Bill Davis July Fourth tourney moves into quarterfinal round
By By Marty Stamper / EMG sports assistant
July 4, 2004
The number of teams left in the running for the 2004 Bill Davis Fourth of July Tournament championship narrowed to eight with Saturday's play at sun-soaked Northwood Country Club.
Most of Saturday's championship flight matches were tight.
Doyle Bryan and Judge Little took a 1-up win over the team of J.T. Williamson and Austin Bowen.
"Austin and J.T. are a good young team," Little said. "We didn't play real good on the front. They played better than we did on the front.
"They made the turn 1-up on us. We both birdied 12 to get back even and Austin made a great birdie on 13 to get them back 1-up.
"The turning point was probably 14. We made a 5-footer for birdie and J.T. missed about a 2-footer. We got it back even there and I made a birdie on 17 to win 1-up.
"It was a good, fun match on the backside. Both teams played a lot better.
"Austin Bowen has got an unbelievable swing. He's going to be a really good player."
Bryan and Little, the 2002 champions, face Bo Welch and Joe Rush Jr. in today's quarterfinals. Welch and Rush took a 2 and 1 nip-and-tuck win over Reid Kennedy and Jon Johnson. That match was even through 11 holes before Welch and Rush went 1-up on the 12th hole and 2-up on the 16th hole.
Joel Nelson and Jay Bowen, the 2000 champions, rallied from three holes down to take a 2 and 1 win over Alan Hart and Paul Entrekin.
"Jay played good all day long," Nelson said. "I was able to make a few birdies there at the end. Jay was the mainstay today. He kept us in there."
Nelson and Bowen will face Earl Aycock Jr. and Steve Stewart in today's quarterfinals. Aycock and Stewart defeated David Sinclair and Wayne Whitley, 3 and 2, Saturday.
Another close match saw Eddie Brown and Chuck Gordon fend off Jack Combest and Steve Nelson, 2-up. Brown and Gordon's next challenge is the tandem of Winston Powell and John Rea, who defeated Robert Sanford and Tony Polizzi on Saturday.
Kelly Swain and Scott Morgan, the 2001 co-champions, meet Colton Tisdale and Billy McWilliams in today's quarterfinals after beating David Ray and Alex Weddington, 3 and 2, on Saturday.
"We had a real good match," Morgan said. "We birdied the first two holes (7 and 8) and they birdied 9 and 10. We both birdied 12 and they birdied 14 to go 1-up.
"We birdied 15 to get back even. After we both birdied 16, we birdied 18, 1, and 3 and tied four to win it. We were 8-under and they were 5-under. It was a real good match."
Morgan and Swain played Tisdale and Joey Mabry nine extra holes in the 2001 tournament before darkness eventually ended play and left the teams as co-champions.
"That was an experience," Morgan recalled. "We couldn't see anymore."
Tisdale and McWilliams routed Bo Blackledge and Derrick Boler, 7 and 6, on Saturday.
The championship flight, along with the first and second flights, tees off at 8:30 a.m. this morning. The third, fourth, and fifth flights tee off at 1 p.m.
