BY JOHN CONLEY

Associate Editor

Mike Veres captured the Wyoming County Open against one of the strongest fields ever.

Five former Open champions, including Veres himself, were among the 144 who played at Clearfork Valley last weekend.

Veres, the current West Virginia mid-amateur champion, birdied on each of the last three holes on Sunday to finish at 134, three strokes ahead of Jim Grimmett. Brian Muncy was third at 136.

"I played very well," said Veres, the Chapmanville native who had won the Open twice before. "I putted the ball pretty well and hit the ball really solid.

"I played really well on the front nine and then had a poor start on the back," he commented.

Down two strokes with four holes to play, he knew a comeback wouldn't be easy.

"Jim had played solid all day," he noted. "It was a shootout (between us) all day," Veres added.

Veres had six birdies on Sunday and 13 for the tournament.

This year's event had to be postponed because the course was flooded in May.

Daily rain last week made getting the course ready a challenge.

"We had to do a lot of work to get the course in good enough shape to have the tournament," stated Toney Bowles of Clearfork Valley. "We did a lot of mowing and trimming."

"We're real happy with the players who showed up," he added. "We had a real good field and 24 in the championship flight."

Participants ranged in age from nine-year-old Colin Bowles to 91-year-old Woodrow Dillo.

Top finishers in each flight are listed below.

Championship Flight

Mike Veres, first; Jim Grimmett, second; Brian Muncy, third.

First Flight

Tommy Kirk, first; Buzz Green, second; Tyler Browning, third.

Second Flight

David Gresham, first; Zachary Gresham, second; Mike Halsted, third.

Third Flight

H.D. Thompson, first; Brad Justice, second; Jeff Shrewsbury, third.

Fourth Flight

Justin Gillispie, first; Michael Browning, second; Robbie Ferrell, third.

Fifth Flight

Davy Pierson, first; Kevin Roach, second; Mike Cook, third.

Sixth Flight

Jackie Justice, first; Lucky Jones, second; Darrin McDaniel, third.

Seventh Flight

Travis Whitten, first; Mike Vallo, second; Teddy Conley, third.

Eighth Flight

Adrian Wiles, first; Philip French, second; Mike Gillium, third.

Senior Flight

Gold

Bob Cook, first; Ash Stewart, second; Jim Stewart, third.

Silver

Delbert Messer, first; Russell Green, second; Larry Stewart, third.

Bronze

Sam Muscari, Sr., first; John Dillon, second; Ken Dillo, third.