Amos Martin Invitational set for July 4-5 at Country Club

Brandon Bery 2008 Champion The 82nd playing of the Amos Martin Invitational golf tournament is set for this weekend, July 4-5 at the Washington-Wilkes Country Club. Last year's champ, Brandon Berry is positioned to become the tournament's ninth back-to-back winner if he can repeat or better his performance from 2008.

He'll have some stiff competition though. Billy Craycraft was the last back-to-back winner (2006-2007), is the course record holder (137), and stands a good chance of being the tournament's only five-time winner. Tommy Wells, the 2005 champion, will undoubtedly turn in a competitive score. And other top golfers in the area are sure to give Berry a run for the money.

As of Sunday this week, only about 60 golfers had signed up for a spot in the tournament and that's a little shy of the 2008 signup pace. But it's not uncommon for the field to fill at the last minute and tournament chairman Bruce Holes says he is confident this year will be no exception.

There is always a last-minute surge of golfers signing up to play and, as expected, they will be accepted until the slate is full or until Saturday's tee time, whichever comes first.

Set to begin at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, July 4, and continue through Sunday afternoon, July 5, the tournament is organized to accommodate up to 110 golfers.

As always, the weather could be a factor but indications are that it won't hamper play this year.

The wet spring and the application of plenty of fertilizer have the course in top shape and at its very best, Holes reported.

The Washington-Wilkes course is still a classic. Designed in 1925 by Donald Ross, who also designed the Augusta Country Club course and had a hand in the design of Augusta National, it has remained basically the same for over 80 years. One of the characteristics of a Ross course, according to Jack Harvey a former tournament chairman, is the relatively small target greens, and these are like that.

Other tournament champions who have won two-in-a-row in- clude Mel Fleisher, Sammy Craig, Ed Moore, Mitch Marchman, Steve Chafin, Alex McMichael, and Bryan Barnett.

Those double wins constitute a developing trend, especially in the last ten years. In that time, there have been four repeaters and though Berry no doubt hopes to extend that trend. But there are a number of talented golfers who are out to set up their own repeats.

The last three doublers were all local, home-grown players and could still figure heavily as contenders this year. Others who meet the criteria include Alex McMichael, Dann Standard, and David Dye, who were all just one stroke off the pace in 2008.

Craycraft's fourth win in 2007 put him in a tie with Bobby Jones who has held that distinction since 1989. Jones first won in 1967 and then added titles in 1975, 1982, and 1989.

Craycraft set the course record of 137 (36 holes) in 1988 and

now shares it with Bryan Barnett who matched it in 2001. Barnett is unable to play this year due to conflicting obligations..