It’s been a hectic few weeks for the faces of the Cleveland Golf Tour.

Between the three Tour events, state opens and Monday qualifiers, trying to
keep up with the latest golfing news would have required an unhealthy
obsession with the internet and/or a lot of spare time.

For those of you with neither, here is a Spark Notes recap:

Todd Westfall captured last week’s Greater Portland Open at Riverside Golf
Club. Rounds of 67-67-68 gave him an 11-under total and a two-stroke victory
over Rob Oppenheim.

The win gave Westfall’s bank account a $14,000 boost, and perhaps served as
some form of redemption following his last appearance in Portland. If you’ll
remember, Westfall fell in a playoff in last year’s Charlie’s Maine Open. On
the heels of this victory,
Westfall now enters next week’s LeBaron Hills Open as the defending
champion. Can somebody say momentum?

Bill Link IV Monday qualified for this week’s Nationwide Tour event, the
National Mining Association Pete Classic at Pete Dye Golf Club in
Bridgeport, West Virginia.

Link, a former standout at Holy Cross, eagled the par 5 18th hole for a
3-under 69 that left him one shot clear of an 11-for-8 playoff.

Link has Monday qualified for two PGA Tour events (‘01 Buick Championship,
04 BC Open), but his first successful Nationwide qualifier might be his most
impressive.

Consider this: last Wednesday, Link fired a final round 69 to tie for 16th
in the Atlantic City Hilton Classic, his best performance on the CGT since a
tie for 13th in last year’s Cranston Open.

Following his round, he immediately drove eight hours to Portland, Maine,
where he carded rounds of 68-70-69 to tie for 12th in the Greater Portland
Open.

After catching his breath in the locker room, Link, probably in need of six
Red Bulls, drove nearly 800 miles to West Virginia to tee it up in the
Nationwide’s Monday qualifier, which was actually played on Tuesday because
of the 4th of July.

Tired? It gets more fatiguing: The conditions for Tuesday’s qualifying
round? Near 100 Degrees, with searing humidity. “With the heat and humidity,
it was like a death march out there,” Link said. “But when you’re playing
well, you want to keep playing.”

With the 7,248-yard Pete Dye layout playing soft, the long-hitting Link
figures to fare well. A top 25 finish, which ensures his spot in the
following week’s event, will be the carrot dangling in front of Link’s eager
nose. Should he do that, he will miss next week’s CGT event at LeBaron
Hills, not that he would mind.

“I love seeing you guys,” joked Link, “but if I’m out here…”