It's been a good summer for University of Evansville golfers, past and present. They swept the city tournament titles in Evansville, and also pulled off a victory in nearby Henderson, Ky.

First it was 2008 graduate Crissy Higgins, who pulled away from teammate Vandi Gooch to win the 33rd annual Evansville Courier & Press Women's City Golf Tournament in July. Higgins found par and passed it on the back nine of Cambridge Golf Club in the final round to become the first player in Women's City history to finish the tournament under par. She followed a first round 1-under 69 at Fendrich with an even-par 72 at Cambridge, a rugged wind-blown links course north of Evansville. That 141 total gave Higgins the tournament's 36-hole record, besting the 144 shot by Suzanne Noblett in 1991. It also gave her an eight-stroke win over runner-up Vandi Gooch, her former teammate at the University of Evansville.

"Wow," said Higgins when told of her accomplishments. "I just wanted to shoot around par. I hadn't won a tournament since high school."

Then it came time for Henderson, Ky. native Matt Hunsaker to win the city title in his hometown. Hunsaker, about to start his senior year at UE after leading the team in scoring as a junior, certainly wasn't the youngest competitor in the tournament, but he was by far the best, winning by 13 strokes.

At the tender age of 16, Chris Ward occupied second place for three rounds before falling to fifth. Then there was 18-year-old Chris Thomas, who reached as high as third and finished fourth. Other unwrinkled faces showed up in the championship flight too.

"I've always considered myself young until this year," said Hunsaker.

He'll get no sympathy from tournament graybeard Mike Thomas, who won three straight city titles in the early 1990s. Playing his first serious golf in many a moon, Mike made a nice third-place showing -- better than every youngster except one. It sure wasn't easy, though.

"The length of the game has changed so much," he said. "These college kids hit it 70 yards past where I can hit off the tee."

These guys aren't very big either. The slender Hunsaker, for example, couldn't weigh more than 150 pounds if he were sopping wet and holding two golf bags. Yet he drove the green on a par 4 at Audubon. Granted, he got fortuitous bounce off a cart path but 330 yards is 330 yards.

Finishing up Evansville's sweep of the local summer tournaments was Kyle Reddington, who won the 79th annual Evansville Courier & Press Men's City Golf Tournament championship August 11. It was the second city title for the 2008 University of Evansville graduate. Reddington won because he was able to play six holes in 6-under par to give him more than enough cushion to withstand a three-bogey finish.

The charge allowed Reddington to win his second City title by shooting a 1-under-par 70 for the day and be the only player to finish the tournament under par, with a 1-under 283. Reddington, who intends to turn professional this fall, said he couldn't have scripted his last City any better.

"This is the way you want to go out as an amateur," he said. "I had my dad (Britt) caddying for me and he kept me in it all the way. This is really nice." (stories by Evansville Courier & Press, and Henderson Gleaner staff writers)