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PINEHURST'S EICHELE WINS SENIOR AMATEUR TOUR MAJOR IN STYLE Greensboro, NC (March 25, 2010) - Like the PGA Tour, the Senior Amateur Golf Tour has four Major events each season. The first of 2010 was contested at Forest Oaks Country Club Thursday. Ken Eichele won the Championship Flight in a manner befitting a Major Championship. On the third hole of a sudden-death playoff with Ahoskie's Bill Long, Eichele posted a birdie 3 on the #1 handicap hole for the win. Eichele, who got off to a slow start on the day with a front-side 41, blistered the back with a 33 just before his playoff heroics. "He's shown it before, winning 2 National Championships with this Tour. Ken plays big in big events", said Tour Director Bruce Hallenbeck. Wiley Barrett of Southern Pines enjoyed a 3-shot margin of victory in the A Flight over a trio of golfers who shot 78s - Chuck Latham of Vass, Mark McKenna of Raleigh, and Greensboro's Jimmy Jarrell. Barrett's 75 was just the beginning of low scores in Flights other than Championship. Greensboro's Mike Daniels took full advantage of the fact that the B Flight played from different tees that were almost 500 yards shorter than those of the Champ and A Flights. He fired a 75 for a single stroke victory over both Steve Smith of Apex and Eden's Jerry Weadon. In keeping with the pace set by the B Flight, Forest Oaks member Travis Jones of Greensboro shot one of the lowest C Flight scores in the history of the Tour with a 77. Another Greensboro resident, Clayton Henry, was only 4 strokes behind with an 81, a score that would normally "blow-away" the C Flight competition. "Looks like a lot of the guys are getting rid of the "ring-rust" that this year's rough winter weather contributed to. We'll be taking a hard look at the Tour handicaps of everyone now that a lot of guys seem to be back in form, to ensure that we have a level competitive playing field for all future events", said Tour Director Bruce Hallenbeck. The Tour has a off week coming up and resumes play next at Grandover Resort on April 8. Anyone interested in playing in that event can call Hallenbeck at 336-495-6556. THE SENIOR AMATEUR GOLF TOUR FOREST OAKS COUNTRY CLUB - MAJOR EVENT TOP FIVE SCORES BY FLIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP (6,361 yds) Ken Eichele, Pinehurst 74 Bill Long, Ahoskie 74 Willie Hendricks, Durham 75 Milt deReyna, Hope Mills 77 John East, Rockingham 78 Austin Overby, Raleigh 78 Doug Masters, Clemmons 78 A FLIGHT (6,361 yds) Wiley Barrett, Southern Pines 75 Chuck Latham, Vass 78 Mark McKenna, Raleigh 78 Jerry Jarrell, Greensboro 78 Bob McQueen, Hope Mills 79 Tim Wilson, Danbury 79 B FLIGHT (5,835 yds) Mike Daniels, Greensboro 75 Steve Smith, Apex 76 Jerry Weadon, Eden 76 John Ashby, Galax 77 Gene Falls, Manning, SC 77 C FLIGHT (5,835 yds) Travis Jones, Greensboro 77 Clayton Henry, Greensboro 81 John Henely, Pinehurst 83 Richard Glick, Raleigh 83 Jerry Williams, Mt Gilead 85 Charles Pace, Lexington 83