August 18, 2010

RUSSELL, PA — From the top of every grandstand to the grass down below, fans desperate for a view at Blueberry Hill saluted Mike Hawley with throaty cheers and messages written on signs.

He gave the gallery what it wanted. He gave the Virtual Tournament what it needed.

Hawley beat the entire field this week for the first time in his career — a tournament-best 72 points — to put some life into a hot week and give himself another chance to finally win the 2011 Virtual Tournament.

"I'm in a good spot," said Hawley, who grabbed fourth position over the weekend. "I don't look usually look at the leaderboard, but realized this weekend my game is topping out."

Hawley's latest round at Blueberry Hill resulted in a 13-over 85. The 2-year member of the Carl Spackler Open carded 6 pars and a single birdie at the 15th hole.

"He was one hole from a really impressive round," says senior member Harold Anderson. "He is now in the thick of things with about a month of good golf weather ahead of him."

Hawley needs to score 158 points in his next two rounds to grab first position in the season-long golf tournament.

There are currently 51 participants on the 2010 Virtual Tournament Leaderboard with a little over four months left in the annual online golf tournament. The event is expected to experience scorecard volume for 6 more weeks with warmer weather in the northeast coming to a close shortly after.