The Lawrence Amateur Golf Association’s city tournament is less than a week away, and, for the first time, golfers seeking a second-day surge will be able to draw on their experiences from Day One to help them.

This year’s event is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, and instead of incorporating a couple of Lawrence’s courses, as in the past, both rounds will take place at Eagle Bend Golf Course. Eagle Bend and the city of Lawrence partnered with the Kansas Golf Association to make it that way.

For the golfers who enter, that means things like familiarity, comfort and momentum may come into play.

For the course and the city, it means yet another way to showcase what assistant golf pro Ryan Cloud calls “one of the up-and-comers in public golf in Kansas.”

“This is a great way for us to be able to showcase Eagle Bend and all of the good things that are happening out here,” Cloud said.

Such things range from an improved pro shop and snack bar to on-course upgrades and more consistent playing conditions and aesthetics, all products of the vision of Darin Pearson, golf-course supervisor who came to Eagle Bend after a 13-year career at Alvamar, and his staff.

While the changes have led to a certain amount of buzz along with more traffic and revenue at the 16-year-old course, the proud staff believes this is just the beginning.

“The best is yet to come for Eagle Bend,” Cloud said. “And if this relationship continues and we keep improving, I really think that this could be become one of the best events in Kansas.”

Eagle Bend learned it would take over the tournament in February, and Cloud said a lot of the rest of the tournament schedule for the Kansas summer was set. That created a situation where two of the biggest events in the state were set for the same weekend as the city tournament, which may water down the field. Cloud said the snafu was a one-year hiccup and emphasized that better planning would be a priority in the future.

That didn’t keep him from putting a positive spin on what the open and unpredictable field could mean for golfers of all abilities in eight days.

“Of course, we’d love to have all of the best players in the city playing in this event every year,” Cloud said. “But I really think this thing is wide-open this year, and that should make it a lot of fun.”

Entry forms can be acquired either in the pro shop or online at www.lawrenceks.org/lprd/eaglebend, but forms must be turned into the pro shop to enter. The entry deadline is Wednesday.