Eklund rolls to victory

Coming into the final round of the Reines Jewelers City Championship, Wes Eklund felt as though he had left a couple of strokes out on the golf course despite coming in with two straight subpar rounds.

On Sunday, Eklund could sleep easy knowing that he hit on every opportunity. He shot a 5-under 65 to win the tournament by four strokes.

“I had really good control of the ball today,” Eklund said. “I didn’t make any mistakes out there that cost me. I had a great caddy and that helped too. We made a lot of good reads on the green. For the most part, everything fell into place.”

Paul Kane and Jerry Burton held a two-stroke lead on the Radford golfer after the first two rounds, but neither was able to keep pace on the last 18 holes of play as Eklund had just one bogey all day.

Burton came in with a 1-over 71 to take second place at 4-under for the weekend.

“I had one birdie all day,” Burton said. “I had pars all over and just happened to bogey number 10 and 12. I just didn’t putt at all today and that’s something that I’ve been struggling with most of the year. I’m not three putting a whole lot, I’m just not making the ones I should. It’s something I’ve got to figure out.”

Runner-up finishes have become a recurring theme for Burton over the past two years.

“It’s another second place for me but I can live with it,” he said. “This is just golf for me. Win or lose, I’m going to work tomorrow.”

Burton was more than gracious in defeat, tipping his hat to Eklund for what was more than an average round of golf.

“That was as impressive a round of golf that I’ve seen here in two or three years,” Burton said. “I think he only missed two shots all day. It was something else.”

While his score reflects a change of play from the previous day, Eklund didn’t take the tee box with a different game plan.

“My mentality was the same today,” Eklund said. “I didn’t want to change anything because I knew that I could go low. I knew if I could get things going I’d be in the mode. It was just a matter of getting the right yardages.”

As is usually the case for the winner of any tournament, the biggest difference for the Albemarle graduate was his putting.

“I don’t see many people win by hitting iron shots or their drivers,” Eklund said. “The best player is going to have the best short game and that’s normally the key for my success. If I’m going to win I have to putt really well. I just hit the ball really well today.”

Scores through out the field were significantly higher on Sunday than in the previous two rounds thanks to a little bit of weather and some tougher pin locations.

Kane, a three-time champion, took third place by putting up a total score of 3-under after a 2-over 72 final round.