Jones, Larison repeat; Adams is 15U champ

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on June 17, 2011 1:47 PM

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DUDLEY -- Caleb Jones battled with himself. Meanwhile, Lauren Larison and Nick Adams toiled through fatigue.

And each emerged victorious in their respective age group during the sparsely-attended 2011 Wayne County Junior Amateur golf championship contested Thursday at Southern Wayne Country Club.

Carolina Junior Golf qualifiers and the two-day, 36-hole Roy Jones/BB&T Junior Golf Classic event played earlier this week at Kinston Country Club led to a small turnout for the annual event which determines the county's top links players.

Just 21 players competed in six age divisions this year.

A year ago, Jones' caddie -- brother Dane -- told him to pick up his game or he was walking off the course. The advice wasn't as harsh this time, but it did calm the Eastern Wayne standout.

Jones shot a 77 and successfully defended his 18-Under crown. Chris Best finished two strokes back, while Dylan Mitchell carded a single-round total of 83 in the eight-player field.

"The course played easy. Most of the short game ... putting, kind of messed up and a couple of drives got away from me. My brother kind of got me through the day," said Jones. "He told me to pick it up, grind through it and it turned out my way."

Adams' last official trip to SWCC ended with a runner-up finish in the Wayne County Golf Championships. This time, he fashioned a first-place 2-under-par 69 in the 15-U division.

The rising sophomore at Rosewood logged six birdies, three each on the front and back nine. However, he gave away four strokes on bogeys.

Kyle Best claimed runner-up honors with a 75, which included a 35 on the back nine. Michael Sutton placed third with an 86, followed by Blake Floars (98) and Jayden Thomas.

"I hit it pretty good all day and I putted good," said Adams, who played at Kinston. "I was a little tired today, but it was good. I drove the ball pretty well, too."

Stifling heat and high humidity forced Larison to take two IVs after second-round play in the Jones/BB&T Classic. The Charles B. Aycock standout recovered and repeated as the girls' 18-Under champion with a 97.

"Honestly, I felt like passing out the whole time, but tried to keep my head off the ground," laughed Larison. "I was just trying to make it through. My putting was good until the back nine and drives were decent on the back.

"My irons were pretty inconsistent."

Kelley Lewis captured the girls 11-U division with a nine-hole round of 51.

Bryce Jones seized the boys' 11-U championship with a 36. Kenneth Wiggins was the runner-up with a 38, followed by Drew Barnes with a 43. John Berry and Reid Barnette rounded out the five-player group.

Ethan McKenzie grabbed the boys' 13-U crown with an 87. Ken Avent III emerged runner-up and Blake Bartlett took third.