Eklund claims Battle Trophy

While his best buddy tried to add a little drama into the mix on the last round of Sunday’s Jefferson Cup tournament at Birdwood, Weston Eklund survived the assault and claimed the 2009 Bill Battle Trophy, symbolic of the top amateur golfer in Central Virginia.
Eklund, who plays out of Greene Hills and is a rising sophomore on Radford University’s golf team, held a 19-point lead over longtime friend Mikey Moyers, coming into the Jefferson Cup. The only way he could have lost his lead and the Battle Trophy would have been a Moyers’ win and for Eklund to finish outside the top 10 in the Birdwood event.
Neither occurred.
Moyers gave it a great shot, finishing tied for second with former JMU golfer Tim Driver, only one shot behind Richmond’s Nick Austin for the Jefferson Cup victory.
Eklund overcame a bad opening round and finished tied for fifth, which gave him 91 points for the season and ownership of the 19th annual Battle Trophy championship.
The Eklund family plans to display the trophy, named in honor of the late Bill Battle, former USGA president and golfing enthusiast of Charlottesville, at Greene Hills Country Club.
Eklund became the fifth Greene Hills player to add his name to the Battle Trophy, joining Moyers, who won it in 2006, David Bell (1992, 1995), Jim Higginbotham (1991), and Tommy Bibb III (1994).
Moyers, who will play for Virginia Tech this fall, finished runner up with 74.5 points, ahead of Farmington’s Paul Kane, the 2001 Battle champion, with 66.5 points.
The top 16 players and alternates are invited to play in next weekend’s (Aug. 15 and 16) third annual Central Virginia Match Play Championships at Spring Creek. Two rounds will be held Saturday, with the semifinals Sunday morning and the championship that afternoon.
The top 25 players in the final standings are asked to call The Daily Progress (434) 978-7251 and leave a message as to whether they will play in the competition or not, so that match play tournament seedings can be set as soon as possible.
“It feels great to win the Battle Trophy,” Eklund said. “It’s not just about one tournament but for all year around and for a great summer of golf around here.”
Eklund won two local tournaments this season, the Old Trail Team Invitational individual title, and his second Reines Jewelers Charlottesville City Championship in three years. He also had strong finishes in several other events, including the Jefferson Cup.
“I had a bad first day out here, with double bogeys on two of my last three holes, but I’m happy with my finish and that I hung in there,” Eklund said. “This was a good confidence-booster.
“It’s going to be good that I’m playing well going into my season at Radford. I’m looking forward to this year because I can finally play.”

Final Battle Trophy standings
The final standings in the 19th annual Bill Battle Trophy competition, symbolic of the top amateur golfer in Central Virginia, presented by The Daily Progress.
(NOTE: the top 16 players and alternates are invited to play in the third annual Central Virginia Match Play Championship at Spring Creek on Saturday and Sunday).

1. Weston Eklund 91.0
2. Mikey Moyers 74.5
3. Paul Kane 66.5
4. Philip Mahone 63.0
5. Jerry Burton 52.0
*6. Nick Little 47.0
7. Scott Garrison 38.5
8. Jeff Toms 30.0
9. David Passerell 29.0
10. Brad Ferguson 26.5
#11. Dustin Groves 25.0
12. Ty Grove 23.5
13. Daniel Walker 22.0
14. Matt Wade 20.0
15. Brant Dixon 19.0
16. Jud Foster 17.0
17. Todd Daniel 14.5
t18. Dave Hondula 14.0
t18. Jim Higginbotham14.0
20. Kevin Gibson 13.0
21. Brent Daughtrey 12.0
22. Neil Davis 10.83
23. Bill Hamilton 9.83
24. Bob Rotella 9.50
25. Forbes Feminella 8.50
t26. Blair Engle 8.0
t26. Jay Klingel 8.0
28. Tom Taylor 7.5
29. Chris Harvey 6.0
30. Bill McCauliffe 5.0
t31. Gus Hansborough4.5
t31. Tim Marshall 4.5
t31. Bill Hess 4.5
34. Chris Liebl 4.0
35. Donald Robertson 3.83
t36. Tommy Bibb 2.5
t36. Pokey Buchanan 2.5
38. Todd Williams 2.0
39. Scott Richards 1.5
40. Doug Paige 1.0
(NOTE: Any of the top 25 players in the list that either intend to play or cannot play in this weekend’s match play event are asked to call The Daily Progress at (434) 978-7251 as soon as possible and leave a message so that the tournament seedings can be posted).