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Jake Justice signs letter of intent
Terry Johnson
2B
3B
’s McLuen chases dream of PGA Tour
Forsyth resident Jay McLuen narrowly missed out on quali
fying for the U.S. Open this month. He now has his sites set
on PGA Tour Qualifying School in December. (Photo/Cour
tesy of Jay McLuen)
Forsyth
BY RICHARD DUMAS
For a while Saturday,
Macon's Russell Henley
played a starring role in
the 2011 U.S. Open
Championship. On the
strength of a front nine
birdie run, Henley momen
tarily moved into third
place before fading to a tie
for 42nd place Sunday.
But Forsyth nearly had
its own U.S. Open repre
sentation.
Jay McLuen, who has
lived in Forsyth for the
past several years, only
missed a spot in the U.S.
Open by one shot. McLuen
finished a single shot
behind Henley during sec
tional qualifying at Hawks
Ridge Country Club in
Ball Ground, Ga. on June
6. Henley claimed the
third and final spot in the
qualifier by defeating PGA
Tour pro Jason Dufner in a
playoff. However, Dufner
also got a spot in the U.S.
Open as an alternate.
Had McLuen, who shot a
pair of 67s in the qualifier,
finished a shot better, he
might have claimed either
Henley or Dufner's spot.
The U.S. Open would
have been by far the
biggest stage the 30-year-
old McLuen has played on
during his six-year pro
career.
McLuen, who grew up in
Colbert, just outside of
Athens, actually turned
pro as a 20-year-old after
just one year of college at
the College of Charleston.
However, McLuen, who
played on the Southern-
based Hooters Tour, said
he was not ready for the
big time like he thought he
was. "I just got killed,"
McLuen said. Future PGA
Tour winners Zach
Johnson, Vaughn Taylor
and Boo Weekley were his
competition, and McLuen
said of the experience: "I
wasn't ready to play then."
So McLuen began work
ing at golf courses until he
thought he was ready to
resume his pro career. In
2005, McLuen finished
third in an eGolf
Professional Tour tourna
ment in Charleston, where
he was working as an
assistant pro at the time.
He said the high finish
gave him the confidence to
pick up his pro career
where it left off.
Since then, McLuen has
played about 200 to 250
tournaments on small
tours around the South.
He has played eight career
tournaments on the
Nationwide Tour, the AAA
equivalent to the PGA
Tour's major leagues,
including four tourna
ments in 2010.
Unfortunately, McLuen
missed the cut in all four.
"I never really got com
fortable," McLuen said of
the Nationwide experi
ence. "I never really got
settled. I didn't really
know my schedule. I may
not know I was getting in
the event until the
Tuesday, two days before
the tournament."
But McLuen said his
game is really coming
along now. He is currently
second on the money list
on the Peach State
Professional Golf Tour,
having earned $21,212 in
2011. He won the tour's
season-opening event held
See MCLUEN page 2B
Three thoughts
Adkins, Peterman sign to play at
Three thoughts on the week in sports:
• The youth movement has completely taken over
golf. What more could I possibly write about Rory
Mcllroy's dominating U.S. Open victory that has
not already been written?
The 22-year-old kid from
Northern Ireland won a
major championship by
eight shots. Enough said.
However, what seems
remarkable to me is that
after a generation of Woods
domination, it appears that
some of the 20-some-
thing crowd is putting
on Woods-like perform
ances, albeit not as
frequently. A 26-year-
old, Chari Schwartzel,
birdied the last four holes to win The Masters and
now this Mcllroy performance. As great as the Els,
Singh, Furyk, etc. generation was, the next group of
stars like Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, Ryo
Ishikawa, and yes, Macon's own Russell Henley,
may do things as a group that golf fans never
thought possible.
• Wimbledon opened Monday with another clini
cal straight-sets victory by defending champion
Rafael Nadal. Quietly, however, Wimbledon is more
up-for-grabs than ever before in the Nadal-Federer
era. Serbia's Novae Djokovic enters the tournament
with only one loss the entire season, but it was a
painful one to Roger Federer in the French Open
semifinals. After an unexpected trip to the finals in
Paris, Federer has now reasserted himself as a
threat to win Wimbledon. And Scot Andy Murray is
coming off a victory at the Wimbledon tune-up tour
nament, Queens Club, last week. Oh yeah, and
Nadal has won the last two Wimbledons in which
he has participated. So there are at least four play
ers with a real shot to win. Since Nadal and
Federer have combined for 25 of the last 29 major
championships, four is reason for rejoicing if you're
a fan of competition.
• The Cleveland Cavaliers have the top pick in
the NBA Draft Thursday, and I typically advocate
picking a center or point guard with the top pick
because those positions are usually the corner
stones of an NBA franchise. In this case, however, I
actually think the Cavs should take Arizona small
forward Derrick Williams with the top pick over
Duke point guard Kyrie Irving. While both players
ooze talent and appear to be franchise players,
Williams seemingly has no weakness. At 6' 9", he
managed to shoot nearly 60 percent from three-
point land in 2010-11. He also passes and handles
like a guard, while still maintaining a back-to-the-
basket offensive game. And though Williams seems
a bit full of himself based on some of his pre-draft
bluster, he appears like he wants the daunting
challenge of replacing the once-iconic LeBron
James in Cleveland.
MP’s Maples wins
junior tournament
MP tennis standout Whitney Maples won the
Collins Hill Summer Jr. Satellite Level 5 tourna
ment in Lawrenceville June 11-12. The tournament
was a double elimination tournament. Maples
received a bye in the first round, but in the quarter
finals she faced H. Mathis from McDonough ,Ga
winning 6-3,6-1. In the semi finals she beat C.
Wade from Powder Springs 7-5,6-2 and in the finals
she beat J. Bryant from Villa Rica, Ga 4-6,6-2,1-
0(10-6). This is the second tournament Maples has
won this year.
West Georgia Technical College
Kenny Peterman of Mary Persons High School has signed an official letter of intent to play
baseball at West Georgia Technical College. Pictured on the top row (from l-r): WGTC Assis
tant Coach Austin Janowski, WGTC Head Coach Todd Pratt and WGTC Athletic Director
Walter Dunson. Pictured on the bottom row (from l-r): Betty Peterman (Peterman’s mother),
Kenny Peterman and WGTC President Dr. Skip Sullivan. (Photo/courtesy of West Georgia
Tech)
Cory Adkins of Mary Persons High school has signed an official letter of intent to play base
ball at West Georgia Technical College. Pictured on the top row (from l-r): WGTC Assistant
Coach Austin Janowski, WGTC Head Coach Todd Pratt, Zack Roberts (Adkins’ brother) and
WGTC Athletic Director Walter Dunson. Pictured on the bottom row (from l-r): Karen Roberts
(Adkins’ mother), Cory Adkins and WGTC President Dr. Skip Sullivan. (Photo/courtesy of
West Georgia Tech)
Mary Persons baseball
stars Cory Adkins and
Kenny Peterman have
signed letters of intent to
continue their baseball
careers at West Georgia
Technical College in Waco.
Adkins and Peterman
are part of West Georgia
Tech's first official recruit
ing class as the program
moves up to JUCO-
Division 1 status next sea
son. The Knights competed
in the National Club
Baseball Association dur
ing its inaugural season in
2010-11, during which it
finished 22-12 and No. 5
nationally.
West Georgia Tech head
coach Todd Pratt said on
May 19, the date the play
ers officially signed: "I'm
very excited about the
guys that we are adding to
our roster today. We have
some real talent coming in,
and I am confident that
they will represent West
Georgia Tech in a first-
class manner on and off
the field. This is truly an
exciting day for them, and
it is also an exciting day
for me and this program."
Adkins, a four-year let-
terman, pitched and
played shortstop for the
Bulldogs during his senior
season. He was named
honorable mention Region
2-AAA at shortstop in 2011
after a year in which he
hit .325 with 4 homers and
22 RBIs at the plate and
was a standout in the
field. Adkins also pitched
in eight games, starting
four. He compiled a 3-1
record and a 4.63 ERA on
the mound with 25 strike
outs in 27.2 innings.
Adkins hit .250 with 1
homer and 15 RBIs during
his junior year. He was 2-4
with a 5.06 ERA on the
mound with 33 strikeouts
in 40.1 innings.
MP head coach Jonathan
Gastley said of Adkins:
"You knew defensively
when the ball was hit to
him, he'd make the play."
Gastley added that Adkins
was a "blue collar kind of
guy."
Peterman, also a four-
year letterman, pitched
and played first base for
MP during his senior sea
son. He was named sec
ond-team All-Region 2-
AAA as a first baseman
and as a pitcher. Peterman
hit .348 with 4 homers and
25 RBIs at the plate. On
the mound, he compiled a
perfect 4-0 record with a
3.23 ERA in seven appear
ances, five of which were
starts. He struck out 21
batters in 26 innings
pitched.
As a junior, Peterman hit
.241 with 1 homer and 6
RBIs.
MP head coach Jonathan
Gastley said it was
impressed by the way
Peterman handled the
adversity he faced during
his career, which included
the death of his father
during his junior year.
Gastley said Peterman,
who was awarded a senior
scholarship endowed in his
late father's name at the
varsity baseball awards
banquet Friday night,
embodied "grit and tough
ness."
Adkins and Peterman
were part of a Mary
Persons senior class that
won a record 64 games in
their careers, including 24
during a senior season in
which the team advanced
to its first-ever state quar
terfinal and won its sec-
ond-ever region champi
onship.