Wheeler and Royak maintain leads at the Lupton Memorial

May 27, 2023 | by Sean Melia of AmateurGolf.com

Chris Wheeler looks to go wire-to-wire in Lupton (TGA photo)

Sam Jackson records low round of the day to climb within one shot of Wheeler at Honors Course

Chris Wheeler will have another night to sleep on the lead at the John T. Lupton Memorial Invitational.

After an opening round 66, the Addison, Texas resident turned in an even-par round of 72 on Saturday and saw his three-shot lead shrink down to one after Sam Jackson (West Columbia, S.C.) shot the low round of the day with a 3-under 69 to get to 5-under par.

Over the course of Wheeler's round, Wheeler had four birdies and as many bogeys. He capped off his round with a bounce-back birdie on his final hole of the day to get back to 6-under par.

"Today required a bit more patience," said Wheeler. "The course was certainly longer and playing later in the day meant we saw some wind and drier greens. I was happy that I still had good control of the ball but the putts didn’t fall quite like yesterday.

"I'm obviously happy with where I’m at and really looking forward to an exciting finish in a gorgeous setting tomorrow."

Jackson went out in 33 and then birdied hole Nos. 11, 13, and 17. His only bogey was on the seventh hole and wiped that out quickly with a two on the eighth.

The birdie on the eighth was a rare feat on Saturday. They pushed back seven tee boxes for the second round. Four holes at Honors Club played about half a stroke over par. Three of those holes were par 3’s: holes Nos. 3, 8, and 16. They were playing about twenty yards longer than yesterday.

Two-time Lupton champion Joe Deraney was the only player other than Wheeler who reached 6-under par on Saturday. After an opening bogey on his first hole (10th) of the day, Deraney birdied six of the next 10 holes. Three straight bogeys on hole Nos. 3, 4 and 5 and a final one on the eighth hole (his 17th) poured a little water on the round.

Wheeler (-6), Jackson (-5), Mark Harrrel (-3), and Deraney (-2) are the only players under par on a course that saw a bit of overnight rain, but it still played firm and fast to challenge the strong field.

Among the top four, three of them are recent state mid-am champs. Joe Deraney has won the last three Mississippi Mid-Ams. His resume is full of impressive victories, and a third Lupton would be quite the pelt. In April, Sam Jackson won the Carolinas Mid-Am, and Wheeler won the 2019 and 2021 Texas Mid-Am.

In the senior division, leader Bob Royak shot 72. Much like Wheeler's round, Royak made four birdies but couldn't avoid dropped shots and therefore, couldn't extend his lead. Doug Hanzel and Jack Larkin each shot 71 to pull one shot closer to Royak. Hanzel and Royak were the only senior players under par on the day.

The final round will likely be a battle of Georgians, as the three legends have separated themselves from the pack.

Results: Lupton Invitational

Place	Player	Location	Pts	Scores
1	Hayes Brown	Charlotte, NC	300	74-70-72=216
2	Joseph Deraney	Belden, MS	200	71-71-74=216
T3	Mikey Feher	Signal Mountain, TN	100	75-71-71=217
T3	Sam Jackson	W. Columbia, SC	100	70-69-78=217
T3	Christopher Wheeler	Addison, TX	100	66-72-79=217

View full results for Lupton Invitational

About the Lupton Invitational

Wheeler and Royak maintain leads at the Lupton Memorial

NOTE: 2026 event has been postponed as The Honors Course prepares to host the U.S. Women's Amateur in August. It will again be played at a date to be determined in 2027 This event, named after club founder John T. Lupton, debuted in 2005 on a spectac...