LUMBERTON — Coming into this year’s Highlander Cup golf tournament, Robeson County’s roster looks a little different than it did in last season’s convincing victory against Cumberland, but Larry McNeill said the goal remains the same: keep the trophy.
“I think we have a real good group of guys,” said McNeill, captain of Robeson County in Sunday’s event. “We’ll miss guys like Steve Pippin, John Haskins and Lonail Locklear, but I’m satisfied with what we finished up with. I think we’ll be fine.”
The one-day event pits 16 of the best amateur golfers from Robeson and Cumberland counties in a Ryder Cup style tournament, featuring five two-man, best-ball matches and six singles matches.
Players will tee off at 11 a.m. with foursomes made of two players from each county. Bayonet Golf Course at Puppy Creek in Raeford will play host to the tournament for the third consecutive year. Cumberland won 6-4 in 2014, with Robeson dominating last year’s event with a 7 1/2 to 2 1/2 victory.
Nine-time county champion Kyle Covington highlights the Robeson County squad. Joining Covington are: Joseph Martin, Jeff Broadwell, David Lowery Jr., Ashton Woods, Nick Lowery, Austin Locklear, Todd Nurnberger, Marty Hunt, Andy Andrews, Phillip Wallwork, Mark Lassiter, Nick Dial, Jeff Wishart, Scott Benton and Dyrck Fanning.
Overall, McNeill is pleased the variety of players within the group.
“These guys have been playing golf for a long time,” he said. ” I think we have a solid team that can win again like they did last year. I’m just ready to to go and real hype to get it done.”
The Cumberland County team is made up of: Mitch Guy, Trent Bufano, Larry Spivey, Chris Blanton, Kyle Narron, Mike Williford, Matt Hudson, Will Warner, Tommy Stewart, Brian Dreier, Chase Suitt, Jake Barge, Billy West, Chris Holland, Gary Moore and Thomas Owen.
As for the keys to winning the event for the second straight year, McNeill said three things will determine the championship.
“You have to keep the ball in play, get it on the green and make putts,” he said. “That’s the key. (Bayonet) is a good, challenging course and central location. It’ll be fairly long, but I think they can tame it.”
Though the ultimate goal is winning, McNeill added that he looks forward to seeing the players come together for the first time since Hurricane Matthew ravaged the region.
“We play a lot together and we overcome things that go along with the county,” he said. “People are starting to come back out and play golf. I think we’re all back together now and moving forward.”
