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Kennedy wins Open, Singletary wins Amateur event on SE Open 9-Ball Tour

Tommy Kennedy

Tommy Kennedy came from the loss side of an Open event on his own Southeast Open 9-Ball Tour on Saturday, April 14, and defeated hot seat occupant, Denny Singletary, in the finals. Singletary would go on, the next day, to win the tour stop’s Amateur event. The $1,000-added events ($500 each), hosted by Zingale’s Billiards in Tallahassee, FL drew 25 (Open) and 19 (Amateur) entrants.

While the Open event featured Kennedy’s return from the loss side to win, the Amateur event featured some headline matchups, outside the realm of its top winners. First among these was a 5th/6th place match between room owner Mike Zingale and his father, Jim. The other story was about 11-year-old Landon Harris, who, though finishing in the four-way tie for 9th, turned a few heads with back-to-back, double hill victories against much older opponents (Brandon Posey and Dylan Clark).

The seeds for the Zingale family match in the Amateur event were sown among the winners’ side final four, when son, Mike, was sent west by Singletary 6-3. J.R. Rossman, in the meantime, who had been eliminated by Kennedy in the Open event the day before, faced and defeated Huyen (pronounced “win”) Cam 6-1. In the hot seat match, Singletary and Rossman battled to double hill before Rossman prevailed to deny Singletary his second hot seat occupancy of the weekend.

Cam moved to the loss side and picked up Joe Davis, while Mike Zingale ran into his father, Jim. Davis defeated Cam 5-2, and the younger Zingale defeated the elder Zingale by the same score. Davis then dropped the younger Zingale into fourth place in a double hill match, only to be dropped himself into third place by Singletary, whose 5-1 victory put him into the finals for the second time. He won it this time, defeating Rossman 9-4 to capture the Amateur title.

It was a set of three, 7-5 victories among the final four winners that left Singletary in the hot seat in the Open event on Saturday. Kennedy was sent west by Jimmy Garza, Singletary sent Stoney Stone over, and finally, in the hot seat battle, Singletary sent Garza to the semifinals.

Kennedy moved over and picked up Rossman, while Stone drew Arthur Hynh. Kennedy and Stone picked up where they’d left off, defeating Rossman 6-2 and Hynh 6-4, and turning to face each other in the quarterfinals. Kennedy finished Stone’s day 6-4, and then in a ‘vengeance is sweet’ moment completely shut out the man who’d sent him to the loss side (Garza) in the semifinals. He completed his three-match, loss-side winning streak with a 9-6 win in the finals that secured the event title.

Ashleigh Harrel picked up $50 as the top female finisher in the Open event, and John Amiss picked up $50, as well, as the oldest player in the event. The elder Zingale won a $50 prize for being the oldest player in the Amateur event. Two women – Tracie Majors and Jessica Fincher – split a $50 prize as top finishers in the Amateur tourney, while 11-year-old Landon Harris picked up $25 as the top finishing junior.

Tour director Tommy Kennedy thanked Mike Zingale and his staff for their hospitality, as well as sponsors Tiger Products, Mueller Recreational Products, David Adams, Ed Cabrera, Simonis Cloth, Cliff Manning of Manning Custom Cues, Andy Gilbert Custom Cues, and Harris Cue Company. 

Open Event Payouts | Amateur Event Payouts