Putnam Snares First Major Victory

Putnam Snares First Major VictoryBy Bill Rosenberger Shawn Putnam was excited to finally have a professional billiards event come through what he calls his “backyard,” referring to Pittsburgh, PA. On Thursday night, he was even more thrilled when he sank the final 9 ball to win the North American Open Tour’s Pittsburgh stop. Putnam, who grew up and lives just 45 minutes away in Youngstown, OH, made his way through the five-day event undefeated, besting some of the UPA’s best players, including Rodney Morris, Jeremy Jones, Mike Davis, and Santos Sambajon Jr. And, after a commanding 11-7 win in the final match, Charlie “The Korean Dragon” was added to the list.Updated Pittsburgh Image Gallery
Putnam’s strong play, along with two scratches by Williams opened the door to a quick 5-0 lead, but Williams did what he had done all week long—come back. Down 8-3, Williams broke and ran the first few balls, setting up the 4-9 combo to get back to within four games. In Game 13, Putnam broke and ran out to go up 9-4, followed be another run out to reach the hill and extend his lead to six games. Williams, though, still didn’t give in, winning three straight games to put himself back in the match. In Game 18, it looked like Williams was going to put his fourth straight win on the board, as he broke and ran up to the 7 ball. He had about a two-foot shot, with a slight cut on the 7 going into the corner pocket, but he just hit it too hard, and the 7 rattled around the pocket. Three shots later, Putnam raised his stick in victory. After he high-fived members of the crowd, Putnam admitted that he didn’t even think he was going to get to the table in the last game. “I was thinking about the next game, expecting to run out on the next break.” Williams, too, knew that moment had ended his comeback bid, but he was pleased with his overall tournament performance. “When I had chances, I made the best of them.” Williams had advanced to the second round on Monday because his first-round opponent forfeited due to illness, but he was sent to the one-loss side by Thorsten Hohmann, and after seven straight wins, Williams had come all the way to the reach the finals. In that final match, Williams met his match in Putnam. “He played very well,” said Williams, “but he got a few rolls. You have to get a few rolls, though.”Putnam not only thought his final opponent was tough, but he said most of his matches were against people who had beaten him before. “Early on after my first win, I dubbed this my ‘revenge tour,’” referring to the laundry list of champions that he had to go through to get his first major win. Putnam also has a message about playing on his home turf. “I don’t let no dogs come in my backyard and win.” And if the pro tour comes back through Pittsburgh in 2006, neither Putnam nor anyone else will forget it.Results:1st Shawn Putnam $6,0002nd Charlie Williams $30003rd Tony Robles $2,5004th Mike Davis $20005th Johnny Archer, Santos Sambajon Jr. $1,5007th Jeremy Jones, Corey Deuel $1,1509th Niels Feijen, Danny Basavich, Max Eberle, Thorsten Hohmann $85013th Rodney Morris, Jeff White, Robb Saez, Gabe Owen $57017th Evan Broxmeyer, Troy Frank, Frank Alvarez, Luc Salvas, Brandon Ashcraft, Tony Crosby, Brian Mahan, Charles Blank $250Visit InsidePOOL for the latest news from the North American Tour.

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