Former Deacon Barry Fabyan Wins Cardinal Amateur

Aug. 15, 2005

The Greensboro News-Record

GREENSBORO -- Barry Fabyan enjoyed an entire round of golf for the first time this year Friday, shooting a 2-under-par 68 in the first round of the Cardinal Amateur.

He followed that with a near record-breaking round of 63 on Saturday and brought home the trophy with a mere 71 on Sunday.

Not bad for a guy who had completely stopped playing the game four years ago.

"They inspired me to regain my amateur status," said Fabyan, the 1987 Cardinal Am champ who turned pro after college. "I hadn't played in seven years. I received an invitation to the 25th anniversary dinner. So I FedExed my application to the U.S. Golf Association in order to come back and play in this tournament. It was the right time and the right place."

After finishing in the top 20 the previous three years, Fabyan said he almost didn't play this year because of his lack of competition. He said the only other tournament he had played in was a scramble in March with the company he works for in Charlotte.

"I didn't know if I should come up to this event," Fabyan said.

Fabyan said the key to his victory was the 7-under 63 he posted Saturday -- one shot off the tournament record. The main reason he was able to shoot that low was his putting, something he said was more mental than anything.

"I had been working to visualize good things happening," Fabyan said. "I stopped trying so hard to make them and just started seeing them going in the hole."

After taking the lead going into the final round, Fabyan said his plan was to be cautiously aggressive. If he saw an opportunity to go for a shot he would, but otherwise he would play it safe.

It paid off.

"I didn't have my best game today so I just didn't want to force anything," Fabyan said. "I was just focused on making par. I was very intent on making the field beat me. When I didn't see a good opportunity, I would play it safe."

While Fabyan shot par over the last four holes, runner-up Ryan Blaum, bogeyed two holes to drop two shots back and finish as the runner-up for the third year in a row.

"I didn't play well at all this year," said Blaum. "My goal was to finish at 10-under, but I made a couple of bad bogeys. I missed a 4-footer on No. 9 for a birdie and I got real frustrated. The heat has caused the greens to be thinned out and made them kind of bumpy."

Blaum, the ACC player of the year from Duke, said he was using the Cardinal Amateur as a tune up for the U.S. Amateur to be played at the Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa. He said there are a lot of similarities in the courses and he expects his experience in Greensboro to pay off in a couple of weeks.

"They have similar distances," Blaum said of the two courses. "They put a premium on putting the ball in the fairway."

One of the best finishes by a local player was Drew Younts, a senior at Northwest Guilford. Younts fiinished in a tie for 15th in only his second year in the tournament.

"I had a little bit of advantage because this is where we (Northwest Guilford's golf team) play," Younts said. "Last year I let a few bad shots get to me. I stayed patient today and didn't bogey a single hole."

It was the 28th year for the Cardinal Amateur, which not only promotes the game of golf but raises money for the Thomas G. O'Briant Scholarship, which provides for four years of college for a student from the Guilford County School System.

2005 Cardinal Amateur Final Scores

Place	Name	City	Final Scores
1	Fabyan, Barry	Charlotte, NC	68-63-71 202
2	Blaum, Ryan	Coral Gables, FL	68-67-69 204
3	Johnson, Dustin	Myrtle Beach, SC	65-69-71 205
4	Barbosa, Michael	St. Petersburg, FL	68-74-65 207
5	Gandranata, George	Indonesia	73-69-66 208
5	Wilcox, Chad	Peoria, AZ	66-71-71 208
5	Westveer, Brian	Charlotte, NC	68-71-69 208
5	Byrd, Zack	Calabash, NC	73-70-65 208
9	Wilson, Alex	Coral Gables, FL	71-67-71 209
9	Finster, John	Wake Forest, NC	73-70-66 209
11	Goodes, Mike	Reidsville, NC	69-70-71 210
11	Grodzinsky, Jake	Cornville, AZ	67-71-72 210
11	Jackson, Jonathan	Chapel Hill, NC	67-68-75 210
11	Gatto, CJ	Columbus, OH	68-69-73 210
15	Harris, Keith	Concord, NC	70-69-72 211
15	Crenshaw, Matt	Burlington, NC	71-69-71 211
15	Noonan, Brian	Austin, TX	74-70-67 211
15	Younts, Drew	Stokesdale, NC	72-71-68 211
19	Lewton, Stephen	Bucks, England	66-73-73 212
19	Kauika, Riki	Wellington, New Zealand	73-69-70 212
19	Morris, Lorcan	Dublin, Ireland	71-71-70 212
19	Weaver, Drew	High Point, NC	70-71-71 212
19	McLister, Joey	Leesburg, VA	68-74-70 212
24	Harwell, Steve	Mooresville, NC	68-70-75 213
24	Moore, Sean	Marshville, NC	74-70-69 213
24	Poplin, Joseph	Eden, NC	70-75-68 213
24	Smith, Ted	Westlake, OH	68-75-70 213
28	Holler, Ryan	Morehead City, NC	70-72-72 214
28	Stamey, Nathan	Canton, NC	74-69-71 214
28	Baker, Nicholas	Madison, NC	72-73-69 214
28	Richardson, Jerry	Burlington, NC	73-69-72 214
32	Ruch, Bradley	Louisville, KY	67-75-73 215
32	Altman, Kellen	Conway, SC	67-74-74 215
34	Hunter, Roy	Charlotte, NC	77-69-70 216
34	Waters, Keith	Raleigh, NC	75-69-72 216
34	Skinns, David	Lincoln, England	71-73-72 216
34	Smith, Andrew	Hastings, England	74-69-73 216
38	Strandberg, Jace	Greensboro, NC	73-71-73 217
38	Bowman, Will	Greensboro, NC	70-73-74 217
38	Lowder, Jake	Charlotte, NC	72-71-74 217
38	Bass, J. D.	Fairview, NC	74-69-74 217
38	Kraner, Joel	Dublin, OH	73-72-72 217
38	Jones, Hank	Rocky Mount, NC	70-75-72 217
44	Banister, Graham	Sydney, Australia	71-72-75 218
44	Hurley, Daniel	Leesburg, VA	71-74-73 218
44	Judy, Jason	Gibsonville, NC	70-74-74 218
44	Mueller, Bryce	Chapel Hill, NC	72-70-76 218
44	Fuller, Dale	Raleigh, NC	75-73-70 218
44	Channell, Dean	Cary, NC	69-75-74 218
44	Manning, Rocky	Summerfield, NC	72-74-72 218
51	Berry, Barden	Kinston, NC	73-72-74 219
51	Hill, Garry	South Africa	71-76-72 219
51	McCallister, Kevin	Oak Ridge, NC	70-71-78 219
54	Matalavage, Marc	Ocean Isle Beach, NC	72-74-74 220
55	Brown, Preston	Ponte Vedra Beach, FL	75-72-74 221
55	Hare, Justin	Charleston, SC	72-73-76 221
55	Hatcher, Neill	Columbus, GA	75-71-75 221
55	Dillon, Tim	Greensboro, NC	71-77-73 221
55	Riley, Kevin	Waterford, CT	77-74-70 221
60	Brady, Patrick	Reidsville, NC	74-72-76 222
60	Manchester, Doug	La Jolla, CA	76-71-75 222
62	Kane, Tim	Simsbury, CN	74-77-72 223
62	Hooper, Cameron	Jacksonville, FL	74-77-72 223
62	Cox, Gregg	Greensboro, NC	69-76-78 223
65	Blaum, Brent	Coral Gables, FL	72-74-78 224
65	Wilson, Ryan	Dayton, OH	76-79-69 224
65	Clark, Colin	Durham, NC	73-76-75 224
68	Anderson, Christopher	Lake Mary, FL	76-76-74 226
68	Judy, Bubba	Greensboro, NC	80-70-76 226
68	Cassetta, Chris	Winston Salem, NC	72-76-78 226
68	Chadwick, Todd	Clemmons, NC	77-73-76 226
72	Heisey, Ryan	New Bem, NC	71-76-80 227
72	Carroll, Cornelius	Windemere, FL	79-77-71 227
74	Witcher, Brent	Duluth, GA	71-78-80 229
75	McGirt, Keith	Fairmont, NC	79-76-77 232
76	Edmondson, Preston	Morrisville, NC	75-79-79 233
77	Cox, Richard	Pawleys Island, SC	81-75-79 235

Players Mentioned

Doug Manchester

Sean Moore

Wake Forest Athletics