Sanford, NC (April 29, 2010) - Ken Eichele of Pinehurst, a two-time winner of the Senior Amateur Tour National Championship, has been hampered by back problems over the last couple of years. Although he has still won his share of events over that time span, his recent scores "on-Tour" have not been up to his own standards. Quite possibly his showing today on the Creek Course at Carolina Trace Country Club may signal the start of another "hot streak". Eichele was the picture of consistency with an even par 72 on the 6,336 yard course. He wound up 2 strokes clear of a trio of golfers led by Lewisville's Mike Smith who won the tiebreaker for 2nd place over Spring Lake's Chip Luce and Sanford resident and club member Alan Dirk with a birdie on the #1 handicap hole. Dirk had the misfortune of experiencing a "bad-luck, bad-bounce" on his finishing hole resulting in a triple bogey that killed any chances he had of beating Eichele. In A Flight play, Lawsonville's Dale Rogers, who got in the event as a last minute replacement for another Tour member who was forced to withdraw, walked away with top honors with a 78. Rogers finished 1 shot ahead of Raleigh's Scott Benson and 2 beyond Wiley Barrett of Southern Pines. Raleigh's Foster Price, who played from shorter tees in the B Flight also managed a victory by posting a 78. Like Rogers, he was only 1 shot clear of 2nd place finisher Jerry Widdowson of Durham. Jeff Brown of Youngsville and Greensboro's Lewis Burgman finished with 83s. If you shot 90 or better in the C Flight, you made the prize pool which was 5 players deep. Gary Ransom of Apex led the pack with an 84, followed by Jamestown's Gary Chapman 2 strokes back. Durham's Brian Costine shot an 87 for 3rd. "We get to come back here in September and play their other venue - the Lakes Course", said Assistant Tour Director Tom Kubla. "As happy as everyone was with the course today, they're gonna be looking forward to that". THE SENIOR AMATEUR GOLF TOUR CAROLINA TRACE (CREEK COURSE) EVENT TOP FIVE SCORES BY FLIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP (6,336 yds) Ken Eichele, Pinehurst 72 Mike Smith, Lewisville 74 Chip Luce, Spring Lake 74 Alan Dirk, Sanford 74 Terry Collins, Pinehurst 75 A FLIGHT (6,336 yds) Dale Rogers, Lawsonville 78 Scott Benson, Raleigh 79 Wiley Barrett, Southern Pines 80 Mike Allison, Durham 81 Steve Morelli, West End 81 George Shadwick, Jackson Springs 81 Tim Wilson, Danbury 81 B FLIGHT (5,975 yds) Foster Price, Raleigh 78 Jerry Widdowson, Durham 79 Jeff Brown, Youngsville 83 Lewis Burgman, Greensboro 83 Travis Jones, Greensboro 84 C FLIGHT (5,975 yds) Gary Ransom, Apex 84 Gary Chapman, Jamestown 86 Brian Costine, Durham 87 Benny Miller, Raleigh 89 Dale Rucker, Rockingham 90