Hendry Leads Field at Pete Dye Classic   

Radford, VA- The Manor Classic runner-up Joel Hendry fired a 5-under-par 67 on Tuesday to take the first round lead at the Tarheel Tour’s inaugural Pete Dye Classic at the Pete Dye River Course of Virginia Tech. The native of Scotland birdied six of his first fifteen holes to reach 6-under-par before bogeying the difficult par-three 17th to finish with a 67.

Hendry will take a one shot lead into Wednesday’s second round over a quartet of distinguished players. 2007 Salisbury Classic Champion Ryan Blaum, 2007 Southern Open Champion Shaun Norris and Bermuda Run Open runner-up Jason Kokrak each shot 4-under-par 68’s in the morning wave to grab a tie for second. Blaum, a former Duke University All-American, carded one of only two bogey-free rounds on the day. The other one belonged to 2006 Bermuda Run Open Champion John McAllister who made three birdies on his way to a 3-under-par 69 in the first group out this morning.

The fourth player sharing second place is current Nationwide Tour member Jonathan Rusk. The Washington, PA native made five birdies against just one bogey to card the lowest round of the afternoon wave.

Sandersville, GA native and Tarheel Tour money leader David Robinson fired a 3-under-par 69 to stay within striking distance heading into Wednesday’s second round. The Rivertowne and Northstone Open Champion carded six birdies but also had three bogeys to put him just two off the lead. Bluffton, SC resident Cory Kaufman, who recorded his best finish on the Tarheel Tour as the runner-up last week at the Spring Creek Classic also shot 69 in the afternoon.

The Pete Dye River Course of Virginia Tech can measure as long as 7,665 yards but the course was set up at a player friendly 7,275 yards in Tuesday’s first round. The course set up allowed for more scoring opportunities, but by day’s end the Pete Dye masterpiece yielded a stroke average of 74.48 with only 22 players breaking par. The par-three 17th and par-four 18th proved to be the two most difficult holes on the course averaging 3.57 and 4.44 respectively. The field on average dropped over one stroke to par on the closing two holes combined.

The second round of the Tarheel Tour’s Pete Dye Classic begins at 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday on the first and tenth tees. As is the case at all Tarheel Tour events, the Pete Dye Classic is open to the public and free of charge.