Distractions, distractions. Jack Allara's life has been full of such lately. Obviously, though, all the frenzy never touched his golf game over the weekend.

Putting a shiny cap on his biggest victory ever, Allara fired a final-round, 1-over 73 at Westlake Golf & Country Club to coast to a four-shot triumph in the 28th Roanoke Valley Golf Hall of Fame men's championship.

"People say I thrive on chaos," said Allara, a 46-year-old Roanoke dentist. "Perhaps they know what they're talking about.

"It's hard to explain really the lack of preparation. I didn't hit any balls until Friday night. I went home last night and packed stuff and taped boxes. I got up this morning and packed a few more things. I'm going home tonight and pack some more stuff."

In the interim, Allara stuffed the opposition away Sunday afternoon. Performing quick oral surgery on a handful of prospective challengers by playing the final round's first eight holes in 2-under, Allara led by as many as six shots in waltzing to victory. He finished with a 54-hole total of 4-under 211.

Defending champion Robbie Craft, who started the day two shots back, struggled to a 75 and finished in a three-way tie for second at 215 with 1998 winner Brandon LaCroix (71) and Georgia transplant Ray Foley (70). A fourth limberback chasing Allara, Scott Wise, soared to a last-round 76 and took fifth at 217.

"What else can you say? The guy [Allara] was just rock solid," said Craft, 20. "He's a good player who hits the ball where he needs to hit it and makes very few mistakes. None of us could seem to put any pressure on him."

When asked about Allara, Wise pointed at the victor's name line on the scoreboard. Nobody's numbers wore as much pretty red.

"Hey, he deserved it," Wise said. "He played better than anyone else."

Allara has been knocking on the HOF door for years. During the past decade he has been a perennial contender, recording a second-, third- and fifth-place finish. Allara, a West Virginia native, was glad to finally join the elite club of winners in the Roanoke Valley's most prestigious event.

"I did want to win this," said Allara, who went 32 holes without a bogey at one stretch. "This is the biggest tournament in our area. It's been a lot of hard work to get here, just not much of it lately."

When accepting the winner's trophy, Allara half-jokingly asked tournament director Roby Roberson for a favor.

"I asked him, 'Do you have a box? Because I'm moving,' " Allara said. "The trophy is in a box now. I don't know what we'll do with it. We might pack it because there's really no reason to put it in the apartment."

Allara then paused for a few seconds. He took his only Mulligan of the week.

"No, I take that back," a grinning Allara said. "I probably will sit it out in the apartment."

In the team competition, Blue Hills held off a final-round comeback by Roanoke Country Club to earn its first title since 1993. It was Blue Hills' seventh title and snapped a seven-year run in which RCC (four) and Botetourt Country Club (three) had owned the trophy.

Reprinted with permission from The Roanoke Times.