By
Tom Johnston, tjohnston@qconline.com
In four of his tournaments this summer on the National City
Bank Amateur Tour, Chris Wilkins has shot final rounds of 69 and had very
little to show for it in the final standings.
Wilkins' problems have come on Saturdays when big numbers have left him
having to go low just to have respectable showings.
The
``It feels good to finally be in a tournament after one day instead of out
of it,'' Wilkins said. ``I've hit the ball so well all year but have pretty
much been a Sunday-through-Friday player this summer.''
With a pair of 35s on Saturday, Wilkins was able to match the 70s posted
earlier by
That trio enters today's final round with a packed bunch at their heels in
the 35-player championship flight. A shot back are former QC Am champ Tom Miler
(36-35) and Chad Coppinger (35-36). At 72 are
defending Player of the Year Brian Soucinek (37-35)
and Greg Rios (38-34).
Despite the solid Saturday posting, Wilkins hardly was content with his
effort.
``I somehow managed to get it around the course,'' Wilkins said, noting some
good chipping helped as he needed only 26 putts in the round. ``Everybody in
the group really played better than me, but we had a good group.''
Wilkins was able to beat the scores put up by playing partners
``I didn't really hit a lot of solid shots,'' Wilkins said. ``I hit it
straight and kept it out of trouble. I know this course well enough that I can
do that, I guess.''
Admitting he was excited about finally having a decent Saturday round, the
three-time Quad-City Amateur champ hopes he can now match his previous Sunday
successes. But after scraping it around Saturday, he's not sure what to expect
today.
``I just hope I find a swing between now and when we tee off (this)
morning,'' he said somewhat seriously.
The rest of the field, though, may be hoping Wilkins' Saturday success may
throw off his solid Sunday play of late so they can have a chance.