By STEVE WILLIAMS

DURHAM – Only three scores better than 68 were posted in the Carolinas PGA Section Championship played Oct. 23-25 at the tough 7,070-yard Tom Fazio-designed Treyburn Country Club Course.

Jeff Lankford had them all.

Lankford, who plays out of Hickory Hill in Mocksville, wrapped up the championship with a five-under-par 67 in windy conditions that prevailed during the final round. Considering the weather, that score ranked right alongside the 65 and 66 he carded in the first two rounds in perfect conditions.

"I think it’s the best three-day tournament that I’ve ever played," said Lankford, a former N.C. State player. "Today wasn’t my best scoring round but it was the best round. The wind had to be gusting up to 20 (MPH) a couple of times."

"I’ve been striking the ball well all year, but the three rounds of putting I had were the best I’ve ever had since I’ve been playing. I didn’t have any three-putts on these greens as severe as they are. And I made so many 15- and 20-footers that I haven’t been making. You have to have those to score."

When the three-day assault of Treyburn was over, Lankford had notched 22 birdies to go with four bogeys.

David Thore, head pro at Wolf Creek Golf Club in Reidsville, fired three rounds under par (71-70-71) and still was 14 shots off Lankford’s sizzling pace.

"I’ve been playing a long time, and that’s about as impressive a performance as I’ve ever seen. I got to see it first hand today," Thore said. "That’s not an easy golf course.

"Before the week started, I was thinking anything under par would be in contention going into the last day," Thore said. "I wasted three or four shots a day, but even if I hadn’t made any mistakes I still would have come up short."

The victory capped a great CPGA run for Lankford, who clinched his first True Temper Player of the Year award along the way. It was his seventh CPGA major title, the second this year. He won the Carolinas Club Professional Championship in August. He narrowly missed a third title, losing in a playoff to Steve Isley in the North Carolina Open. In the other two majors, he was third in the Carolinas Open and tied for fourth in the Lowcountry Open.

"That’s always a goal of mine at the beginning of each year," Lankford said of the player of the year points title. "I’ve been playing in the section since ’93. It’s a huge honor with the caliber of players we have in this section. I had two wins but I’m just as proud of how consistent my year has been."

Perhaps lost but not forgotten in Lankford’s magical 2001 was his tie for 28th in the Greater Greensboro Chrysler Classic. It earned him his largest ever payday – $21,775.

The Section Championship was worth a $5,000 and gave him exemptions to the PGA Tour stops at Hilton Head and Greensboro next year.

It’s the time of year a lot of aspiring pros are trying their luck in Q-School. Some of Lankford’s fellow club pros were telling him he should consider another crack at the big time.

"Forty players made the cut and we all wanted to give him $100 and send him off to Tour School (which carries a $4,000 entry fee)," Thore said.

"I had a little kidding about that," said the 37-year old Lankford, who had an unsuccessful year (1988) on the PGA Tour. "But I’m where I should be right now."

He and wife Angela have three children under the age of seven.

Thore’s second-place 212 score was two ahead of a pair of Charlotte pros. Todd Smith (71-72-71) and Chris Tucker (74-69-71) shared third place at 214.

Other Triad/Triangle pros to make the top 20 were Gus Ulrich of Albemarle (tied for 10th with 72-73-73 – 218), Jim Brotherton of High Point (tied for 12th with 74-72-73 – 219) and Bob Groff of Reidsville (tied for 20th with 76-72-76 – 224).

Eastern CPC

In the Eastern CPC played Sept. 26-29 at Stone Harbor Golf Club at Cape May Courthouse, N.J., Lankford shot 74-71-69-78 – 292 and finished tied for fifth, two shots off the pace set by Tim Dunlavey of Spartanburg, S.C. and Rick Hartman of Bridgehampton, N.Y.

Dunlavey picked up the $20,000 first prize by defeating Hartmann on the first hole of a sudden death playoff.

The event qualified players for next year’s National CPC, leaving them one step away from making it to the PGA Championship.

Actually, Lankford was already exempt for the National CPC, as were five other players in the field.

At stake for the others were 36 invitations to the nationals, which is set for June 20-23 at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky.

Area pros who made it to next year’s event were David Thore, who tied for 14th at 296 and Steve Moreland of Mount Airy, who tied for 30th at 302.

It took a score of 304 to qualify for the nationals.