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Bills, Newsom lead city stroke tourney By Kevin Goff Brad Bills has grown quite familiar with Brooks Newsom in recent years. Bills and Newsom � who birdied the last five holes � each shot 69 Saturday to lead after the first round of championship flight play in the Rogue Valley Stroke Play City Championship at the Cedar Links Golf Club. Two years ago in the Southern Oregon Golf Tournament, Newsom and Bills fought it out until the end with Newsom taking the title on the 36th hole. They met up once again with similar results in the 1999 Southern Oregon Tournament, this time Newsom ousting Bills in the semifinals. "I�ve gotten to know Brooks very well the past few years," said Bills, last year�s City Championship winner. "He�s had my number quite a few times." Unlike last year�s tournament, in which Bills struggled on the first day and had to fight back for a two-stroke win, the first round went smoothly. Bills birdied the 12th hole to climb to 2 under par. "I made a few long putts that made it a pretty good round," said Bills. "I had my problems after that, though." The remaining holes weren�t quite as friendly to the 41-year-old as he closed the day on a sour note. "The 13th to 17th holes are considered birdie holes on this course," said Bills, a 10-time competitor in the City Championship. "But I couldn�t manage any on any of them." Bills closed out the day with a bogey on the 18th, leaving him in a deadlock for the top spot heading into today�s final round. Newsom, of Portland, had to scramble on the remaining five holes to reach 69. He bogeyed holes seven through nine and was 3 over par after the 13th before mounting a comeback. "It was a struggle at the beginning," said Newsom, who turns 31 on Monday. "I started off OK but really ran into trouble there in the middle before turning it around." Newsom has qualified for and will play in the U.S. Mid-American Amateur Championships Sept. 9-14, Justin Wise and Dave Wittkoff find themselves only two strokes off the lead, each shooting 71. Glen Clark, Bret Breeze, Russel Horn, Jay Klempf and Keith Valk are tied at 72, with four others following at 73. Craig Knips leads the first flight at 70, while Earl Patterson and Bobby Jones stand tied for second at 74. Robert Holland is third with a 75. In the second flight, Franklin Corbin is alone in the top spot with an 81, while Don Vanderford is second at 82 and four others are tied for third at 83. Bob Harrell�s 69 leads the seniors championship flight. Tom McCracken is second at 71 and Mike Austin third at 72. Luneta Ah Sam tops the women�s division with an 83, while Tracie Armitage is second with an 86 and Darcie Trimmer third at 88. In the Junior Rogue Valley Stroke Play Championship played on Monday and Tuesday, Chris Daggitt made off with the top spot in the boys 15-17-year-old division with a 153. Lance Fowler took second at 163. Jodi Luce took the girls 15-17 division with a 189, while Ellen Dow was the runner-up at 194. Adam Brown took the 12-14 boys with a 152, and Bobby Casorso�s 95 won the 10-11 division, nine-hole title. Christian Bernard finished with a 7-9 division championship with an 86, and Brooke Hinton took the girls 7-9, nine-hole title with a 223. The final round of the City Championship is today with the leaders teeing off at 1 p.m. Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA