On Sunday afternoon, Johnathan Burke shot a 69 in the third round of the Wayne County Men’s Amateur Championship to clinch his sixth Wayne County Men’s Amateur Open Division championship at Lane Tree Golf Club.
Burke posted a three-day score of 211 to win the championship, and Burke had to overcome a six-stroke deficit in the final round, and Burke said his sixth title was the sweetest one.
“It’s been five years since I’ve won one, and when you play competitive golf all the time like I was before, it’s easier come out here in this tournament,” Burke said. “This is the only tournament I play in all year, and to come out and play three good days, I honestly thought for the last five years if I would win one again that’s why it’s the sweetest.”
Heading into Sunday, Nicholas Adams held a six-shot lead over Burke, while two-time champion Dane Jones was one stroke behind Burke. Mark Whitley and Brad Jones both had a two-day total of 144 heading into Sunday.
Burke claimed his first Open Division championship since 2016. Burke also won the Open Division title in 2010, 2009, 2006 and 2005.
“When you’re six back, and you’re playing with somebody like Nick, and Nick and I play similar games. Fairways, greens, putting, we’re both pretty steady, and we’re not going to have big holes, and we’re not going to make mistakes.
“So, I knew the only way to catch him was for him to make a mistake, and I tried to make a couple of birdies early and let him know that I’m here.”
Adams ended up in second place with a total score of 215, Jones secured third at 218, followed by Whitley (219) and Jones (220).
Over in the Senior Division, Lionel Sutton reclaimed the Senior Division championship with a three-day total of 207. Sutton shot a 69 on every day of the Amateur and won the Senior Division title by 12 strokes.
Sutton won his sixth Senior Division title and his ninth title overall.
In the Super Senior Division, Christopher Morrissey ended second-round play three strokes ahead of Jeff Jackson and Mitchell Jones, who both shot a two-day score of 150.
Morrissey posted a final-round 72 — which gave him a three-day mark of 219 and his first Super Senior Division title.
Jim Alford wound up in second place at 227, which was one stroke ahead of Mitchell Jones (228), who ended up in third, followed by Jackson (229)
Roland Gurley picked up his first Masters Division title with a three-day total of 223 and was nine strokes ahead of Mickey Nance (234), who finished in second place.
Rosewood High School’s Lexi Lewis (168) won the second Wayne County Women’s Amateur, while last year’s champion Kathy Woodard (170) wound up second. Myong Sinkuc ended up in third place.
The 17-year-old said she was a little nervous competing against adults. but she quickly settled down and found her groove.
“It feels great, and I worked really hard,” Lewis said. “I was a little bit nervous, but after a while, the nerves went away.”
