Easton tops Men’s Open at Heron Landing

Andrew Easton claimed top honours at the annual Heron Landing Men’s Open last weekend, coming out on top of the field of 31 that had to deal with some close competition—and a bit of windy, wet weather.
“I was kind of surprised after day one [Saturday]. With my score being even, I thought there would be some better scores,” Easton said.
Easton posted a 146 total (72-74), ahead of a glut at 151, which he credited to a finish on Sunday that he was—for the most part—pleased with.
“I added a couple under on the back nine, then I wound up taking the big fat six on hole 17,” he noted.
But unbeknownst to him, his score still was well ahead of the rest of the field.
“I kind of thought something was going on because guys were going, ‘Oh you deserve it,’ but I didn’t know I had won yet,” Easton shrugged.
His finish was five strokes better than the four-way tie for second at 151—a tie which had to be broken on a countback, and unfortunately left the fourth-place finisher without a prize.
As it stood with the countback, Mike Dick took first, Earl Klyne second, Konrad Sobkowicz third, and Greg Ward fourth (and without a gift certificate to show for the weekend).
Brian Johnstone, the head professional at Heron Landing and one of the tournament’s organizers, said things “went okay,” especially considering the weather.
But he had hoped for a higher turnout.
“It’s always disappointing [that] we don’t get more entrants but the tournament went well and the competition was good,” Johnstone noted.
“Just for whatever reason, people aren’t coming out to men’s tournaments anymore.”
The 31 golfers was “right around what we had for the past few years,” Johnstone added, but a far cry from the maximum of 144 the tournament was capable of accommodating.
As for Easton, while he had a good time, he didn’t have much to show for the weekend in terms of a prize—his $500 gift certificate for the pro shop just went to his tab.
“I had my irons and my golf membership I had to pay off,” he remarked. “It worked out perfectly.”
Here are the top finishes from the Heron Landing Men’s Open:
•Overall winner—Andrew Easton (146)
< *c>Championship flight
1. Mike Dick (151)
2. Earl Klyne (151)
3. Konrad Sobkowicz (151)
4. Greg Ward (151)
< *c>First flight
1. J.R. Wilson (net 140)
2. Dwayne Sinclair (net 142)
3. Clayton Windego (net 144)
4. Joel McCoy (net 144)
< *c>Second flight
1. Greg Tighe (net 145)
2. Jim Windego (net 146)
3. Jeromy Wensley (net 149)
< *c>Third flight
1. Peter Vivie (net 150)
2. Gerry Hercun (net 153)
3. Jim Ballard (net 155)