Jones and Norris Open With Sizzling 63s at Warrior

China Grove, NC – Gregg Jones and Shaun Norris each carded opening rounds of 8-under 63 to share a one-shot lead over six players heading into Thursday’s second round of the Tarheel Tour’s Warrior Classic.

Jones, who began his day in the second group off of No. 10, was able to play most of his round before the heat index cracked 100 degrees. The former Clemson University standout took full advantage. Jones opened with birdies on his first three holes followed by a string of pars before a birdie on the reachable par-5 17th left him at four-under par on the day. A bogey at Warrior’s tricky par-4 18th momentarily stopped the momentum, but Jones recovered quickly with birdies on three of his next four holes. Birdies on the par-4 seventh and the short par-4 ninth left Jones with an 8-under 63 and a share of the first-round lead. The Florence, SC native is looking to capture his first Tarheel Tour title after losing to Andy Bare in a playoff at the Sapona Open just over a month ago.

Norris also began his day on Warrior’s 10th hole a mere two groups behind Jones, but did not get off to quite the same start. The long-hitting South African bogeyed his opening hole and stood on the tee of par-5 13th one-over par for the day. Norris played his next seven holes in eight under, a stretch that included four birdies and eagles at the par-5 17th and the par-5 first. The 2007 Southern Open champion would bogey the par-3 third (his 12th) before rallying with birdies at 4, 5 and 7. Thoughts of a 61 were quickly erased by a disappointing bogey at the ninth; however, the 2007 champion of the Sunshine Tour’s Africa Open has plenty of past success to draw on going forward. Norris came into the Warrior Classic having made his last five cuts with his top finish being a tie for 19th at the Cabarrus Classic earlier this spring.

Among the players sitting a shot back are former Nationwide Tour players Elliot Gealy and Tommy Biershenk. The two former Clemson Tigers tied for the low score of the afternoon wave, combining to make 15 birdies and only one bogey, which Gealy recorded at the 225-yard par-3 12th. Past success on the Tarheel Tour is certainly no mystery to the two players. Gealy won the inaugural Southern Open in 2005 while Biershenk won the Kannapolis Open in 2006. Hank Kim, Ted Brown, and Cory Kaufman also fired 7-under 64s to open the event.

The scoring was terrific at Warrior Golf Club Tuesday as 83 players in the 148-player field were able to break par. The field will be cut to the low 52 players plus ties after Wednesday’s second round with the survivors battling it out for the $121,250 purse on Thursday. As always the public is welcome to come out to Warrior Golf Club to support the future stars of the PGA Tour free of charge.

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