Two in a Row for Schmidt
Southeast Open 9-Ball Tour / Dothan, AL
by Lea Andrews
John “Mr. 403” Schmidt spent a little time over the weekend of February 20-21 to show that the South still belongs to him. As proof, he took down Shawn “Big Bubba” Putnam twice at the $1,000-added Southeast Open 9-Ball Tour, which drew 42 players to Pockets Billiards in Dothan, AL.
Schmidt breezed past Billy “Cecil” Paye 9-3 to meet up with Putnam for the first time in the hot seat match. Putnam, who’d just sent Stoney Stone west 9-6, found himself on the wrong end of another 9-6 match, and he moved over to the semifinals to vie for his rematch.
On the left side of the bracket, Scotty Townsend was plowing a steady path through the field after taking an early loss to Putnam. Ousting WPBA pro Tracie Hines 9-2, he moved on to Denny Singletary, who’d advanced 9-5 over Eugene Browning. Meanwhile, JR Rossman won 9-5 over Clay Medlock to meet up with Tracy Guernsey, who’d had his own 9-5 victory over Mark Shimmelman. In the hill-hill match that ensued, Rossman marked up the final game to face Stone and another hill-hill match. This time, though, it was his opponent who took the final rack, and Rossman landed in fifth while Stone advanced to the quarterfinals against Townsend, who’d edged out Paye 9-8. Both Stone and Townsend were looking for the rematch against Putnam in the semifinals, but Townsend earned it with a strong 9-6 victory. The rematch was the same story as the original, though, and Townsend finished in third 9-7, sending Putnam on to his own rematch with Schmidt.
The single race-to-11 final match erased Putnam’s earlier loss, and though he and Schmidt stayed tight through the first part of the set, Schmidt started to pull away after they tied up at five apiece. Hardly allowing Putnam any chances at the table, Schmidt dominated the rest of the match to earn his second consecutive Southeast Open win 11-5.
Other winners over the weekend were Vicky Rybik, who earned $50 as highest-finishing amateur lady; Joe Davis, who took home $50 as highest-finishing senior; and Scotty Townsend’s son, Mike, who pocketed $25 as highest-finishing junior.
Schmidt spent a little time over the weekend of February 20-21 to show that the South still belongs to him.
Results:
1st John Schmidt $760
2nd Shawn Putnam $500
3rd Scotty Townsend $400
4th Stoney Stone $300
5th JR Rossman $150
Billy Paye
7th Tracy Guernsey $75
Denny Singletary
9th Clay Medlock $50
Mark Shimmelman
Eugene Browning
Tracie Hines