March 10, 2002

VIRGINIA BEACH, VA — 2001 Tournament Honoree, Kevin Long, Jr. (i.e. Hevy Jo) shot a 19-over 91, including what he called two "miracle birdies" on the eighth and twelfth, to open the 2002 On Tour Championship.  His impressive 34 points has not only shown that Hevy is ready for a strong 2002, but also makes a statement to the field that they better be ready to play golf.

Brian Long (i.e. Ruthie), last year's runner up for the 2001 Spring Open shot a 38-over 110.  "I really do not think Brian was going to score well today after putting out on #2", said Hevy.  "He just is not very good and when he opened with double bogey and then an eleven on #2, it really set the tone for the entire day."

Ruthie did provide some excuse for this play, but vowed he would return with fire.  "A 110 is not bad when you remove an eleven on #2.  These southern courses just do not like me.  I did score 27 points, which is not very good, but not necessarily horrible.  I will be back."

Hevy Jo did play rather well on Saturday until the end.  "A good start yesterday helped my momentum," Hevy said. "If I could just keep focused, I felt my zone would have continued through eighteen."  Hevy shot 5-over par on the last three holes to shoot a 45 on the back nine.

"The eighth hole is when I felt myself going into a zone," said Hevy, using a new set of golf balls for the event. "I made a miracle birdie on that Par 5.  My tee shot was in the fairway, my second shot was in the rough but I hit my sand wedge within 3 feet and made the putt for birdie."  Hevy proceeded to play an impressive 1-over par until Hole 16.  "There was no doubt that I was in a zone and that really felt good."

Four players have played so far in the On Tour Championship including Don Creighton during a trip to Arizona and Chris Lashley, who lives in North Carolina.  "We really expect a lot of golf this summer from a very large field", said CEO Jamie Myers.  "Our Captains Club has revamped the online services to position ourselves for growth."  The club expects 25% growth in 2002 considering the early start and the marketing plan.  The field entered 412 rounds of golf in 2001 and expects over 500 rounds in 2002.