ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, July 27, 1996 TAG: 9607290038
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KEITH POMPEY STAFF WRITER
MEMO: ***CORRECTION***
Published correction ran on July 28, 1996.
The scores for Lee Taylor and Bill Shrader in the Roanoke Valley Golf
Association Hall of Fame tournament were incorrect in Saturday's Sports
section. Taylor won the junior championship with a score of 77-71-148.
Shrader had scores of 79-78-157 in the senior division.
THE 56-YEAR-OLD shunned golf anonymity Friday and finished an improbable trip to the Roanoke Valley Golf Hall of Fame title.
As Bill Beasley emerged from his golf cart after his final round Friday, it was obvious that something unthinkable had happened.
Opponents shook the hand and patted the back of the man known more for being the owner of the Gurther Printing Company than for his golfing skills.
That changed as he won the Roanoke Valley Golf Hall Of Fame Seniors' division.
"Hey, I have been golfing for 22 years and this is my 15 minutes of fame," Beasley said. "It feels great to win. I played in 17 Hall of Fames and this is my first victory."
The 56-year-old turned the tables Friday, shooting a 69 at Water's Edge for a two-day total of 4-over-par 147. Dexter Wood was one shot back for second place and Charlie Turner finished third, two shots back.
Beasley seemed out of contention going into the final round. He was seven shots behind co-leaders Marvin Jones and Bob Young.
"After Thursday's first round, I wasn't even thinking about winning the tournament,'' Beasley said. ``I was too far behind. I thought that there was no way that I would come back."
But as Jones and Young struggled during the second day, Beasley played mistake-free golf. He finished with three birdies and no bogeys.
"I'll take this win no matter how it comes," he said. ``I don't care if I backed into it or what."
Another person that backed into a win was Lee Taylor.
In fact, the rising freshman at Patrick Henry High School was shocked with his Junior division title.
"Jacob [Jarrett] was playing good on Thursday. So I thought he would play good again," Taylor said. "And Brandon LaCroix, he's been playing good. I thought he was going to have a good round today. But it didn't turn out that way and I won. But if you would have told me that I would have won after Thursday's performance, I wouldn't have believed you."
Taylor came from four shots back to win with a 6-over 149. He mixed three birdies and three bogeys in the final round. Michael Jefferson of Water's Edge finished one shot behind. LaCroix , the favorite, finished two shots back in third place.
"I felt like I should have won, but there was a collaboration of things that went wrong." LaCroix said.
But while Taylor's individual performance was a shock, he and his Roanoke Country Club teammates won a second straight Junior team title as expected.
"Jacob and Lee are the best players in the state," RCC junior golfer Trey Clower said. "I have seen Jacob shoot 69s a bunch of times and Lee has shot 68 a few times. So I knew we were going to win."
RCC shot a combined 461, edging Countryside by 3 shots.
Meanwhile, Blue Hills' Seniors needed a tie-breaker to win their fourth consecutive team title.
Blue Hills and Hidden Valley were tied at 450 after 32 holes. Instead of a playoff, the scores of both teams' fourth-best players were drawn. J.D. Sessions' 157 was the clincher.
But don't let this close finish fool you.
"We are going to try to win it every year," said Blue Hills regular Don Foster.
LENGTH: Medium: 77 linesby CNB