Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, June 26, 1994 TAG: 9406260106
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C11 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By M.J. DOUGHERTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Out of a field of 104 golfers, only Chip Sullivan finished the first round under par on the 6,685-yard Blacksburg Country Club course.
A 1-under-par 71 gave the teaching pro at Hanging Rock Golf Club in Salem a one-stroke lead over three players entering today's final round.
The scores were unusually high for a tournament in which several golfers usually break 70 on the first day. For example, Salem's Danny Hopkins led after the first round last year at 67.
But gusty winds and tee placements that made almost every hole play long presented problems for the field.
To shoot the only subpar round - and thus have the only score in red on the leader board - Sullivan also overcame an eight-day layoff from golf. He returned from his winter home in Louisiana only to start poorly and find himself 2-over after seven holes.
"I had a terrible front nine," Sullivan said. "I had three stupid bogeys that I should not have had. Thank goodness I started playing better on the back nine. I made some birdies and that kept me in it."
On the back nine, Sullivan eliminated the bogeys while getting birdies on the two par fives on the back nine - No. 13 and No. 17 - as well as on the par-4 16th hole. That gave him a 3-under 33 for the back nine, a 71 for the round and not only kept him in the tournament but put him in the lead.
Just one shot behind Sullivan though are two former winners. Mike Krulich claimed last year's title with a strong second round. David Tolley has won the tournament title four times - 1983, 1986, 1987 and 1988.
Joining them at 72 is Patrick DeStefano, a former standout at Kecoughtan High School in Hampton.
While Sullivan excelled on the back nine and the par-5s, his closest rivals struggled on those holes.
DeStefano, who plays out of the Virginia Tech Golf Course in Blacksburg, was 2-under through 16 holes. But he double-bogeyed the par-5 17th.
"I drove through the fairway and I tried to hook it around some trees [to reach the green in two]," DeStefano said. "The wind didn't pick it up and I hit it into the rough. Then, I chipped it into some weeds. I had to get up and down in two for the double [bogey]."
Meanwhile, the par 5s stopped Krulich before he ever got started.
"Two of the par-5s killed me," said Krulich, from Bluefield. "On No. 1 and No. 12, I got birdies. Then I took bogeys on the very next hole, both of them par-5s. That killed any momentum I would have had."
Tolley had his trouble on the back nine. The Roanoke-based pro was in the lead when he made the turn at 2-under.
"I didn't hit a lot of greens on the back nine," Tolley said. "I made a lot of putts on the front nine. That's why I scored as low as I did."
Another three golfers are two strokes behind Sullivan at 73. Heading that list is Jimmy Williams, the former pro at Blacksburg Country Club and the 1985 GBO winner. Also 1-over are J.W. Entsminger of Lexington and David Chalmers of Blacksburg.
Four more golfers are at 74. And a group of seven is at 75, four strokes off the pace.
After the first round, the field was divided into seven flights. The top 20 golfers are in the championship flight. Only five shots separates the golfers in that flight heading into today's final round.
by CNB