July 9, 2007

NEW ALBANY, OH — While unlikely midway leader Jason Ridgeway continues his chase for history, a host of likely challengers were closing in on him at the 7th Annual Virtual Tournament. Chief among them was Kyle Marti, who parred five times in route to 73 points on Saturday at New Albany Links. He finished up his remarkable day with a second round at Royal American in the blistering heat with 68 points.

"Pretty good rounds with no cheating this time," says Brian Long. "He played really well today in Columbus."

Marti poured in 13 bogeys along with 9 pars in his two-round Saturday onslaught. The two rounds on Saturday vaulted Kyle into a tie for 5th position in the Virtual Tournament. "I think it was just a matter of time," Marti said. "Hopefully, this will continue forward and the tournament will be mine."

In other related news, Brian Long shot 47-39 at Royal American on Saturday afternoon scoring 73 points. The stellar back nine has lots of people wondering what happened.

"I played one of my best 9 holes of my life," said Brian during a telephone interview. "I seriously brought Royal American to its knees."

The back nine included four pars, four bogeys, and one birdie at the 16th hole. "The quintuple bogey is the only thing from a 9-over 81, which is almost inconceivable with my pizza gut getting in the way of the club."

The great round balanced out the disappointing 55 point effort in the morning at New Albany Links. Brian holds 14th position in the season-long Virtual Tournament.

Speaking of disappointing, Jerry Long scored just 45 points at Iron Masters Country Club on the 4th of July. He scored only 42 points today. Mike Herron scored just 49 points at his home course in Glen Allen, VA, which was the opposite of fireworks. He did manage to resurrect his weekend with 68 points on Sunday. Tom Fowble returned to southern Michigan on July 5 and squirted out just 51 points at Blackberry Patch Golf Club. The three rounds have a lot of Spackler members concerned about the status of many golf games.

George Seidel continues to hold last position in the Virtual Tournament. Jason Ridgeway, Matt Davis, and Marty Zabonik continue to lead.