April 21, 2008

ALTOONA, PA — Senior member Shawn Long shot a 35-over 107 on Saturday at Sinking Valley Country Club. The 28-year-old Long, a winner of the 2006 Carl Spackler Open Championship, fired 73 points at the Edmund Ault designed course located just north of Altoona, PA.

"I hit some good short irons very early," said Long his good start. "I pretty much tore up the first 5 holes. It led to two pars and two bogeys and more importantly 23 points. I drove the ball well on the front nine, which is what you have to do out here."

Long added, "You've got to play the ball from the rough because of the fairways. You can get some good lies in the fairways, but they are cut too short for my golf game. I like the fluff provided by longer grass in the rough."

Long did manage to rack up most of his excess strokes on Holes 11 and 13. His scorecard included a quintuple bogey at the 11th and a quadruple bogey at the 13th resulting in zero points and 9-over par. Sinking Valley was worth 17 bonus points, which also contributed to the high number of points.

"Shawn has not lost his Championship form since winning the Golden Jacket in Raleigh," said Chad Long. "He is one of those guys that never plays and continues to chug along. That kind of consistency defines strength instead of perceiving strength."

Shawn Long upgraded his equipment over the weekend. He upgraded from 22-year old Dunlop woods and irons to his father's Taylor Made driver and irons.

Long finished his round with 2 pars, 5 bogeys, and 6 double bogeys.

In related news, Marc Long fired 71 points to open his golf season at Sinking Valley. Marc shot a 53-over 125. The 125 strokes included a three septuple bogeys, one quintuple bogey, and one quadruple bogey. He scored 28 points with his par and four bogeys.

In other news, Andy Hanks has grabbed first place on the 2008 Virtual Tournament Leaderboard with 63.3 points per round. Bill Bateson has taken 2nd position with 61.7 points per round.

There are currently 14 participants on the Leaderboard with April coming to a close in about a week. The season-long tournament is expected to see a considerable increase in scorecard volume starting in two weeks when the northeast temperatures rise and trees begin to bloom.