Jones halfway to landing one of the titles he covets most

MEQUON – Garrett Jones won 15 tournaments as a professional golfer, including the Cedar Rapids Open and a Hooters Tour event in Florida in which he held off Keegan Bradley and Russell Knox down the stretch.

Before that, he had an outstanding record as an amateur, playing collegiately at the University of Wisconsin and setting the 72-hole scoring record en route to winning the 2007 WPLA Ray Fischer Amateur Championship.

But Jones never put his name on the State Amateur or State Open trophies.

He has a chance to pick off one of them Wednesday.

Jones, 32, a reinstated amateur from Madison, shot a 2-under-par 70 at North Shore Country Club on Tuesday to move to the top of the leader board in the 97th Morgan Stanley Wisconsin State Open.

Jones was at 5-under 139 at the tournament’s halfway mark, one shot ahead of amateur Phillip Johnson of Colgate, who shot a second 70 and was at 140.

“I still have a lot of aspirations to win tournaments but they’re not to get a paycheck anymore,” said Jones, who earned $20,000 for his victory in Cedar Rapids and $12,000 for his Hooters Tour victory. “The aspiration is to win just to win.”

He said he had no regrets about regaining his amateur status earlier this year, even though the low professional will earn about $10,000 from the State Open purse of approximately $60,000.

“Not at all,” he said. “I’m super excited for amateur golf. Being able to play in the State Am, that’s one I never won. I really want to put my name on that trophy. The State Open is another one. I really want to put my name on that trophy.”

In order to do it, he’ll have to hold off a number of pursuers in the 36-hole finale Wednesday.

Johnson, 21, a rising senior at the University of Dayton, led the State Amateur in July after 18 and 36 holes and wound up finishing ninth.

“It was a good experience,” he said. “It’s the first time I was out in front in a really big event. As cliché as it is, I’m just going to try to stay in the moment.”

Johnson likely will be the No. 1 golfer at Dayton this fall. He owns the course record of 62 at Dayton Country Club.

Teaching professional David Roesch of Germantown shot a 70 and was tied for third place with Kaylor Steger of Mount Pleasant (71). They were at 141, just two shots off the lead.

Roesch, 43, won the State Open in 2004

and is a member of the Wisconsin Golf Hall of Fame.

“The question is, can I keep it up?” he said. “How many four-round tournaments do I play a year? This is it. Teaching is my No. 1 priority, but it’s a nice bonus to take three days off and compete.”

Defending champion Jordan Elsen, a Kenosha native who lives in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., shot a 69, the low round of the day. He moved up to a tie for ninth at even-par 143.

Sixty players survived the 36-hole cut of 8-over 152. The third round is scheduled to begin at 7:30 a.m., with the final-round start at approximately 1 p.m.