The Tiger Woods of the Lawrence amateur golf scene wasn’t counting sheep Friday night. Easy lies the head of the man who wears the Lawrence Amateur Golf Association City Tournament crown. Pressure doesn’t melt Conrad Roberts. It makes him cook the field.

Roberts, 34, has won the last three City Tournament titles. His quest for a fourth begins today when he tees off at Eagle Bend at 10:04 a.m.

“I really enjoy the City Tournament,” Roberts said while waiting for his bucket of chicken to arrive Thursday night to his table at Henry T’s.

Why?

“It’s the City Tournament,” Roberts said. “I think it should be a prestigious tournament, and I certainly treat it as one. I’ve had the honor of winning it. It’s a big tournament to me.”

So big it makes him nervous?

“I get excited nervous,” Roberts said. “Not the other sort of nervous, if you know what I mean. Because now I don’t compete very often, I really look forward to tournaments like this. I know my game gets better in tournament situations. I don’t know what it is, it just does. I get giddy excited about competing.”

A native of Wales, Roberts played for Ross Randall at Kansas University.

“He’s probably the straightest ball hitter I’ve seen in my many years,” said Randall, who recently retired from KU. “His ball, when he hits a normal shot, does not curve at all. It just goes straight. From tee to green, he was really impressive. His short game was his area where he needed to better.”

And better he has become at it.

“That is one of the big differences now,” Roberts said of his short game. “It’s still not fantastic, but it’s better. Back in college, my strength was off the tee and into the green in regulation. Fairly often, my short game let me down. I’ve worked on it, and it’s paid off.”

Roberts hunts birdies more wisely than in younger years.

“My attitude and approach to the game over the years has definitely matured,” Roberts said. “I think my way around the course better than I did in college. I don’t play nearly as aggressively. The words of Ross Randall: ‘Sometimes par is a good score,’ those words ring in my head every time I play.”

Told the tee times had been released, Roberts immediately asked if Mike Grosdidier, reigning state senior amateur player of the year, had decided to play in the open division or the senior division. Informed he would vie for the city’s senior title, Roberts said, “Thank goodness. He can beat anybody, anytime.”

So can Roberts. Asked if he thought nerves would be a problem for Roberts, Randall fought back a laugh.

“Well, I know he played pretty darn steady when we won the Big 12,” Randall said.

Roberts had played pretty darn steady through most of this golf season, but with family obligations taking precedence, had not played enough to be at his best. Roberts said heading into his three most recent rounds at Alvamar public, he had not shot better than 70 this year. His last three rounds: 67, 68, 68. As always, Chad Roesler will be tough to beat, but it seems as if Roberts is peaking at the perfect time to pull of a four-peat.