Epperson Grabs First Round Lead at Rain Soaked Cabarrus  

Concord, NC- Hilton Head Island, SC resident Chris Epperson birdied six holes in a row from seven through twelve and also birdied his final hole to fire a 7-under-par 65 and take a one shot lead over five players in the first round of the Tarheel Tour’s Southern Open at Cabarrus Country Club.

Epperson’s play went from steady to spectacular in the middle of his morning after making his sixth consecutive par at the par-four sixth hole. For the better part of the next two hours Epperson reeled off six consecutive birdies culminating with a birdie on the downhill par-three 12th. The streak came to end when he parred the par-four 13th but he finished his round off in style with a birdie on the 613-yard18th. By the end of his round, Epperson had recorded eleven pars and seven birdies to finish with an error free 65. Epperson played sparingly on the Tarheel Tour in 2007 and is making his 2008 debut this week. He has been working for the past several months to save up money in order to be able to play full-time on the Tarheel Tour for the remainder of the season. Epperson is well on his way to winning on the Tarheel Tour for the first time, and the first prize of $22,000 would certainly help give him the opportunity to play full time for the rest of the 2008 season.

2007 Bermuda Run Open Champion Scott Brown and Australian Vernon Sexton-Finck each made six birdies and twelve pars in shooting bogey-free 66’s to headline the group sharing second place. Late in the afternoon, former Augusta State golfer Major Manning, Duke Graduate Soo “Eric” Ahn and Charlotte, NC native Trae Ely also fired 6-under-par 66’s. Ahn’s round was highlighted by an eagle-2 at the 391-yard par-4 16th hole, where he holed out a wedge from the fairway.

A host of players including The Manor Classic runner-up Scott Weatherly and four-time Tarheel Tour winner Frank Adams III are two shots back after shooting 67. Defending champion Shaun Norris, Tarheel Tour money leader David Robinson, and Pete Dye Classic Champion Ryan Blaum headline the large group of players who shot 68 and are just three off the pace heading into tomorrow’s second round.

An already soft golf course was made even softer with an afternoon thunderstorm that delayed play for an hour and seven minutes at 4:34 p.m. local time. The result was a course that was virtually defenseless as it yielded a stroke average of 71.32 with nearly half of the 168 players in the field breaking par.

The second round of the Tarheel Tour’s Southern Open will begin at 7:30 a.m. Friday on the first and tenth tees. In accordance with all Tarheel Tour events, admission to the Southern Open is open to the public and free of charge.

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