ROANOKE TIMES

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, July 28, 1990                   TAG: 9007280109
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B-5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium


KISTLER, GRIFFIN WIN HALL OF FAME

It was nothing out of the ordinary for Phil Kistler to watch his tee shot in flight on the 17th hole at Waterfront and be thinking about a hole in one.

"I've thought that a lot over the years," Kistler said. "I've even thought that on balls that landed in bunkers."

Kistler didn't get his hole in one Friday, but he didn't find the bunker, either. His 7-iron shot landed an inch behind the pin before spinning 5 feet below the cup.

Kistler made the putt and increased his lead to two shots, his eventual margin of victory over Arman Fletcher in the Roanoke Valley Golf Hall of Fame Senior tournament.

Mike Griffin parred the second extra hole to capture the Junior tournament in a playoff with Eric Early.

Griffin, who represented Blue Hills until this year, helped Botetourt's juniors cruise to a 14-shot victory in the team competition. It was the first victory for Botetourt in any of the four tournaments sponsored by the Hall of Fame.

Blue Hills claimed its second straight victory in the senior competition (55 and over), led by defending champion J.D. Sisson, who had the low round of the day, a 1-under-par 70.

Although he finished third, Sisson trailed by eight shots after an opening-round 78 at Botetourt Country Club, and the individual championship turned into a two-man battle between 1987 champion Kistler and Fletcher, the 1988 winner.

Kistler, 59, from Roanoke Country Club, shot a second-round 73 for a 36-hole total of 143. Fletcher also shot 73, but played the last 16 holes in 1 under par after a double bogey-bogey start.

The junior competition (under-18) featured several big turnarounds as Griffin fell behind by three shots after nine holes, came back to lead by four, then needed to save par from a bunker at No. 18 to force the playoff.

"I had a 4-footer," said Griffin, 16, who will be a junior at Lord Botetourt High School. "That's when I really got nervous because I'd already had five three-putts. I didn't watch it. The only way I knew it was good was the sound of the ball hitting the bottom of the cup."

Griffin and Early finished at 153, three shots ahead of first-round co-leader Adam Harrell, who shot a 10-over-par 45 on the front nine but saved face with a even-par 36 on the back.

Early and Griffin parred the first extra hole, but Early pushed his drive into the woods at No. 2 and did not reach the green until his fourth shot at the par-4 hole.

The 6-foot-3 Griffin, who physically resembles a blond Nick Faldo, won the Bob McLelland Metro tournament before his sophomore year, but has struggled so far this summer.

"This makes up for a little bit," Griffin said, "but it doesn't make up for everything."

Defending champion Todd Jenkins of Botetourt was ruled ineligible because he lives in Bath County and does not play the Botetourt Country Club on a regular basis. Griffin plays at Botetourt and Blue Hills, but elected to represent the latter in order to join several of his high school teammates.



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