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Usual suspects survive first round By Kevin Goff Familiar names and faces will make out the lineup for today�s second round of match play in the Southern Oregon Golf Tournament at the Rogue Valley Country Club. It turned out to be a struggle, but co-medalist Brad Bills fought his way through the first day of match play on Thursday. He and Doug Luther, the other half of the medalist tandem, both advanced along with defending champion Tommy Smith. The biggest surprise came in the Junior-Senior division where six-time champion George Mack Sr., fell to Doug Engle, 2 and 1. Mack ran together a string of Junior-Senior championships from 1985-88 and claimed two more in 1991 and �92. Bills, who fired a 1-under-par 71 in Tuesday�s qualifying round, ran into problems with his opponent Kevin Dixon. "I played as poorly as I have all summer," said Bills, the 1993 SOGT champion. "Kevin didn�t play well either. If he plays his normal game he beats me." Dixon, an assistant golf coach under Bills at North Medford High two years ago, also struggled and couldn�t find a way to put Bills away. Bills had just enough to finish things off, taking the match 3 and 2. "If it wasn�t one thing it was another," said Bills. "The important thing is to win. In match play you can play poorly sometimes but still come out with a win. "Hopefully it was just a one-round phenomenon." Bills matches up with Scott Reed, a 4 and 3 winner over Jeff Lillesve, in today�s second round. Luther, who took out Scott Ashpole 2 and 1, pairs up with Mark DeBoer, a 19th hole winner over Phil Cardin. RVCC�s Bret Breeze, who took third at the City Championships last weekend, also found his first round matchup to be a little tougher than expected. "(Mike Stoll) was one of the best golfers I�ve played at the Southern," said Breeze, who won the match 1-up. "It�s the toughest match I�ve played in this tournament." Breeze, who qualified with an even-par 72, was 2-down after the first nine but fought back for the win. "When you qualify with one of the lower rounds like I did, usually the first round matchup ends after the 12th or 13th," said Breeze. "But this one went to 18. Stoll has to be a scratch golfer, he was that good." Brooks Newsom, the 1998 champion and 1999 runner-up, also moved on with a 3 and 2 win over Ted Decker. In the Junior-Senior division, medalist Greg Miller moved on with a 5 and 4 victory over Steve Robertson while John Dunkin, a co-medalist in the senior division, took out Bruce McDonald, 5 and 4. The other half of the medalist duo, Howard Tomlinson, didn�t fare as well, falling an upset victim to RVCC�s Justin Smith, 1-up. In the women�s division, medalist Amanda Nealy breezed through her first matchup with Anne Reynolds, 5-4. 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