WCMA outlook

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on June 1, 2017 7:00 AM

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Plenty of drama, including an interruption from Mother Nature, highlighted the 2016 installment of the Wayne County Men's Amateur golf championships.

Jonathan Burke won a record fifth Open Division title by one stroke. A mere five strokes separated the top four finishers. Burke, eventual runner-up Nick Adams and Dane Jones each recorded an under-par round during opening-day play.

Lionel Sutton erased a seven-stroke deficit to claim the Senior Division crown by one stroke.

Jim Alford claimed the Super Senior Division in playoff fashion.

Long-time WCMA fixture Mickey Nance posted a three-shot victory over Deno Jetton in year two of the Masters Division.

For just the second time in WMCA history, the three-day affair was shortened to 36 holes due to inclement weather. One division had completed play, but the scores were erased.

"I think that we had a couple of close finishes," said Parker King, who serves as co-chairman of the WC Junior Amateur. "(Former champ) Johnny Zambelli is playing well right now. A great match between him and Jim will be awesome.

"Stan and Lionel are playing good. We've got a lot of young guns that are going to be playing and I think that bodes well for us in the future. The Open Division is going to be very competitive."

The 2017 Amateur tees off July 7 at 8 p.m. on the Southern Wayne Country Club links. The golfers tackle tricky Goldsboro Municipal GC on day two and conclude the tournament on the wide-open links of Lane Tree GC.

Spots remain open for the 144-player field that will be divided into 12 flights among the four divisions. The player application and registration fee is June 28 by 5 p.m.

The normal criteria apply -- a legal resident of Wayne County, a member in good standing with any golf course within the county and players must be 18 years old.

King said response, as expected, has been slow.

"They usually wait until the last minute," King said. "That's one thing that we'd like to see -- an increase so we can finalize our numbers a little sooner. We know with the summer coming, vacation is always going to be an issue.

"There is a buzz around Seymour Johnson about this tournament and we're glad to get the support from our military. I think the caliber of players we have this year is really good."

Rumors surfaced after last year's Amateur that oppressive heat had bothered some of the golfers on the course. A proposal to move the Amateur to the fall drew mixed reactions.

"We spoke with quite a few players and a lot of older gentlemen," King said. "What we heard is they prefer to play during the summer. They didn't want to see the dates move. Giving them an opportunity to still compete has been wonderful.

"We have heard a lot of good things about the Masters Division. That was a great move when we decided to do that."