CANFIELD — Joey Cilone of East Liverpool is the “Greatest Golfer of the Valley.”

Cilone shot a three-day total 209 — good enough to oust runners-up Scott Porter and Scotty Jones by five strokes, both of whom shot 214 — to win the men’s open division at the recent Greatest Golfer of the Valley Championship.

The amatuer event is a three-day tournament, playing three different courses in the Mahoning Valley with some 249 golfers participating.

Cilone, a former East Liverpool High School and West Liberty University golf standout, shot a 1- under 69 at Mill Creek North’s course on opening day, then backed that with a 3-under 69 at Tippecanoe Country Club on day two.

He carried a five-stroke lead over Porter on the final day, playing the Lake Club, his home course, to shoot a 1-over 71 going wire-to-wire for the title.

“I knew I needed to be about two strokes up coming into the Lake Club on Sunday,” Cilone said. “Porter is good and there was a lot of pressure on.”

Cilone made his mark at the 15th, a 579-yard par five. As Porter closed the gap to two strokes, the former Potter drained a 30-foot putt for birdie as Porter recorded a double bogey, stretching the lead to five strokes where the margin stayed the rest of the way.

“That was a huge hole. Going from two up to five up was the key hole in the championship” Cilone stated.

Cilone finished the tournament with the final dagger — holing a long 20-plus foot putt on the final hole for birdie to close out the scoring.

This was Cilone’s third appearance in the championship, finishing as runner-up in 2016 after losing in a playoff.

Asked what it meant to win at his home course, Cilone was quick to praise his competition.

“There are some very good golfers in this championship,” Cilone said. “But I can say I am the greatest golfer in the valley for a year and try and win it next year.”

Having just finished college, earning a Bachelor’s Degree in business finance, Cilone said he will continue to play the game he loves. He may look at a few local qualifiers next year just to see how he performs.