Daughtrey sits six strokes back of co-leaders Paul Kane and Sam Beach and four strokes back of third-place Daniel Walker.

The absence of Decker — considered by most to be the premier amateur golfer in the state — may take some of the glitter from the 147-man field, but there are plenty of top-notch competitors dying to try on the green champion’s jacket just before dusk on Sunday.

After last weekend’s second of six events, the Old Trail Team Championships, which actually turned more into an individual tournament due to lack of club participation, the Battle standings took a dramatic turn.

How cool is it that two former Monticello High School golfers are competing in the NCAA Division I golf tournaments this week?

Hondula, who shot a 72 in opening-round play on Friday, sits one stroke back of leader Weston Eklund at 145 heading into today’s final round.

Ty Grove fired an opening-round 71 on Friday to take the individual lead in the third annual Old Trail Team Championships at Crozet’s Old Trail Golf Club.

Golfers are a generous group, playing in various charity tournaments throughout the year.

Local golf notes

Mikey Moyers arrived at his home golf course for Sunday’s final round of the Greene Hills Invitational with the hope of validating his victory in 2007 in front of his close friends and family.

With an abundance of charity golf tournaments held annually in Central Virginia, the Rivanna Resort & Golf Club has come up with a new twist.

To say that Mikey Moyers is familiar with the course at Greene Hills is putting it quite mildly.

While Nick Little has cleaned up in local golf tournament championships over the past couple of years, there’s one trophy missing from his case.

Players must abide by a strict set of rules when playing for Woodson, and it starts with school work. Each player not only has to stay on top of his marks, but also must enroll in an after-school program to ensure that their work is done before their practice.

Cassidy had heard about an exceptional pitcher across Afton Mountain in Waynesboro that might be the weapon that the team would need to get themselves over the hump. So Cassidy decided to visit this pitcher and try to convince him to join his squad. However, he ended up signing this pitcher’s teammate, Harry Hise, who as it turned out would lead them to greatness.

At age 62, Phil Franssen’s major motivation is to grow old gracefully. After a series of setbacks at an early age, he’s doing everything in his power at this point in his life to maintain a healthy routine, and also to help others who wish to do the same.

As customers enter a busy gym in San Francisco, former Charlottesville resident Ron Harris greets them at the front desk.

The Tarheel Tour has agreed to a three-year deal for Spring Creek to host the tour’s championship event beginning this October.

For the longest while, it was difficult to detect who was wearing the biggest smile.

After capturing back-to-back Battle Trophy championships and winning every local tournament that he entered this summer, local golf fans wondered just what Nick Little was going to do for an encore.

The best amateur golfers in Central Virginia discovered something during Saturday’s first two rounds of the area’s match play championship at Spring Creek Golf Club: there’s no free lunches.

The top six seeds from this year’s Battle Trophy list and three of last year’s four semifinalists return for the second annual Central Virginia Match Play Championships this weekend at Spring Creek Golf Club.

With his come-from-behind victory in the Jefferson Cup Invitational golf tournament at Birdwood over the weekend, Nick Little blew away the competition for the top spot in the 2008 Battle Trophy competition’s final standings.

It seems that if Nick Little is participating in a local golf event you can just about be certain that he’ll be walking away with the hardware.

Albemarle freshman Lauren Eklund held off defending champion Cindy Thompson in a three-hole playoff to win this year’s Reines Jewelers Ladies City Championship.

Radford-bound Weston Eklund was the only member of the field to shoot under par in the opening round, and his 2-under round of 70 gave him a two-stroke lead.

Little, who has dominated Central Virginia amateur golf for the past two years, will lead the field heading into today’s 54-hole annual Jefferson Cup Invitational at Birdwood Golf Club. It is one of only two local tournaments that Little hasn’t won.

Using the screams and applause as a gauge, it was hard to tell which of the 16 teams was on the way to the Jefferson Swim League Championship title as the massive event came to a halt.

Some of the swimmers on hand at the opening day of the JSL Championships Friday didn’t need but about those two minutes to make their mark on the event. Two records fell during the Friday 200-yard medley relays, with Fairview’s 9-10 year-old boys squad and ACAC’s 15-18 year-old boys team both breaking records in their events.

The annual JSL championship meet, a two-day meet at Virginia’s Aquatics and Fitness Center will start today and crown a champion Saturday evening.

PRATO NEVOSO, Italy — Frank Schleck of Luxembourg seized the overall lead in the Tour de France on Sunday, drawing on his strength in the mountains and getting an assist from his brother as the three-week race headed into the Italian Alps.