This certainly qualifies as an example of unfortunate timing.

Just as the 2003 Tight Lies Golf Tour is winding down, Rome native Travis Nance is heating up.

Nance, who got off to a slow start on the tour, captured a championship last weekend, winning the Amarillo Open at La Paloma Golf Club in Amarillo, Texas.

Today, he’ll have a golden chance to make it two in a row during the Sprint PCS Open in Longview, Texas, which is the 15th stop on the 16-event tour.

Heading into today’s final round, Nance is tied for third place at 11-under 204, just one shot back of the co-leaders, Steve Cooke and Brad Weesner.

Nance opened the event with a 6-under 66 on Thursday to race to the top of the leaderboard, but dropped into second place after rounds of 71 and 68 on Friday and Saturday, respectively.

Last weekend, Nance claimed the Amarillo title by drilling a clutch eight-foot par putt to squeeze past defending champ Simon Cooke on a playoff hole.

Nance trailed by one stroke on the final hole before making par on the 18th to forge a tie with Cooke. Both players then missed the fairway with their tee shots on the following hole, but Nance was able to recover and save par, which allowed him to take the one-shot win.

Nance, who owns a 70.69 scoring average, finished the event at 7-under 277.

After the win, Nance told a reporter that he was dedicating the victory to his wife, Kellie, who had given him a pep talk the night before the final round.

“She told me to stay focused and go for the win,” Nance said. “Her words helped me remain positive throughout my round.”

The championship was the capper on what has been a steady stretch of performances by Nance, who struggled during the early events on the Tour, failing to make the cut in the first two tournaments of the year.

However, he hasn’t missed another cut since then — a span of eight consecutive tournaments. He’s finished in the top-25 in four of those eight events.

Last week’s victory earned him a $20,000 check, and moved him to 11th on the Tour’s money list.

The Tight Lies Tour concludes in two weeks with the Sprint PCS Tour Championship at Gary Plantation in Lake Charles, La