July 1, 2009

LYNCHBURG, VA — On a sunny day just a couple miles southeast of Amherst, VA was a rumble of thunder. This was no ordinary thunder, but golf thunder when Chad Long carded 1 birdie and 5 pars Friday on the back nine to take a commanding lead of the Carl Spackler Open.

Chad Long entered his 7th straight tournament averaging 4.5 pars and 6.0 bogeys per round. He completed his practice round with 8 pars and zero triple-bogeys. "I am not someone who ever considers the possibility of manevering of the ball," said Long on Wednesday night. "It just seemed like the ball was going places it rarely does. That being straight."

Long opened the 2009 Carl Spackler Open Championship with an average round with 58 points. "It was good, but definitely nothing special. I think there were 5 pars and 6 bogeys. It seemed like everyone else was falling apart out there."

Long returned for "moving day". He teed off the front nine Friday and scored another 33 points before turning the corner.

Thunder struck the golf tournament after a double-bogey at the 10th hole. Chad birdied the 11th hole and began a steady march up the Leaderboard with pars at 13, 14, 15, 16, and 18. The back nine 5-over 41 was worth 44 points and first place in the 2009 Carl Spackler Open. The lead was never given up.

"I credit Tim Davis with keeping me grounded out there," said Long. "Tim and Bob Morris deserve the cuff links from my jacket."

Long returned on Saturday for the final round. He was playing in the final pairing. Chad opened with a great drive, but found the greenside bunker. Two bad trap shots and some bad putting gave me the triple-bogey.

He then picked up where he left off on Friday with pars at 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 9. The 6-over 42 was awarded with another impressive 38 points.

"There was a span between Friday and Saturday where my ability to put the ball in the hole was amazing. My irons were just fantastic. I think there was 11 pars and 1 birdie in a period of 17 holes. That is ridiculous for my capabilities.

Long finished the final round with a 15-over 87 and 65 points.

"My iron play was outstanding for the last 27 holes," said Long of his tournament. "Putting kept me in the game on the first 27 holes. I fell off a bit on the final 9 because Ron Saxe made me shotgun about 5 beers with him."

Long added, "For whatever reason, I never felt threatened by Kyle Marti.  He just didn't seem to have 'it'. I will tell you this, he is undoubtedly the best lag putter in the game. He even had great lag putts after Ron Saxe would bury a 20-footer."

The 54-hole tournament included 19 pars, 1 birdie, and most importantly 3 triple-bogeys or higher. "He basically scored every hole," says Jason Watson. "He played with consistency while most everyone else fell apart."

Chad Long won the 2009 Carl Spackler Open Championship, Golden Jacket, Golden Hat, Gold Medal, and Championship Trophy. He also took home a $300 credit to the 2010 Carl Spackler Open. He won the tournament by 9 points over rookie Brian Linley.