Noll triumphs

Published 9:55 pm Sunday, August 20, 2006

David Noll Jr. won his fifth straight Men’s Club Championship on Sunday at Dalton Golf and Country Club, turning in the low round for the second day in a row.

But with good competition from two golfers on the rise, he was definitely challenged for his crown.

Noll followed his opening-round 68 with a 69, finishing at 7-under-par 137, two shots ahead of John Powell (68-71 139) and three in front of Northwest Whitfield High School senior Hudson Keener (69-71 140).

“Hudson had the lead through 10 holes,” Noll said in a telephone interview. “He had a one-shot lead and I took the lead after the 10th hole. It was a good match today. They kept me on my toes. The tournament was up for grabs for a long time today.”

Pete Webster (71-71 143) was fourth, Hunter Keener (71-75 146) fifth and John Gurley (76-73 149) sixth.

Noll played soundly, not letting a lack of birdies trouble him during the tourney.

“I don’t know that I necessarily played that good this weekend, I kind of just stuck around, so to speak, made a lot of pars and was real patient,” he said. “I let my birdies fall in here and there.”

And the patience paid off, even after he struggled on the green early Sunday and didn’t make his first birdie “until late.”

“It was pretty stress-free as far as not having to fight and struggle for a lot of pars and good scores,” Noll said. “I didn’t put my healthy in a lot of trouble.”

Other flights results, with places and scores:

• Championship A: 1) Mike Nance 72-75 147, 2) Gary Cole 72-81 153, 3) Randy Durham 78-78 156, 4) Kyle Harmon 78-79 157, 5) Jordan Black 77-82 159, 6) Pete Ware 77-82 159.

n Championship B: 1) Todd Nelson 76-74 150, 2) James Coker 73-80 153, 3) Larry Reed 81-73 154, 4) Wendell Lance 77-78 155, 5) Jeff Manley 77-80 157, 6) Adam Phillips 82-77 159.

• Championship C: 1) Jason Reynolds 79-86 165, 2) Jeremy Stroud 79-82 161, 3) Bill Smith 84-77 161, 4) Jim Hannah 83-81 164, 5) Jim Gordon 79-86 165, 6) Reggie Sherrill 85-81 166.

n First: 1) Steven Townsend 74-80 154, 2) Harold Miles 76-78 154, 3) Don Smith 73-82 155, 4) Mike Brumlow 81-79 160, 5) Mike Souther 82-79 161, 6) Kenny Harmon 80-81 161.

• Second: 1) Greg Phillips 76-80 156, 2) Chris Bryant 77-85 162, 3) 3) Russ Neuman 81-84 165, 4) Wayne Russell 84-82 166, 5) Bryan Boyd 83-83 166, 6) Tiger Wagner 81-86 167.

• Third: 1) Jeff Houston 81-83 164, 2) Bud Herndon 82-84 166, 3) Mike Sarvis 85-83 168, 4) Dale Cruse 82-88 170, 5) Larry Pickel 83-88 171, 6) Todd P. Nelson 84-88 172.

• Fourth: 1) Randy Smith 87-87 174, 2) Bruce Miller 83-91 174, 3) Buddy Barrett 90-88 178, 4) Chris Pickel 95-84 179, 5) Reid Childress 82-97 179, 6) John Davis 88-94 182.

n Fifth: 1) Carl Wright 89-83 172, 2) Eric Manahan 90-91 181,3) Jerry Kyer 88-93 181, 4) Jack Wallace 91-96 187, 5) Marv Lewis 91-98 189, 6) Tom Berry 93-96 189.