Entering Sunday’s final round at the Cedar Valley Golf Club, Norton held a one-shot lead over Marty Ellison and Chad Jackson.
Fortunately for Norton, he was able to pull away from the group on Sunday.
“It’s my first time to win down here, so it’s a nice win,” Norton said. “I think only making two bogeys this weekend and put-ting real well is what helped me win.”
Norton is the second two-time winner on the Rome Tour this year, having captured the Tournament of Champions back in April.
Ellison is the other double winner, taking home titles in the Alvin Everett Invitational and the Horseleg Invitational.
Martin Ball, who was in fifth place after the opening round, came back on Sunday to fire a 3-under 68 to claim second place with a two-day total of 142. Third place went to Mark Burchett, as he recorded the lowest score on Sunday with a 4-under 67. Burchett finished the week-end with a 143.
Jackson claimed fourth place with a 143, while Shane Wilson finished in fifth place with a score of 145.
Rome Tour points leader Ellison, shot a 5-over 76 in the final round to finish the tour-nament with a score of 146, good enough for sixth place in the Championship A Flight.
Lamar Pilgrim won the Championship B Flight by shooting a two-day 154, including a 2-over 73 on Sunday. Finishing second in the flight was Gary Martin with a 156.
David Oliver shot an 80 on Sunday and went on to win the Championship C Flight with a score of 165. Mike Blankenship, Barry Couch, and Frank Holdbrook each finished three strokes behind Oliver with a 168.
This marked the first year of the annual Cedar Valley Invitational that the players played all 18 holes. The Cedar Valley Golf Club used to be just a nine-hole course.
“I think the golf course is looking really good,” Norton said. “(Owner and Golf pro) M.L. Langston has done a excellent job on the new nine. It’s just a really good course to play.”
Even though the competition was fierce, Langston said this year's tournament didn't have the turnout like years previous.
"We only had three divisions this year," Langston stated. "We usually have six flights. But, the tournament fell at a bad time for us.
"It fell so close to (July) fourth and a lot of places had thunderstorms predicted for this weekend. So, I think that kept a lot of people away."
But even despite just 30 people participating in the tour-nament, Langston said a lot of people have been coming out to test the new nine holes.
"We added nine new holes last summer and a lot of people haved liked them. It's been going over very favorably.
“We invite anyone who wants to come. To come on out and try them.”
The Rome Tour’s next stop will be the Stonebridge Invita-tional on July 19-20.




