2015 Wayne County Men's Amateur: Joyner is the "hunted" in Open division

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on July 9, 2015 1:48 PM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

Dane Jones uses the same approach -- steady and patient -- each time he steps onto the golf course.

He watched that technique pay off for his good friend, Jeremy Joyner, who drained numerous putts on the way to winning the Wayne County Men's Amateur Open Division golf championship a year ago.

Jones hopes to experience that good fortune this time.

"I believe the key (to winning the Open Division) is to be patient, be steady and try not to force any issues ... just make some putts," said Jones, who carded a final-day 67 and ended up nine strokes behind Joyner at 216.

"I've been steady and patient the last few years, but things just haven't fallen my way."

One of 120 golfers in the field, Jones will tee it up alongside Joyner and former Open champ Lionel Sutton when the 17th installment of the WCMA launches Friday morning at Lane Tree Golf Club. Completing their foursome is another pre-tournament favorite, Hayden Gardner.

The 54-hole, stroke-play tournament continues Saturday at picturesque Walnut Creek Country Club. After walking two long courses within a 48-hour stretch, the golfers could face a treacherous, challenging -- and shorter -- Goldsboro Municipal Golf Course layout in Sunday's final round.

Jeff Jackson returns to defend his Senior Division title. William Jetton, who won the inaugural Masters Division crown last season, is also back.

The Super Senior Division title is vacant.

"There's a lot of good players this year," said Parker King, who serves on the WCMA tournament committee.

"The last couple of years have dropped off a little bit, but (we) hope this year is the start of something new for the next few years. There's a lot of young talent out there."

Joyner expects plenty of challengers.

University of Mount Olive standout Nick Adams, the 2014 Open runner-up, is coming off a middle-of-the-pack finish in the N.C. Amateur. Jones, Kyle Stone, Matt Hall, Kevin Herring and Brandon Campbell are also expected to nip at Joyner's heels.

Adams, Campbell and Herring each shot an opening-round 68 at Walnut Creek last year. Campbell ended up fourth overall after shooting the third-lowest, final-round score (70) at Southern Wayne Country Club.

"Watch out for Ryan," King said. "He's a great ball striker and I think he can definitely sneak in there the final day. Another to watch is Ken Avent Jr. There are a couple of pairings that really have a lot of talent.

"It's a very good field."

Each course has its own personality and characteristics.

Lane Tree provides plenty of open space with large greens that test the golfers' putting skills. Walnut Creek is tighter with undulating and quicker greens.

GMGC, depending on the pin placement, can lead to a low score on the final day. Then again, it could jump up and bite an overconfident player.

"Dane and Nick jump off the page because that's (GMGC) their home course (and) that could give them a slight advantage," Joyner said. "If they play a really good round (early), the rest of us have to play good to keep up with them. Goldsboro Municipal is short enough you can make some birdies.

"But there are some holes, if you mess up, can lead to bogeys and put you behind the 8-ball. But the two par-5 holes on number nine and number 18 really lead to an exciting finish."

Joyner shot a final-round 6-under 66 to complete a 54-hole score of 207 -- one stroke shy of tying the tournament set by four-time champ Jon Burke. Joyner matched Burke's feat of completing every round under par in WCMA history.

Now Joyner will make an attempt to become the fifth player to win back-to-back Open Division crowns.

"There are a lot of good players out there and I just hope I can play well enough on Friday and Saturday to be in the kitchen (on Sunday)," Joyner said.