R.W. Eaks was born and raised in Colorado Springs and attended the University of Northern Colorado, but his name is noticeably absent from the lists of golf champions in the state.
He has a state title to his credit — but in basketball, not golf, as he helped Mitchell claim a 1971 Colorado high school championship on the hardwood. He went on to score more than 1,000 points in his UNC basketball career in the early and mid-1970s, and he’s now a member of the university’s Athletic Hall of Fame.
It was long after Eaks’ days of living in Colorado that he made a big-time name for himself in golf. He won three times in the 1990s on what is now known as the Nationwide Tour and four times on the Champions Tour in 2007 and 2008.
But this week, at age 59, Eaks (pictured) may be on the verge of his big Colorado golf breakthrough. He shot a 6-under-par 66 Thursday and will take a two-stroke lead into Friday’s final round of the HealthOne Colorado Senior Open at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club.
“Oh yeah, I’d like to win this thing,” said Eaks, who stands at 9-under-par 135. “It would be nice to finally win something in Colorado. I don’t think I’ve ever won anything in Colorado before.”
First-round leader Jim Kane of Edmond, Okla., fresh off a top-10 finish in the open division of the Oklahoma Open, birdied four of his last seven holes on Thursday — making five straight 3s in the process — to card a 69, which leaves him at 137 overall. Perry Holmes of Denver (67-139), who eagled a par-4 Thursday, and Mark Balen of Orchard Park, N.Y. (65-139) are third, while 2001 champion Greg Harmon of Mesa, Ariz. (71-140) is fifth.
Danny Edwards, a five-time winner on the PGA Tour, remained on the leaderboard as a 71 on Thursday put him at 141.
Eaks, who now lives in Scottsdale, Ariz., made seven birdies while his only bogey came on a three-putt on his 17th hole Thursday.
“I was very happy with my round,” he said. “I made a few more putts today. It’s probably one of my better rounds (in competition this year). I shot in the 60s a couple of days (last week also), so it’s coming around.”
Holmes, winner of the Colorado PGA Professional Championship in 2008, knows it won’t be easy to make up four shots or more on a veteran tour player like Eaks, but he certainly hasn’t given up hope.
“He’s probably not going to choke it up,” Holmes said of Eaks. “But it could be more pressure on him.”
Eaks, winner of more than $4.6 million in his Champions Tour career, is using the Colorado Senior Open and other late-summer tournaments to help determine whether he’ll return to the Champions Tour qualifying event this fall.
One of the reasons Eaks hasn’t had much golf success in Colorado is that he’s seldom competed in the state since hitting the peak years of his career.
“I never played in any of these (state open-type tournaments) when I was on the Champions Tour or the regular tour because I didn’t think it was right,” he said. “I didn’t like it when the big boys would come down when I was playing, so I tried to stay away while I was playing full-time.”
Eaks is looking for his first tournament victory since his last Champions Tour win in 2008.
“Everything seems to be pretty well in order, but we’ll see how it goes tomorrow,” he said. “You never know how the nerves and stuff are going to be, no matter what you’re playing in.”
A year after no Coloradans finished in the top 10 in the Senior Open, Holmes still has a shot at the title. The highlight of his bogey-free round Thursday was an eagle on the par-4 fourth hole, where he holed a wedge shot from 50 yards. He followed that with a near-gimme birdie on No. 7, and added birdies on 9 and 11. All told, he hit 17 greens in regulation and got up and down on the one he missed.
“I’ve just got to keep doing what I’m doing — fairways and greens,” said Holmes, a 52-year-old teaching professional at the soon-to-close Green Gables Country Club as well as at Coal Creek Golf Course.
Other Coloradans in the top 10 are Eric Hoos of Denver, David Brown of Lafayette and Rick DeWitt of Arvada, all of whom share ninth place at even-par 144.
Notable: University of Denver men’s golf coach Eric Hoos and David Brown remain tied for low-amateur honors as each has fired 71-73 for even-par 144 totals. … A total of 56 players made the cut by being 8 over par or better after 36 holes. … Greg Harmon, the 2001 Senior Open champion, is the leader of the super-senior division for players 60 and older. He’s at 4-under-par 140, one stroke ahead of fellow 60-year-old Danny Edwards, a five-time PGA Tour champion. Harmon is the Colorado Senior Open’s all-time money leader with $24,582. … The total purse up for grabs Friday will be $50,000, with $8,500 going to the low professional. … Tee times for Friday’s final round will start at 7:30 a.m., with the leaders starting at 10:30 a.m.
For HealthOne Colorado Senior Open scores, CLICK HERE.
