John Eades’ win Sunday in the 2012 Charlotte City Amateur Golf Tournament was an emotional one. His father was his caddy and as his wife and 3-month old son stood by the 18th green at the finish, Eades flashed a smile as wide as any green on the Charlotte Country Club course.

Eades three-round total of 212 allowed the Charlotte Catholic High School and University of Maryland golf star to win his first Charlotte City Am. Eades shot a two-over-par 73 Sunday that was good enough for a one-stroke win over four-time tournament winner Joe Jaspers, who fired a one-under-par 72 to finish at 213. Matt Kilgo, who shared the lead with Eades heading into Sunday’s finale, shot a four-over-par 75 to finish tied for third at 214 with last year’s winner Brett Boner.

“It was a great experience and I really had to stay in each shot,” said Eades, who played professionally for four years before regaining his amateur status. “I had two players behind me all day and I feel very lucky to pull it out, very fortunate. It’s nice to know that you can still play at a high level.”

At the start Eades looked like he would fall behind early with two bogeys on the first two holes, but he quickly recovered. He birdied the fourth hole and from there got right back on track, with one exception. Eades led by one stroke but had a double bogey on 14, while Jaspers had a birdie for a three-shot swing. Heading into the 15th hole, Eades trailed Jaspers by one shot. But Jaspers bogeyed on 17 which helped Eades regain the lead.

“I had to really respond on hole 15 and I hit a great 6-iron to make a birdie to get back tied,” said Eades. “I parred in and fortunately it was good enough to win by a shot.”

Jaspers was seeking his fifth Charlotte City Amateur championship and just missed. “I played pretty solid golf, probably as good as I’ve been playing all year,” he said. “It just comes down to making a few up and downs when you make a mistake and I just wasn’t able to get it done out there today.”

Eades will have his name engraved on the tournament’s trophy, the Ron Green Sr. Trophy, which is named after the long-time golf writer for the Charlotte Observer.

Tournament Director Braxton McClennan talked about the fact that the 2012 field was one of the best.

“We played three great courses (Cedarwood Country Club, Carmel Country Club, Charlotte Country Club), and to shoot the scores the champion shot was impressive,” McClennan said. “You can’t say enough about Charlotte Country Club and all the clubs. We had a full field once again this year starting with 160 golfers attempting to qualify for this event.”