It’s crowded at the top

Paul Kane wasn’t entirely sold on playing in the Reines Jewelers City Championship this year.

However, longtime friend and tournament host Peter Reines picked up the phone and talked the three-time winner into it.

“I wasn’t going to play in the tournament, but he called me up and said I had to,” Kane said. “I said, ‘Tell you what. If I can play with you, I’ll play.’”

So far, so good for Kane, who followed up his even-par 70 first round with a 5-under 65 on Saturday to earn a share of first place.

Kane made the most of a steady swing out of the tee box and didn’t have to break much of a sweat putting the ball on the green.

“I hit all 18 greens today,” Kane said. “If I do that again, someone’s going to have to beat me.”

Of course, now Kane has some new playing partners for the final round — Jerry Burton, Wes Eklund and Scott Ferguson, to be specific.

But that’s not a problem.

“I’ve played a number of times with Jerry this year,” Kane said. “He’s one of the best players in Charlottesville, and if I don’t win I’ll probably be pulling for him.”

Burton shot a 2-under 68 on Friday and did one better in the second round by posting a 3-under 67 despite taking his foot off of the gas, leaving him tied with Kane.

“My day was pretty simple,” Burton said. “I made four birdies and had one bogey. The bogey was a three putt from about 60 feet, but for the most part it was a pretty easy round.

“I think the wind made me not fire as many pins today and play a little more conservative, trying to hit the greens and just two-putt.”

Eklund and Ferguson sit two strokes behind Kane and Burton.

All was well for Ferguson, the first-round leader, until he hit the back nine and wound up with a double-bogey on 11 and bogeys on 14 and 17 to put him at 1-over 70.

“I just didn’t make any putts today,” Ferguson said. “I hit the ball well, but the putting just wasn’t there. Yesterday I was hitting the ball a lot closer. I had easier putts but also, the wind was also a little difficult today. It made it a lot tougher to fire at these pins.”

Eklund, an Albemarle graduate who plays for Radford, posted his second consecutive sub-70 score with a 2-under 68.

“The greens are pretty slow out here so right now it’s all about putting and trying to give myself a chance,” Eklund said. “Even with 68 and 69, I still feel like I left a couple of strokes out there.”

As for the final round, Burton says the options are limited.

“There are two ways to play this golf course,” Burton said. “You can play it conservative, or if you’re really hitting it well, you can go at it aggressively.”

Kane left little doubt about what approach he’s going to take, having played plenty of golf at Meadowcreek.

“The first five or six years that I played here, it was a golf course that you can get on if you hit the driver,” Kane said. “If you’re confident with your driver and hit it good, you can go real low here.”

Jim Higginbotham had a hole in one on the par-3 13th hole, playing at 126 yards. The ace was Higginbotham’s second of the summer.

The final round begins today at 8 a.m., with the leaders teeing off at 10:10 a.m.