Joey Lane with Eastern Amateur trophy
(Photo Courtesy of Eastern Amateur)
PORTSMOUTH, VA (July 10, 2016) -- It has been a memorable two week stretch for Virginia Tech golfer Joey Lane. First he won the
Virginia Amateur and then on Sunday he captured the Eastern Amateur at Elizabeth Manor Golf & Country Club.
Lane finished 14-under and ahead of a trio of players tied for second at 10-under. After beginning the day one-stroke behind, Lane birdied holes 3 and 7 before his only bogey of the day on No. 8. Lane would turn in 10-under after a par on the 9th.
"I started the day with a number in my head, 14 or 15-under, just because I felt like if I got there it would be near Jackson (Spires) and other players might not be able to get there," Joey Lane said. "After only being 1-under on the front nine I was a little bit more aggressive on the back nine. I saw a couple of leaderboards and figured I needed a bunch of birdies coming in."
54-hole leader Jackson Spires began the day at 10-under and got off to a hot start with birdies on three of the first seven holes to reach 13-under. However, as the round progressed, the East Carolina senior, started to move backwards with bogeys on Nos. 9, 12, 16 and a double-bogey on the 17th.
On the 12th hole Spires, playing alongside Lane, hit the first of two out of bounds tee shots on the back nine. Spires did make a good bogey but it was coupled with a Lane birdie and produced a two-stroke swing. Spires was still in the mix when he stepped onto the 17th tee but once more his tee shot sailed out of bounds.
While Spires struggled Lane continued to surge. In addition to his birdie on 12, he birdied the 13th to reach 12-under and then birdied 16 and 18 to tally a 4-under 32 and post 14-under. On the par-5 18th hole Lane hit his second shot into the green side bunker and then blasted out to three-feet, setting up his sixth and final birdie of the day.
"It is pretty huge for me (to win two weeks in a row), Lane said. "Up until last week I hadn't won anything since junior golf and once you get into college golf and amateur golf it gets a lot tougher to win, so it is nice to know that I can contend and I have now found out that I can win. Hopefully I'll keep contending and add a couple more wins."
Arizona State commit Ryan Douglass, Hayden Buckley (Missouri) and Jeg Coughlin all shared second place at 10-under.
Spires would end up in fifth place with a score of 9-under.
-Some information for story provided Eastern Amateur Tournament Committee
ABOUT THE
Eastern Amateur
The Eastern Amateur is a 72 hole stroke play
event that perennially attracts a top-drawer field.
The tournament has been
played -- with the exception of 1977 and 1999 -- at
Elizabeth Manor Golf and Country Club. Elizabeth
Manor is a par 70 Dick Wilson design in Portsmouth,
Virginia.
The impressive list of winners includes U.S. Open
winners Curtis Strange, Ben Crenshaw, Andy Bean,
Hubert Green, Jim Furyk and Steve Jones. Other
notables who have played in the Eastern Amateur
are Lanny Wadkins, Arron Oberholser, Steve Marino,
Scott Hoch, Clarence Rose, Gary Koch, Bob Tway,
John Rollins, Fred Funk, Carl Petterson, Chip Beck,
Jim Simons, Ben Crenshaw, Steve Melnyk, Andy
Bean and Steve Liebler. Liebler won the who the
Eastern in three different decades and is the only
golfer to have ever qualified for the USGA Junior,
USGA Amateur, USGA Open, USGA Public Links,
USGA Senior Open and USGA Senior Amateur as
well
as representing his state in the USGA Team
competition.
View Complete Tournament Information