WARREN — The Putt-Putt Fun Center of Warren isn’t technically owned by Boardman’s Jim Engel.

Engel recently owned his competition when the facility plays host to Great Lakes Tour events for the Professional Putters Association.

Engel won all three events here last year and has won 13 state events on these two courses in his 21 years on the Great Lakes Tour.

He will seek to win back-to-back tournaments this weekend, beginning with today’s first round of the Ron Killian Memorial Tournament at 11 a.m.

Sunday, the professionals compete in the Ray Browning Memorial Tournament, which begins at 10 a.m.

“Anybody out here is capable of winning,” said Engel, who is 44 and was the GLT Player of the Year last year for the third year in a row. “You need to play well and have a little luck. It’s rare to win three events in a row here, but that doesn’t mean anything this year.”

Engel has played on the Virginia Tour and Indiana Tour and last summer played mini golf in Myrtle Beach, too.

“It’s a little time-consuming, but I really enjoy it and I try to maximize my time when I’m playing in these events,” he said.

“I don’t have the time to go to a bunch of national events because I have a wife and family. I just play the state events. I do it because I enjoy it. I don’t need to win a national title or any title.

“I just enjoy challenging myself. I’m playing myself, not the competition. You do the best you can, and then hope for the best.”

Engel said he began playing in tournaments at a former course in Boardman, which no longer exists.

“I was 19 and fooling around with it and someone suggested I enter a tournament,” he said. “I’ve been hooked since. Real early on, I went to a tournament in Monroeville (Pa.). That’s where I met my wife.

“I actually run that course in Monroeville now. It’s not a Putt-Putt; it’s a par-2 course.”

While some novices will also compete in the tournaments this weekend, even they understand the differences between Putt-Putt and miniature golf.

“Putt-Putt courses are designed to be aced without much trickery,” said Dr. Brad Lebo, a professional competitor who was inducted into the U.S. Mini Golf Hall of Fame in North Myrtle Beach, S.C., last October. “They have aluminum rails and test your putting skills. Tradition mini golf courses are more about aesthetics and are less predictable and not based solely on skill level.

“Putt-Putt Courses have aluminum rails whereas miniature golf can have brick, wood, decayed wooden rails and ball slots with giant figures throughout the course.”

Lebo, 59, is a former golfer, which he claims being a golfer is not big among the professionals.

“Lots of players out here didn’t grow into this sport from golf,” he said. “Many of them got started as kids when Putt-Putt was big. I was the opposite. I played high school and college golf and was reasonably good.

“I happened upon a Putt-Putt course when I was in finishing dental school in Philadelphia when I was 29. So I was way behind my contemporaries when I started. But I was immediately hooked when I played my first tournament back in 1989.”

The Fun Center has three courses and the two regulated for Putt-Putt have recently been re-carpeted.

“We’re one of only 39 sites nationally to still offer Putt-Putt,” said Roberta Cykon, who has owned the business for five years. “We purchased it because it meant a lot to us as a family and it has been in business here for 58 years. We bought it to keep it from being sold and demolished.

“We’re hoping to bring it back to viability and give today’s kids a chance to grow up around the sport and just enjoy it. Our goal is to provide a challenge and entertainment and help Putt-Putt enjoy a renaissance.”

Lebo said the GLT members enjoy the facility.

“We all love these courses,” he said. “It’s a great facility. (Cykon) is fantastic and great to work with. Both courses are fantastic. A lot of low scores have been shot here in the past and when this carpet breaks in. I think the same thing will happen here in the next few years.”