September 23, 2009

WARREN, PA — That old familiar feeling came back this week, like the breeze that blew through New Orleans back in 2005. John Sabat is on the move. Only the rain never fell during his play, and John has not yet found the lead.

After electrifying the crowd with a 4-over 39 at Jackson Valley, Sabat added a 5-over 41 to post his best scorecard of the year. The 72-point round moved Sabat up the lengthy leaderboard into 30th position with 60.3 points per round.

"If you feel you had an opportunity to win and you did not seize that opportunity, then it's disappointing," said Sabat. "I owe myself a lot of credit. Staying in control has enabled my game to remain consistent throughout an entire round."

Sabat opened the round with a double-bogey at the 1st hole and bogey at the 2nd. He settled in with 6 pars over the final 7 front nine holes.

"It just clicked," said Sabat of the turnaround. John birdied the 10th hole before parring the 11th and 12th. "Things came unraveled at the 13th and never got things going again. The biggest disappointment of the day was the embarrasing double-bogey at the 14th hole."

Joe Muscaro was quick to comment. "That’s the best I’ve seen him play since the late 70’s," said Muscaro. "He never golf’s like that when we play in the two man scramble league together. I’m pretty sure he’s carrying a couple of illegal clubs and a dozen Condors in his bag as well. I don’t sound bitter, do I?"

The 2009 Virtual Tournament is led by Chad Long of Galena, OH. Jason Ridgeway has surfaced with 70.6 points per round. Trent Cooper, a hacker, continues to sit in last place with 44.0 points per round.