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Greg Newport wins PPA Eastern Open
28 Jun 2009 at 09:20 | Published by: JJM | Views: 8035 | News search
Greg Newport won PPA Eastern Open in Richmond, Virginia, after a tied score and play-off against Jay Klapper. Newport and Klapper played average score 25.00 in 8 rounds. Third place in the competition was tied between Jeff Carr, Jerry Pinotti and Charlie Greenwalt with average 25.25.
Eastern Open was the second competition in PPA National Tour 2009 season, which includes also Western, Southern and Northern Open tournaments. Greg Ward leads the tour with 185 ranking points (3rd at Western Open, 6th at Eastern Open), Andy Coradini is second with 184 ranking points (2nd at Western Open, 7th at Eastern Open), and Charlie Greenwalt is third with 176 ranking points (10th at Western Open, 3rd at Eastern Open).
The main event of PPA season 2009 will be the 50th PPA National Championships on 14-19 September in Kissimmee, Florida — marking half a century of high-profile competition minigolf in United States. In its golden age a decade or two ago, PPA National Championships had the biggest money prizes (up to 50,000 USD to the winner) and biggest television audiences (on ESPN channel) in minigolf history. » results of PPA Eastern Open » PPA National Tour statistics after Eastern Open » photo gallery of the Putt-Putt course #3 in Richmond, Virginia
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Comments (9)
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Putts4Bux (Dennis Biesma) |
07 Jul 2009 at 07:37 | I guess we can all agree to disagree on this subject. Nothing wrong with that. It's kind of enjoyable to discuss/argue about this. Kind of like whether the designated hitter should be allowed in baseball discussion here in the States. Two very opposite views on that subject.
Anyway, let me give you an example of my arguement. Newport and I tied in a tournament at 71. This is the exact same course that he won the Eastern Open on. I believe we matched cards for the first three holes, then I missed the next three (which are good ace holes), and he is three strokes up on me after 6 holes. In either of the other systems, Newport wins. But this is an 18 hole playoff. I make the next one after he misses. Now I'm two down. We match cards for #s 8 & 9, each making 8 and missing 9. At holes 10-12, I make them while Newport misses each one. All of a sudden, I'm one stroke up on him. I miss #13 and he makes it. We're back to even. I ace out, and he misses 3 of them. I win the playoff by 3 strokes.
Which is more exciting, me losing on hole 4 in a sudden-death or 3-hole playoff gone to sudden-death, or me coming back from a three stroke deficit after six, and winning by three strokes? I'll lay odds that at least 90% of American players would favor the 18-hole playoff. I'm not saying that's right or wrong, it's just our mindset.
And timewise, an 18-hole playoff only adds about 30 minutes to the total time taken to play the tournament, hardly a concern for most players or to a lesser extent the course management. Players would still be out practicing after the tournament if customers were out there playing too. |
Blondie (Astra Miglane Stanwyck) |
05 Jul 2009 at 15:54 | Actually I liked USPMGA version- start with three hole playoff, if nobody wins, sudden death. |
JJM (John Mittler) |
05 Jul 2009 at 10:32 | Most people probably agree that a quick sudden death play-off is a nicer way to decide a tied score than playing a full extra round of 18 holes. (For the players, for the audience, for tournament organizers hoping to end the competition in time, also when rain breaks delay the schedule.) The players have already proven that they are equally good.
I think that the tradition of giving special meaning to "medal positions" (top 3) is good for sport, it spreads the joy of success to 3 people or team (and their fans) instead of only 1 person or team. Golf is an oddity in sport world, as it gives special meaning to the winner only, not top 3 as in most sports. |
Putts4Bux (Dennis Biesma) |
03 Jul 2009 at 02:04 | I can't say I've ever seen the USPMGA rulebook. Can't find it online anyway.
I believe I was at that same tournament in 2007, and the sudden-death playoffs were not for 1st place. In the PPA, we have an 18-hole playoff when there's a tie for 1st place, or for a qualification spot (for a later tournament). Other than that, like if there's a trophy for 2nd place, the playoff is sudden-death.
Again, in the PPA, there's no playoff for any position other than 1st. Any monies or points earned are added and divided so all players in that tie receive the same money and points.
There's also no distinction made as to how the player gets to a certain score. That is, if Player 1 shoots 25-25-25 for a 75, it is treated the same as Player 2 shooting 24-25-26 or Player 3 shooting 22-26-27. It doesn't matter how they got there, they got there. I think the way ya'll and the USPMGA do it, penalizes a person who gets "hot" one round, and isn't quite as consistant as the other putter who plods along at a 25-25-25. |
JJM (John Mittler) |
29 Jun 2009 at 22:10 | I was at 2007 US Open, there were some play-offs between more than two players in the same tied score, but it was sudden death anyway. Strangely enough, USPMGA rulebook does not even mention what to do in case of tied scores, so the tournament leader has free hands to act as he sees best. |
Putts4Bux (Dennis Biesma) |
29 Jun 2009 at 22:04 | I also believe that the USPMGA may allow for 18-hole playoffs, or at least more than sudden-death playoffs. I seem to remember a multiple hole playoff in 2006 or 2007 at the Masters or US Open. |
Putts4Bux (Dennis Biesma) |
29 Jun 2009 at 22:00 | I agree with Smitty, that the scors were higher than expected because of the wind, but also the heat and humidity played a role in the higher scores too. As for JJM's comment (criticism?) about the playoff, losing in sudden-death is kind of like losing a world championship on penalty kicks. It sucks. I would hate to lose (or even win) becasue a shot on a hole of sudden death either slid the rail, or kicked off the rail extra due to no fault of that person taking the shot. An 18-hole playoff evens both bad and good breaks out for the players.
In golf, the US Open has an 18-hole playoff and the British Open has a 3-hole or a 4-hole playoff. Both of these are better than a sudden-death playoff. Of course, maybe on a course that plays easy enough for the leaders to average 18.0 or 19.0, maybe a sudden death playoff is better, but not where the average score of the leaders is 24.0 or 25.0. There's just too much variation for a sudden-death playoff to be reasonable. |
JJM (John Mittler) |
29 Jun 2009 at 15:00 | All other minigolf federations except PPA, including USPMGA, play all play-offs as sudden death. Quick and painless coup de grace. |
Smitty (Jeffrey Smith) |
29 Jun 2009 at 14:10 | The wind kept the scores a little higher than expected. Greg Newport started the playoff with eight straight aces to effectively cement the victory... The next event for the PPA National Tour is the Southern Open. It will be held July 18th and 19th on the Blue course in Martinez, Georgia, USA. | Add comment | To add comments, you need to log in.
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Prepare to donate minigolf equipment to Nigerian players
27 Jun 2009 at 21:13 | views: 8260 | Comments: 2
Nigerian minigolf players have made travel reservations and visa applications for Odense World Championships 2009. If all goes well, and the players will receive visas to Denmark, we will publish at minigolfnews.com an appeal to collect second-hand minigolf ...
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Minigolf evening for handicapped children in Leonding
27 Jun 2009 at 10:02 | views: 8120 | Comments: 0
14 handicapped children, most of them in wheelchair, were invited to test their minigolf skills at the eternite course of BGV Leonding, Austria, on 17 May 2009. With friends and family members included, the number of guests was some 50 people.
Many of the ...
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A black weekend at Nizegorod eternite course
26 Jun 2009 at 10:30 | views: 7532 | Comments: 1
Russian minigolfers had a black weekend on 13-14 June 2009 at Green City eternite course in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast.
Sergei Kovilyaev won the tournament with average 31.33, after a tied score and sudden death play-off against Sergei Chernitsyn. Konstantin ...
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Minigolf presented at a sports fair in Ried, Austria
25 Jun 2009 at 09:41 | views: 6848 | Comments: 1
OÖBGSV, a regional minigolf federation in Austria, presented minigolf to the general public at a sports fair in Ried, Austria. Some 20 volunteers from minigolf clubs helped to organize the fair department, which was furnished with a competition standard felt ...
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