November 9, 2006

DUBLIN, OH — The back nine struggles continue for Matt Pritchard of Ohio. With expensive consultants and piles of books and magazines, Pritchard cannot resolve the back nine debacles that placed the "Crapper Award" over his fireplace.

The latest back nine scare came on Halloween that included 3 double bogeys and 1 triple bogey. The previous back nine disappointment on October 8 mounted both a double and triple bogey along with zero pars. Both rounds are adding to a debacle of epic standards.

"This is quite ridiculous," says member Jeff Miller. "Matt is a physical athlete with the mental focus of a 2-year old. You can point anyone in the right direction, but you cannot force their head in the game."

Pritchard opened the 2006 Major Championship last June with a practice round. He disappointed everyone with one par on an easy back nine.

Matt quickly opened the actual tournament with another dismal 21 points and 13-over par back nine including only one par. He returned for Round 2 where the wheels came off after nine holes. The strokes piled up again as he scored a tournament high 8 points on the back nine. The final round arrived with continued crappy swings and crappy results with another tournament high 8 points on the back nine.

Pritchard finished tied for 57th position with a field of 64 players.

"It is quite frustrating to see my problems continue in the spotlight of a major championship website," said Pritchard. "I have fired by sports psycologist after just 3 months of work. I have higher standards for myself and have just 200 days to fix my personal back nine debacles."

Pritchard is most likely to take off the remainder of the season with winter setting into Ohio. Although nobody can or will forget the constant problems late in each round, it makes many members wonder if a top finish was indeed a missed opportunity.

Matt Pritchard holds 17th position in the season-long 2006 Virtual Tournament.