Isenhour passes $1 million in tour winnings

By STEVE WILLIAMS

When Salisbury native Tripp Isenhour collected a $103,500 first-place check for winning a Nationwide Tour event May 4, it put him over the $1 million mark in career earnings.

The victory in the The BMW Charity Pro-Am at The Cliffs near Greenville, S.C., also enabled him to move from No. 63 on the money list to No. 3. He followed up with a tie for third in the next event (VB Open) and won another $26,100. He stood No. 2 with $142,758 on the year going into the SAS Classic in Raleigh May 22.

"It's nice to know I've made a million dollars now," Isenhour told PGA Tour.com. "But it is gone. It is all in my wife's closet."

Isenhour, who spent 2002 on the PGA Tour but failed to retain his card despite winning $319,210, is now well on his way back to the big time.

"To win out here lets me know I can win on the PGA Tour," said Isenhour. "I think the Nationwide Tour is the second best in the world, and this is one of the biggest tournaments on Tour. So needless to say this is huge."

Isenhour posted rounds of 64-70-66-69 for an 18-under-par tally of 269, two better than Kyle Thompson.

"I was playing solid, so I didn't get caught up in what others were doing," said Isenhour, who finished his final round without a bogey. "I guess you could say I cruised to victory."

It was his second victory on the Nationwide Tour. He won the 2000 Buy.com Mississippi Gulf Coast Open.

Wasted weekends

Two other area professionals put themselves in position for their best finishes of the year on May 9, but played poorly on the weekend.

Marcy Hart of High Point followed an opening round 70 by firing a second-round six-under-par 66 in the LPGA Asahi Ryokuken International in North Augusta, S.C. to rise to the top five on the leaderboard. But a 75-78 weekend, including a disastrous triple bogey on Sunday’s 17th hole, dropped her to a tie for 43rd.

Still, the $5,525 check was her best in a couple of years and it pushed her cash count for the year to $14,620.

On the same day Hart shot 66, Greensboro native Joe Inman grabbed the first round lead in the Champions Tour’s Kinko’s Classic of Austin with a 65. A 74-79 weekend left him in a tie for 35th and a $9,040 payday.

Inman followed with his best finish of the year the next week, a tie for 30th at the Bayer Advantage, and won $11,406.

U.S. Open Qualifying

Hart made it through the local phase of qualifying for the U.S. Women’s Open by shooting a 73 at Woodside Plantation in Aiken, S.C. May 12.

Also advancing past the first stage were Heather Angell of Winston-Salem, who shot 75 in Atlanta May 14; and Nicolle Flood of Pinehurst, who shot 77 at Portland, Ore. May 13.

Sectional qualifiers for the Women’s Open are set for second and third weeks in June, including one at Charlotte Country Club June 10.

The U.S. Women’s Open is set for Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in North Plains, Ore. July 3-6.

Qualifying is also under way for the Men’s U.S. Open, set June 12-15 at Olympia Fields, Ill.

Korky Kemp of Greensboro made it through a local test at TPC at Piper Glen is Charlotte May 13 with a 69.

Kemp, who has played in a few events on the NGA Hooters Tour this year, now moves on to a sectional round in early June.

In all, 7,820 entries were accepted by the USGA for this year’s Open. Of that number, some 7,000-plus golfers had to enter local qualifying, with some 750 players advancing to sectionals. Only 20 to 25 will survive to play in the tournament.

Long Drivers

Qualifying for the 2003 REMAX Long Drive championship is under way with local qualifying and several Triad-area hitters have reserved their spots in the district events.

In a qualifer at Carver’s Fall’s Range in Fayetteville May 17, Danville’s Keith Hardy powered a drive 374 yards, 20 inches to lead the way.

Pete Denny, a member of the LDA Tour, hit a 364-yard, 21-inch drive and narrowly got past his younger brother, Josh Denny, who blasted one 364 yards, 14 inches.

Josh Denny actually hit a 379-yard drive in the grid but it was disqualified because a fellow competitor protested that he wasn’t wearing a collared shirt.

In women’s driving, Kris Howard of Pittsburgh marked one off at 277 yards, 34 inches to move on.

The District event at Carver’s Falls is set for Labor Day weekend.