a row.
The victory allowed Macoy a chance to laugh at the good-natured ribbing
he took after adding a 6 at No. 18 yet again.
Macoy has a 2 handicap listed just outside the St. Joseph pro shop,
better than any other member posted there, including Smallwood's 3. He
proved that to be accurate with a 3-under par 33 on the front nine on
Sunday.
At that point Macoy had stretched his onestroke lead over Smallwood to
five. Still, he knew what awaited him.
"Clay, he was still in it," Macoy said. "He was playing up and down, but
he's a good player. "I knew what the back nine offered." What he meant by
that were the narrow fairways on the back side. Nursing a lead in tournament
play often means a conservative approach: long irons and fairway woods off
the tee in an effort to avoid trouble.
That goes counter to Macoy's strength, which is his length off the tee.
He modestly admitted to being able to hit the ball a long way "when I am
hitting it decent."
Macoy and Smallwood had made this a two-man battle after Saturday's first
round, shooting 73 and 74, respectively.
Both men are members of St. Joseph Bay Country Club and are intimate with
the tricky greens there.
"They're slow and have got some grain in them," Macoy said. "They are
hard to read. It makes it tough for people out of town.
"It was an advantage for me and Clay."
With Smallwood playing in the same group, Macoy, a 27-year old Port St.
Joe resident, knew what he had to do to win entering the final nine.
He began it with a bogey, then a birdie and two more bogeys. From there,
he settled down and made four straight pars entering the 18 th hole. Those
pars and Smallwood's own struggles - he shot 41 on the back nine - had Macoy
in a comfortable position.
Smallwood finished with a 78 on Sunday.
Still, his nemesis the 18th awaited.
A conservative approach does not fit Macoy's game.
"When I am playing with my friends, I usually hit driver and put it in
there within a wedge to the green," Macoy said. But it was a wayward shot
with the driver off the tee that got Macoy in trouble on Saturday. So he did
the wise thing and used a 4-wood off the tee. He promptly hit the ball into
the trees, which led to the second double bogey. No matter, the tournament
was his thanks to great play on the other holes.
Aside from No. 18, Macoy was 2-under par for the weekend.
TAPPER INVITATIONAL SCORES
Championship Flight
A Division
Macoy, Brian 73-73-146
Smallwood, Clay 74-78-152
Grant, Gary 77-78-155
Settle, Gary 79-79-158
Buttram, Randy 81-79-160
Turley, Ben 78-89-167
Smith, Greg 79-97-176
B Division
Patterson, Pat 84-76-160
McGarry, Kevin M. 82-79-161
Smith, Woodie
81-81-162
Evans, Jackie 83-82-165
Pledger, Mike 88-82-170
Crow,
Chip84-88-172
Rowell,Andrew 87-87-174
First Flight
A Division
Harmon, Bubba 78-84-162
Walker, Randall 89-83-172
Parrish, Jerry
89-84-173
Edenfield, Mark 87-90-177
Weimorts, Kenneth 87-91-178
Wood, Kenny
89-89-178
Green, Tom 89-92-181
Smith, Andy 89-92-181
B Division
Skinner,George 90-83-173
Scott, Donald 92-96-188
Mathis, Kevin 95-94-189
Warriner, David 99-93-192
Cary, Bob 97-98-195
Hamm, Walter "Bo" 97-99-196
Gilmore, Doug 106-98-204
Second Flight
A Division
Simmons, Bert 92-85-177
Layfield, Buddy 89-90-179
Magidson, Mel 91-90-181
Pifer, Bill 95-88-183
Jennewein, Donald 90-97-187
Ramsey, Bill 91-97-188
Tucker, Mike 92-96-188
Garner, Jim 93-99-192
B Division
Etheridge, Tom 98-88-186
Clark, Donald 95-92-187
Hobbs, Ralph 95-94-189
Smith, Roy 96-94-190
White, Gary 98-92-190
Pickett, Ronald 99-101-200
McDonald, Keith 100-104-204
Etheridge, Lee 109-103-212
Third Flight
A Division
McDougald, Buddy 99-91-190
Schweizer, John 100-95-195
Johnson, Rick
102-95-197
May, Dusty 100-99-199
Miller, John 101-98-199
Ernst, Bryan
102-98-200
McNeill, Jim 103-102-205
Bond, Ed 94-WD
B Division
Snellgrove, Larry 104-101-205
Strange, Kenny 104-103-207
Kerigan, Jack
109-102-211
Roberson, Ralph 106-106-212
Smith, D.W. 107-105-212
Browne, Mark
108-108-216
McDonald, Mike 113-107-220
Pickett, Boyd 107-118-225
Fourth Flight
A Division
Browning, Tracy 93-103-196
Singletary, Joe 101-101-202
Mathis, Chick
106-104-210
Bateman, Larry 107-105-212
Manning, Joe 102-113-215
Landry, John
103-112-215
Branch, Jerry 105-113-218
B Division
Knox, Tom 107-107-214
Crawford, Bill 120-112-232
Barker, E. Gerry
115-118-233
Dunnivant, Steve 120-113-233
Ross, Gary 135-130-265
Chafin,
Sonny 141-130-271
The writer can be contacted at
thathcock@pcnh.com
© 2002 The News Herald
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