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Source: The Record, Stockton, Calif.儲存Aug. 02--STOCKTON -- Josh Stone hopes to put the finishing touches on his amateur career by making history this weekend.The 23-year-old Lincoln High and Delta College product is going for a record third consecutive victory at the Stockton City Golf Championships with shotgun starts at 7:30 a.m. Saturday and Sunday at Swenson Park Golf Course."It's important to me that I defend my titles, especially since no one has won three in a row," said Stone, who plans to turn professional at the end of this month. "I would love to do that and it would be a great way to end my amateur career."Stone already is in select company, as only four others ever have won two consecutive city championships: former Stockton resident and PGA Tour and PGA Senior Tour player Bob Eastwood (1966-67), Larry Silveria (1984-85), Tom Cole (1992-93) and Matt Hollinsead (2006-07). With a win, Stone would be just the third player to own three city championships, joining Cole (1992-93, '95) and Tony McBroom (1990, '96, 2000).In 2011, Stone was the leader heading into the final round but had to rally after falling behind by one stroke on the back nine to claim his first city title with a two-day total of 4-under 140. Last year, he lapped the field with rounds of 67 and 68 (9-under 135) to win by nine strokes.Stone definitely is comfortable at Swenson Park, the course he grew up playing and where he has worked the past several years. But familiarity, he said, hasn't bred overconfidence heading into this weekend."I still approach it like other events," Stone said. "I take it like my other events and stay focused on my practice and warmups and not take things for granted."Tom Nelson, who manages Swenson and Van Buskirk Park golf courses, said work crews have prepared the course the last three to four weeks for the tournament, which had 75 entries in the championship and handicap flights as of Wednesday."They've been working real hard on the definition of the fairways," said Nelson, who's running the tournament for the seventh year. "They mowed the rough (Tuesday) and it's been sunny, and that's perfect weather for Bermuda (grass). So by Sunday, with five days of growth, you sho新蒲崗迷你倉ld see some pretty tall rough."Stone has ramped up his playing schedule this year, entering more three- and four-round events, plus NCGA and USGA qualifiers, to prepare for what lies ahead. And he's been up to the challenge.In April, Stone finished second in the Alameda Commuters held over two weekends at the Chuck Corica Golf Complex. In May, he won the three-round Memorial Amateur at Ancil Hoffman in Sacramento and set the tournament scoring record with rounds of 67, 66 and 67 (10-under 200). He qualified for the NCGA Public Links with an eighth-place finish at Bayonet Golf Course in Seaside and Spyglass Hill in Pebble Beach, and was medalist at the U.S. Open local qualifier with a 3-under 69 at Ruby Hills in Pleasanton. In June, he qualified for the U.S. Amateur Public Links at Roddy Ranch in Antioch and advanced to the second round of match play at the championships in Virginia with a first-round win over the stroke play medalist. That month, he also played in the U.S. Open Section qualifier near Newport Beach but didn't advance after starting slowly in the second round."Without playing in many of the city tournaments this year, when I played against better competition, I felt like I played really well," Stone said. "And I feel like I'm moving forward and I'm ready to play professionally."Later this month, Stone will compete in the first stage of PGA Tour Qualifying (Q-School) at San Juan Oaks Golf Club in Hollister, then take the stage in his first tournament as a pro at the NorCal Open in September at Whitney Oaks in Rocklin. He also plans to play the Monterey Open at Del Monte Golf Course in Pebble Beach, the Nevada Open at the Palms and CasaBlanca golf courses in Mesquite, Nev., and mini-tour events between Q-School stages. If he doesn't earn his PGA Tour card, Stone said he hopes to enter events on the Gateway and Canadian tours next year.But before all of that, he'd like to earn one more city title. And this one would be historic.Contact sports editor Bob Highfill at (209) 546-8282 or bhighfill@recordnet.com.Copyright: ___ (c)2013 The Record (Stockton, Calif.) Visit The Record (Stockton, Calif.) at .recordnet.com Distributed by MCT Information Servicesmini storage