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Spainhour continued with his dominating performance and defeated

Warren 5-up.

Again, the National Invitational took a hiatus for a few years and
returned in 2020, during the Covid-19 Pandemic. The tournament also

reverted back to Medal-Play from the Match-Play format. The first

week of June is a lovely time to visit the the Kingsport, Tn area, and
thus, 78 PPA and APA players braved the pandemic conditions and

converged on a course that still utilized original hole designs and

presented a test of golf that required a variety of shot making skills.
The leading score after round one was a 26, shot by three players: Bill

Kirby, Jeff Garrison, the son of the 1962 National Champion (Paul
Garrison), and Brian Johnson. The scores reflected the challenge of

the Kingsport course and at the end of day one there was a tie for first

by two very established players. Bill Kirby displayed his usual
consistency by scoring 26, 28, 26, and 26 for a 106 total. Returning to

the major championship scene was the formidable Gary English, scoring

rounds of 28, 27, 25, and 26. Two strokes behind the leaders was
Angelo Korogianos, with scores of 27, 29, 26, and 26 and Sid Davis,

three strokes back with rounds of 29, 26, 28, and 26. The next closest
score was at 113. The stage was set for day two. Gary English knew he

had to play well, since Bill Kirby was known for playing consistently,

being comfortable with the lead, and rarely giving up a tournament due
to poor play. Day two would be no different. Kirby started the day

with a respectful 28, with English and Korogianos shooting 31s. Kirby

held a 3-stroke lead over English with 3 rounds remaining. Round 6 saw
one veteran uncharacteristically slip and saw another veteran return to

his championship form. Kirby scored a 31, English shot a 27, and

Korogianos scored an impressive 26. Gary English now led the National
Invitational by one stroke over Kirby and Korogianos. However, the

course was not kind to English during the “moving round” as he scored