Southport, NC – On a day only the BBC and the powers that be at the Open Championship could love, Cam Burke of New Hamburg, Ontario overcame a double-bogey on the first hole of his final round (and four consecutive bogeys to finish) to post a final-round 76 and earn his first professional title at the eGolf Tour’s inaugural Founders Club Classic at St. James Plantation.

The Founders Club Classic was the sixth of 24 scheduled events on the 2013 eGolf Tour schedule, and was contested this week at the Founders Club at St. James Plantation in Southport, NC.

Burke entered Thursday’s final round on the heels of a 69-69—138 (6-under) start to his week, and in possession of a one-shot lead over Carlos Sainz Jr. of Elgin, IL. From the outset, it was apparent that Mother Nature would play a role in the outcome of the tournament.

Steady overnight rains in the scenic coastal town gave way to a constant drizzle and occasional downpour on Thursday morning, which paired with a 20-30 mph wind to create some of the most difficult playing conditions in the eGolf Tour’s 12-year history.

Burke, opening his run towards a maiden victory, started in less-than-ideal fashion, pulling his tee shot at the par-4 first down the bank of a hazard, leading to a sideways chip out that gave way to a double-bogey.

“To start off the day like that wasn’t ideal, but I wasn’t really nervous at that point. I think the elements made me think, ‘Hey, that’s not the end of the world,’” said Burke, 25. “I knew if I could make some pars on those first five holes, I could get the shots back.”

The former Eastern Michigan University standout did par Nos. 2 through 5 to stay at 2-over, then recaptured his lost shots with birdies at Nos. 6 and 8 to move back to even par for the round, and 6-under for the tournament.

“Making the birdie putt on No. 8 was huge for my mindset. The putt was maybe 12 or 13 feet, but got me back to even par and freed me up a bit on Nos. 9 and 10,” Burke said after his round.

A birdie at the par-5 12th moved the laidback Burke even further into the red, taking him to 7-under par for the week and in clear control of his first professional title.

That clear control, however, turned south quickly, and nearly resulted in an epic collapse down the stretch.

At the par-3 13th, Burke ran a 45-foot birdie try roughly 8 feet past the hole, and missed the ensuing par putt to fall back to even par, but still in the lead at 6-under par.

The closing stretch at the P.B. Dye-designed Founders Club course is the stuff nightmares are made of, and Nos. 15 through 18 nearly proved that to be true for Burke, who had to endure some of the day’s fiercest wind and rain while entering the final four holes.

A 2-iron approach from 206 yards at the long par-4 15th missed the green left, and led to another bogey for Burke after a solid par try from 8 feet slid past the hole. At that point, he fell to 5-under par for the tournament and clinging on to a three-shot lead over Harold Varner III of Gastonia, NC, who had pared Nos. 8 through 17 to remain at a suddenly-viable 2-under par for the tournament.

Varner, who became the first African-American winner of the North Carolina Amateur when he won in 2011, had steadied his proverbial ship after bogeys on Nos. 6 and 7 took him to 1-over for the day and 2-under for the week.

The bogey at No. 6 came via a penalty shot handed down for illegally touching his golf ball, after the former East Carolina University star mistakenly thought his ball was in the fairway, when it was actually in the first cut of rough (preferred lies were in play given the conditions).

While Burke was unraveling, Varner was holding his own, paring every hole on the closing nine heading into the par-4 18th – where the tee had been moved up to allow players to try and drive the green from 300 yards.

Almost simultaneously, Burke added another bogey to his scorecard at the devilish par-3 16th, falling to 4-under par and making Varner’s closing hole one of utter importance.

A pulled tee shot by Varner at the 18th led to a chip to 20 feet, which set up a possible birdie that would have allowed him to post 3-under in the clubhouse. Instead, Varner was overly aggressive with his first putt, leading to an untimely three-putt bogey that closed out a final-round 74 – leaving him in the clubhouse at 1-under 215.

“On 16 and 17, I just couldn’t hit a green,” said Burke. “With the weather, I just couldn’t make a normal golf swing. Everything felt like a chip shot.”

From the left side of the fairway on 17, Burke’s approach into a stout coastal wind came up well short of the green, leading to yet another bogey after a solid two-putt from 35 feet up a ridge kept him one shy of a second double-bogey on the day.

“That was a clutch two-putt. That was a good 3 feet, and those are not the putts you want when the wind is blowing and your hands are frozen,” Burke said.

With the tee up at the 18th, Burke – now just two clear of Varner – opted to hit a 5-iron off the tee in order to play it safe. His tee shot hit the middle of the fairway, then bounded on a hard line towards a left-side pond. With his ball submerged in the water hazard, and in need of just a bogey to win, he took a drop, hitting his third just over the green and into the rough – 25 feet left of the back-right hole location.

“At that point, I was just hoping for a good break,” he said. “I’ve now played three-and-a-half holes with nothing really happening like it’s supposed to. Every opportunity I had to make a save, I didn’t do it.”

With a small crowd of saturated fans looking on, he hit his fourth shot up to 3 feet from the hole, setting up a putt for his first professional win. With Varner looking on from a distant clubhouse veranda, Burke calmly rolled in the closing bogey, giving him a final-round 76 and a 2-under 214 total for the week.

Most importantly, he had sewn up his first career eGolf Tour title, and the event’s $14,000 first-place prize.

“It feels good. Obviously, I would have liked to have won in different fashion, but I’m proud of the way I played this week. I’m very happy that I pulled it off,” said Burke, who moved up to No. 3 on the tour’s money list with the win.

The win was a long time coming for Burke, who had 43 career eGolf Tour starts since the 2011 season under his belt, entering the week in Southport. During that span, he amassed a solid seven top-10 finishes, but an even more impressive 36 made cuts.

Burke’s amateur resume was stacked with accomplishments prior to turning professional. In 2008, he won the first of two back-to-back Canadian Amateur Championships – one of the more prestigious titles in amateur golf, and an event that dates back to 1895. Those wins netted him a spot on Canada’s World Amateur team, which competed in 2010 at the biennial Eisenhower Trophy.

“This round was just so hard. It was a see-what-you-can-do-out-there kind of day,” Burke said. “Today was all about the conditions, and sometimes that’s just going to happen. I’m really happy with the way I’m playing right now, so we’ll see where I can take it from here.”

Varner earned solo-second-place honors with his 1-under 215 tally, picking up $8,000 to move up to No. 10 on the tour’s 2013 money list. The finish marked his second straight top-10, dating back to a solo-sixth-place finish at last week’s Championship at St. James Plantation.

In just his second year as a professional, Varner is already making good on his vast potential, having now collected five top-10s in 12 career starts on the eGolf Tour.

Prior to turning professional last summer, Varner was without doubt the most decorated player in ECU history, earning two college victories, the aforementioned 2011 North Carolina Amateur, and the 2011 North Carolina Amateur Match Play title as well – in turn becoming the first player in history to claim both amateur titles in the same summer.

Mackenzie Hughes of Ontario, Canada, Frank Adams III of Laurinburg, NC and Sainz finished in a tie for third at even-par 216 for the week. Each player earned $4,800 for their efforts.

Hughes, himself a two-time winner of the Canadian Amateur (2011-2012), posted the day’s third-lowest round with a closing 72. The even-par effort gave the former Kent State star three consecutive rounds of 72 on the week.

The 22-year-old Dundas, Ontario native is in his first full season on the eGolf Tour, having now made three of five cuts. The T3 effort at St. James represented a career-best for the 2012 Canadian World Amateur Team member.

Adams, whose eGolf Tour career dates back to the 2003 season, was in contention to win the tournament on the back nine during the final round.

Opening rounds of 70-72—142 had Adams, also a former ECU Pirate, at 2-under par, just four shots behind Burke heading into the final round. After turning at 1-under 35, Adams birdied Nos. 11 and 12 to reach 5-under par – at the time in solo-second place, two shots out of the lead.

On the tee of the par-5 14th, the six-time eGolf Tour winner blocked his tee shot out-of-bounds right, in turn leading to a tournament-crushing triple-bogey. Closing bogeys on 17 and 18 gave the 33-year-old a final-round 74, and a 216 total for the tournament. The finish was his third top-10 of the year on tour.

Sainz, who copied Burke with a double-bogey of his own on the opening hole, birdied the par-4 18th to sneak into a tie for third, posting a final-round 77 on the day.

The finish marked a career-best for the former Mississippi State golfer on the eGolf Tour, bettering a T18 effort at the 2010 Championship at St. James Plantation.

• A special thanks goes to the members of The Clubs at St. James Plantation for allowing the tour to use their fantastic facilities for both this week, and last week as well. Their efforts in providing such excellent volunteer help, fan support and optional housing for our players are a huge aid in conducting the tournaments. The tour would also like to thank St. James Director of Operations Dave Flinchbaugh, Director of Group Sales Gary Downing, Founders Club Head Golf Professional Brian Walker, and their respective staffs for their help in arranging this tournament and assisting the tour during the week. Thank you to Director of Agronomy Conrad Broussard and Founders Club Golf Course Superintendent Dockery Steed, and their crews, for presenting a fantastic venue this week.

• The tour will take next week off before heading to Greensboro, NC for the Forest Oaks Classic, to be contested at Forest Oaks Country Club on April 17-19, 2013.