Page 2 - National Championship Flip

The National Championship is the single most important tournament on the PPA/APA tour. Since 1959,
the medal play tournament has been played
every year, except one. Neil Connor won the first
PPA National Championship and 62 years later –
Nate Nichols is the defending PPA Champion and
Jim Last is the defending APA Champion. The
National Championship, from year to year, is
typically rotated among various courses
throughout the country and provides a grueling
test of consistency, endurance, concentration,
accuracy and …a bit of luck. These factors
contribute to the limited list of players that have
Neil Connor Lee Weldy Paul Garrison won more than one National Championship title.
1960 1961 1962 Alan Quinnelly is the only player to have won the
First three PPA National Champions
coveted PPA title 3 times, he is also the only
player in the field this year that can make it
number 4…of which he has a very solid
chance. Only 8 players have won the event
twice: Vance Randall (1967 & 1969), Robert
Smith (1972 & 1974), Greg Ward (2001 &
2012), Lewis Burton (1989 & 1998), Randy
Reeves (1997 & 2017) Cliff Matthews (2002
& 2004), Ray Browning (1975 & 1980), and
Kevin Lacey (2008 & 2016). Interestingly,
some of the best players that have ever
played the game have never won the
coveted title. Some of these players are -
Rick Smith, Ken Boy, Dick Florin, Buddy
Taylor, Jimmy Harritos, Gary English, Charles
McIntosh, Ed Haggerty and Mike Baldoza.
Alan Quinnelly
PPA National Champion 1985, 1991, 2000