DICKY LINKOUS, AS USUAL, IS VALLEY'S GOLFER TO BEAT

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

DATE: THURSDAY, February 6, 1992                   TAG: 9202060624
SECTION: NEIGHBORS                    PAGE: S15   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: RANDY KING SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium
DICKY LINKOUS, AS USUAL, IS VALLEY'S GOLFER TO BEAT
He's the man. Again.
Dicky Linkous, for the sixth consecutive year, is No. 1 in the annual Metro golf rankings of the Roanoke Times & World News.
The 34-year-old Linkous remained the player to beat in the Roanoke Valley as evidenced by his record 10-stroke victory in the Hall of Fame tournament.
Linkous' Hall of Fame triumph was his only victory in a season that saw him play a streamlined schedule.
While Linkous was an easy choice as men's No. 1, the women's division wasn't so cut and dried. In one of the closest races in the history of the rankings, Dot Bolling edged Mar-C Milona for the top spot.
In juniors, Lewis Conner, spurred by a strong summer tournament showing, swept to No. 1.
Linkous played in only four tournaments this summer because of family and business conflicts. Besides his Hall of Fame win, he finished second in the Kenridge Invitational and eighth in the Fox-Puss Invitational.
"The Hall of Fame was big, as usual," said Linkous, "but I guess the best moment of the whole year was at the Kenridge when I made a hole in one on the 53rd hole [of the 54-hole tournament]. I finished the tournament birdie-ace-par and picked up only one shot on [tournament winner] Keith Decker. It was unbelievable!
"But shooting 68 in the last round at Farmington, which is really a tough golf course, was nice."
Bobby Penn held onto the second spot behind Linkous. Penn captured his second consecutive Valley Amateur championship in addition to finishing second to Decker in the Thunderbird Invitational.
The venerable Arman Fletcher, runner-up in the State Seniors for the second year, maintained his third-place ranking. Jon Jett, a relative newcomer to the local scene, was fourth on the strength of his Greater Blacksburg Open victory.
In the women's rankings, Bolling nipped Milona for the top spot by the slimmest of margins. The two players split victories in the Valley's two major tournaments, with Bolling winning the 54-hole City-County and Milona capturing the 36-hole Hall of Fame.
Amazingly, each player was third in the tournament the other one won. Bolling finished three strokes back in the Hall of Fame, while Milona was five back in the City-County.
While Milona advanced to the first-flight championship match in the State Amateur, Bolling got the nod for her fourth-place finish in the Lynwood Invitational and by winning the Hidden Valley club championship.
"I knew it was going to be close," said Bolling of her duel with Milona. "We both had good years."
Bolling, who didn't take up the game until 13 years ago at age 33, said her victory in the City-County highlighted her season.
"That was a big win because a lot of people had said I couldn't win a three-day tournament," she said. "And when somebody says I can't do something, it just makes me work that much harder to prove them wrong."
Perennial contender Marilyn Bussey was third and steady Kathy Dodd fourth. Vickie Linkous, who was ranked No. 1 last year, fared poorly in her only local start but performed well enough on the collegiate level at William and Mary to take fifth.
Conner punctuated a strong junior career by becoming only the second Roanoker ever to win the prestigious Bobby Bowers Memorial tournament. He also won the Roanoke Valley Golf Association Junior title and finished second in the Hall of Fame juniors and State Juniors Match Play.
"I had a great summer," said Conner, a freshman at Virginia Tech. "Winning the Bowers was really nice. There were so many good players there."
Glenvar High's Adam Harrell, winner of the Group A state championship and Hall of Fame juniors title, was second. Cave Spring senior Eric Voudren, who won the Smith Mountain Lake Open and the Bob McLelland Metro, was third.
\ METRO TOP GOLFERS
Men 1. Dicky Linkous 2. Bobby Penn 3. Arman Fletcher 4. Jon Jett 5. Ned Baber 6. David Hagadorn 7. Tim Chocklett 8. Hunter Morrisette 9. Jack Allara 10. Robert Floyd
\ Women 1. Dot Bolling 2. Mar-C Milona 3. Marilyn Bussey 4. Kathy Dodd 5. Vickie Linkous 6. Sara Cole 7. Nancy Shuck 8. Penny Stallins 9. Lee Shirley 10. BrendaReynolds
\ Boys 1. Lewis Conner 2. Adam Harrell 3. Eric Voudren 4. Scott Griffin 5. Scott Hunter 6. Mike Griffin 7. Andy Miller 8. Ryan Ketron 9. Kipp Colls 10. Nick Varney

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB