Jimmy Gardner is a family man and a father. But on this Father’s Day, any gift would’ve been hard-pressed to match the prize that Gardner earned at the 57th annual Lebanon County Amateur golf tournament.

On Sunday afternoon at Lebanon Valley Golf Course’s 6,136-yard, par-71 layout, Gardner earned the championship of local amateur golf with a second-round 69 and a 141 total, or one-under par. Gardner finished three strokes ahead of co-runners-up, Andy Gibbons and Tony Deraco.

But Gardner couldn’t have garnered his crown without a little bit of help from first-round leader John DiGiacomo. Gardner entered Father’s Day’s final round six shots behind DiGiacomo, who scuffled to an eight-over par 79 and a fourth-place showing.

Gardner’s decisive round was comprised of five birdies, three bogeys and ten pars. The title was also a nice complement to the 2006 Lebanon County Amateur championship Gardner won at Blue Mountain.

But the icing on the cake for Gardner was the fact that he was serving as the County Amateur’s tournament director for the final time. Justin Arnt will be taking over the position that Gardner had held for more than the last decade.

– Jeff Falk