Roanoke's Allara seeks to add senior title to Hall of Fame championship

SAM OWENS | The Roanoke Times

Jack Allara, shown during last week's Roanoke Valley Match Play Championship, leads the Roanoke Valley Hall of Fame senior championhip by a stroke going into Tuesday's final round.

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Roanoke Valley Hall of Fame
Senior Championships

DALEVILLE -- Monday's first-round scores from the 28th Roanoke Valley Senior Championship held at the 6,336-yard Ashley Plantation Golf Club (par: 37-36--73):

Senior division (55 and over)

Jack Allara (HV) 37-33--70
Tim Chocklett (HH) 36-35--71
Bill Nunnenkamp (OM) 38-34--72
Roger Young (Blk) 38-34--72
Van Renick (OM) 38-35--73
David Vest (AP) 38-36--74
Jack Tuttle (R) 37-37--74
Jeff Lynch (R) 39-36--75
Chips Wooddy (R) 37-38--75
Evans Deane 40-36--76
Jack Gregory (R) 40-36--76
Len Mosser (HV) 38-38--76
Mark Funderburke (OM) 40-36--76
Rick Crotts (HR) 42-34--76
Steve Smith (BH) 38-38--76
John Hubbard (HR) 41-36--77
Chuck Watson (BH) 39-38--77
Dave Brown (HR) 40-37--77
Tony Hart (B) 37-41--78
Danny Turner (ML) 40-38--78
Larry Smith (AP) 40-38--78
Mike McGinty (Blk) 41-37--78
Alan Brenner (B) 41-38--79
Jack Trussell (HV) 43-36--79
Roger Holnback (R) 41-38--79
Bob Becker (ML) 40-40--80
Gary Stoneman (ML) 40-40--80
Charlie Snyder (B) 42-29--81
Hal Clary (ML) 40-41--81
L.B. Bailey (HR) 42-39--81
Dale Howe (Blk) 41-41--82
Danny Marshall (Blk) 42-40--82
Ron Davidson (B) 42-40--82
Don McKibben (AP) 40-43--83
Rodney Naff (BH) 44-40--84
John Traylor (B) 45-40--85
Woody Deans (HR) 41-44--85
Dick Foster (AP) 47-39--86
Jimmy Gibson (AP) 45-42--87
Mike Fielder (BH) 49-38--87
Bob Birch (HV) 47-41--88
Larry Kessinger (Blk) 48-43--91
Mark Thompson (OM) 49-52--101
John Williams (HV) DNS
Ken Stump (BH) DNS

Team scores
1, Ole Monterey (OM), 221; 2, Roanoke Country Club (R), 224; 3, Hidden Valley (HV), 225; 4, Hanging Rock (HR), 230; 5, Blacksburg Country Club (Blk), 232; 6, Ashley Plantation (AP), 233; 7, Blue Hills (BH), 237; 8, (tie), Botetourt Golf & Swim Club (B) and Mariners Landing (ML), 238.

Super Senior (65 and over)

Don Assaid (AP) 34-37--71
Fred Widdowson (HR) 38-34--72
B.H. Rakestraw (Blk) 39-34--73
Marvin Taylor (R) 36-38--74
Fred Duncan (HR) 41-33--74
Tommy Holley (OM) 38-37--75
Chip Fitch (HV) 38-37--75
Whitey Thurman (OM) 38-36--75
Crady Adams (BH) 37-39--76
Don Chappell (B) 41-35--76
Ned Baber (R) 38-39--77
Dale Moore (HR) 37-40--77
Skip Perry (BH) 37-40--77
Ed Weathers (Blk) 39-38--77
Dan Mitchell (BH) 39-38--77
Bill Beasley (HV) 39-38--77
Bill Proffitt (HV) 39-39--78
Roger Barker (B) 41-37--78
Jeff Mackey (HH) 42-36--78
Dickie Morgan (HV) 41-37--78
Roger Brizendine (Blk) 40-38--78
Al Looney (BH) 40-39--79
Mac McLelland (Blk) 41-38--79
Gib Wingfield (AP) 42-27--79
Jerry Green (AP) 41-39--80
Larry Armentrout (OM) 42-28--80
Bill Shrader (R) 42-39--81
Garland Berry (HH) 42-40--82
Gerry McDermott (HH) 42-40--82
Bob Rogers (R) 43-40--83
Dick Nelson (HR) 43-39--82
Fred Walters (AP) 43-42--85
Ralph McCampbell (B) 44-41--85
Jim Ketron (B) 46-40--86

Team scores
1, Hanging Rock (HR), 146; 2, (tie), Ole Monterey (OM), Blacksburg Country Club (Blk) and Ashley Plantation (AP), 150; 5, Roanoke Country Club (R), 151; 6, Hidden Valley (HV), 152; 7, Blue Hills (BH), 153; 8, Botetourt Golf & Swim Club (B), 154; 9, Hunting Hills (HH), 160.

Randy King | 981-3126

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

DALEVILLE - Move over, Ned Baber.

That's what the good doctor, Jack Allara, hopes to do in today's final round of the 28th Roanoke Valley Hall of Fame senior championship.

Allara, a longtime Roanoke dentist, will be looking for a crown to join Baber as the only golfer ever to win both the HOF's men's and senior titles in today's final round at Roanoke Country Club.

Baber, the organization's longtime executive director, won the men's title in 1988 and captured senior titles in 1994 and 2004. Allara, who won the men's crown in 2001, will try to make it a twosome on Baber's longtime home course, Roanoke Country Club.

When asked why he hasn't the won the HOF senior yet, the always wisecracking Allara offered a gem: "I haven't played in it, that's why!"

Continuing his comedy act, Allara quipped: "I haven't played in this because I had to work. Last year I was playing in the U.S. Senior Open and I decided to skip this, how's that?"

Allara, 59, put himself in position to turn the trick by making seven birdies to fuel a 3-under-par 70 in Monday's first round at Ashley Plantation. The West Virginia native will take a one-shot lead on Vinton's Tim Chocklett in today's final 18. Defending champion and two-time winner Bill Nunnenkamp of Blue Ridge and Blacksburg's Roger Young are tied for third, two shots back.

Meanwhile, there's another a big story brewing. Ole Monterey, the only original HOF member club never to win a team title of any kind. will have its long-awaited shot as it will take a three-shot lead into the final round on RCC, a winner of 40 team crowns covering men's, women's, junior, senior and super senior division since the competition began with only a men's event in 1974.

"I'm going to have my guys gassed up and ready to go [today]. This is our best shot to pull this off," said Kelly Crovo, the head professional of the northeast Roanoke club.

Paced by Nunnenkamp, relative newcomer Van Renick (73), and 76s posted by Mark Funderburke and Evans Deane (only three scores count out of each club's five-man team), Ole Monterey posted a 2-over team score of 221 to surge to the top of the leaderboard.

Shoot, the distinct possibility of an Ole Monterey sweep today is not entirely out of the question. Carried by 75s by Tommy Holley and Whitey Thurman, Crovo's crowd is in a three-way tie for second, four shots behind leading Hanging Rock in the super seniors team chase.

Ashley Plantation's Don Assaid took care of business on his home course, hitting 15 greens in regulation and bagging five birdies in a 71 that gave him a one-shot lead on 2009 winner Fred Widdowson. Blacksburg's B.H. Rakestraw, the 2010 champion, sits two shots back in third.

Assaid's round easily could have been much lower. The recent retiree said he lipped out 10 other birdie putts during the round.

"I could have shot 64, 65, seriously,'' he said. "I've been playing really good lately, I took a little tip from Nick Faldo watching the TV telecast a few weeks and I've shot several sub-par rounds since,'' Assaid said. "I putted lights out. All five one-putts were birdies. Every putt I hit could have gone in."

Monday, August 12, 2013