VILLA RICA, Ga (Sept. 14, 2008) – First-round leader Matt Corbitt of Macon fought off two competitors over five playoff holes to capture victory at the 20th annual Georgia Public Links Championship, which took place at The Frog Golf Club at The Georgian, September 13-14. Corbitt combined a final-round 72 with a Public Links-record 65 in the opening round en route to forcing a playoff with Ryan Wilson of Pooler and Mark Whisenant of Douglasville.

“I’m just glad it’s over,” Corbitt joked after securing the win. “I really had some opportunities out there that I just did not take advantage of and [Wilson] is just such great player and great guy. I really feel good about coming away with the win.”

Corbitt claimed victory on the fifth playoff hole. After Corbitt had driven his tee shot into the fairway, Wilson pulled his shot right and into the trees. Forced to punch out and chip onto the green, Wilson failed to connect on a ten-foot par putt and settled for bogey. Corbitt made par and took the title. Whisenant, who birdied the par-5 18th hole to put himself in the playoff with Corbitt and Wilson, posted bogey on the first playoff hole to finish third.

Cason Hammock of Columbus posted a final-round 69 to place fourth overall at 141. Canton’s Randy White, a 17-year old senior at Woodstock High School, carded rounds of 70 and 72 to finish alone in fifth position at even-par 142. Defending champion Brent Sizemore of Calhoun fired a final-round 69 to climb into a tie for sixth place with Mableton’s Mark Lyons. Three players – Anders Albertson of Woodstock, Brock Kaufman of Powder Springs and Roswell’s Billy Mitchell – all tied for eighth at 145.

Corbitt, a former professional who regained his amateur status earlier this year, entered the day with a one-stroke lead over Whisenant and held a three-stroke advantage on Wilson. He found trouble early in the day with bogeys at Nos. 2 and 4 but battled back with a birdie at the 191-yard eighth hole to make the turn at one-over 36. Wilson, meanwhile, carded two birdies along with seven pars on the front nine and was able to close the gap. Whisenant, like Corbitt, made the turn at one-over par.

While his fellow competitors made steady pars over the opening four holes of the inward nine, Corbitt pulled ahead with back-to-back birdies at 12 and 13. Corbitt could not hold onto that lead, however, as he followed with bogeys at 14 and 16.

“After I hit my shot in the hazard on 16,” Corbitt said. “I thought that I was going to let this thing slip away. I tried to stay focused though and got a couple of pars when I had to.”

Wilson, who had made birdie at 15 and pulled ahead by a stroke after Corbitt’s miscues on 16, flew the green on 17 and was forced to play out of the creek, where he settled for bogey. Wilson and Corbitt both made par on 18 for a 137 total. Whisenant, a member at The Frog Golf Club, posted eight straight pars before carding birdie on the final hole to make it a three-way playoff.

In the first flight, Walker Hill of Lawrenceville took top honors at 150. Atlanta’s Justin Sanders won the second flight with a two-day total of 153. Michael Richardson of Smyrna topped the third flight at 149. Tony Beard of Duluth won the fourth flight at 151; while Jacques Lamothe of Lilburn pulled away from the rest of the fifth flight to win with a 157. Byron’s Keli Smith took sixth flight honors with a 162.

The par-71 layout played to 6,719 yards for the championship through fifth flights and 6,307 yards for the sixth flight. Only the players competing in the championship through fifth flights were eligible for the overall title.

The field of 144 golfers was determined by the low 72 entries plus another 72 drawn by lottery. The low 72 comprise the championship flight, and the remainder of the field is divided among six flights. Entrants must not have held privileges since January 1, 2008, at any club that does not extend playing privileges to the general public.

--Courtesy GSGA

Pos	Name	Rd. 1	Rd. 2	Total
T1	Matt Corbitt, Macon*	65	72	137
T1	Ryan Wilson, Pooler	68	69	137
T1	Mark Whisenant, Douglasville	66	71	137
4	Cason Hammock, Columbus	72	69	141
5	Randy White, Canton	70	72	142
T6	Brent Sizemore, Calhoun	74	69	143
T6	Mark Lyons, Mableton	71	72	143
T8	Anders Albertson, Woodstock	74	71	145
T8	Brock Kaufman, Powder Springs	74	71	145
T8	William Mitchell, Roswell	74	71	145
T11	Bradley Crowe, Kennesaw	73	73	146
T11	Larry Clark, Kingston	72	74	146
T11	Zach Lassetter, Carrollton	73	73	146
T14	Andrew Saft, Atlanta	72	76	148
T14	Corey Murrell, Kingsland	72	76	148
T16	David Webb, Eatonton	74	75	149
T16	Dustin Shelton, Rockmart	73	76	149
T16	Jason Baldia, Valdosta	73	76	149
T16	Max Kern, Marietta	72	77	149
T16	Robert Dell Jr., Atlanta	71	78	149
T21	Eric Sharp, Dalton	78	72	150
T21	Michael Trapani, Dunwoody	72	78	150
T21	Ricky Casko, Cartersville	72	78	150
T21	Rusk Jones, Cumming	76	74	150
T21	Scott Randolph, Eatonton	72	78	150
26	Frank Remmes, Lilburn	77	74	151
T27	Brian Keller, Hiram	74	78	152
T27	Keith Hadelman, Atlanta	74	78	152
T27	Mike Montarbo, Augusta	75	77	152
T27	Seth Parmer, Bowdon	75	77	152
T27	Todd Eaker, Lawrenceville	77	75	152
T32	Jim Planche, Lawrenceville	75	78	153
T32	Martin Ball, Rome	74	79	153
T32	Michael Burns, Cornelia	77	76	153
T32	Tim Stolz, Atlanta	77	76	153
T32	Tony Barnett, Conley	72	81	153
T37	Ken Fahey, Atlanta	78	77	155
T37	Tony Fisher, Atlanta	80	75	155
39	Andy Patterson, Jackson	78	78	156
T40	Carson Pilcher, Atlanta	75	82	157
T40	Clint Harris, Atlanta	77	80	157
T40	Michael Heffner, Dallas	78	79	157
T40	Randy Hayes, Flowery Branch	78	79	157
T40	Travis Temple, Metter	76	81	157
T45	Jeff Lane, Rockmart	76	82	158
T45	Rob Northcutt, Atlanta	78	80	158
T45	Taylor Dorner, Woodstock	76	82	158
48	Jim Corrigan, Smyrna	76	83	159
T49	Gordon Gourley, Acworth	79	81	160
T49	Jason Carter, Atlanta	77	83	160
T49	Kyle Collins, Milledgeville	78	82	160
T49	Ladell Norton, Rome	77	83	160
T49	Tom Capallo, Atlanta	81	79	160
54	James Stewart, Decatur	79	83	162
T55	Jamie Kishida, Duluth	76	88	164
T55	Jonathan Pritchett, Woodstock	85	79	164
57	Butch Maxey, Pendergrass	85	80	165
T58	Michael Colburn, Hiram	83	83	166
T58	Sumpter Daniel, Duluth	80	86	166
60	Corey Hall, Woodstock	84	83	167
61	Jeff Ledford, Clarkesville	80	88	168
62	Tommy Tangtiphaiboontana, Atlanta	81	91	172
63	Robbie Davis, St. Mary's	83	91	174
64	Charles Lutz, Smyrna	89	86	175
65	Greg Newberry, Lawrenceville	90	94	184
66	Erasmus Moyo, Douglasville	94	94	188
T67	Jerad Davis, Athens	94	WD	WD
T67	Jonathan Finck, Commerce	76	WD	WD
T67	Lamar Gresham, Loganville	84	NS	NS
T67	Rob Bohannon, Villa Rica	75	WD	WD
T67	Ronnie Cargle, Summerville	79	WD	WD
Pos	Name	Rd. 1	Rd. 2	Total
1	Walker Hill, Lawrenceville	72	78	150
2	Dan Jorajuria, Mableton	74	78	152
T3	Jim Hawthorne, Alpharetta	77	77	154
T3	Scott Embleau, Marietta	79	75	154
5	Wes Clark, Smyrna	76	79	155
6	Dave Cole, Smyrna	78	78	156
7	Wesley Bickham, Marietta	84	74	158
8	Colby Huff, Athens	80	79	159
9	Michael Lott, Loganville	78	82	160
T10	Barry Peets, Lilburn	79	82	161
T10	Chris Larson, Buford	78	83	161
12	Les Wells, Cohutta	81	85	166

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