6-pack: Bass prevails in playoff for another RCGC title

LUMBERTON — It doesn’t seem to matter if Ryan Bass isn’t playing his best golf; the third weekend in July brings out his best seemingly every year.

This time even the three rounds of the Robeson County Golf Championship provided plenty of ups and downs for Bass and the rest of the field. But after 54 holes, Bass topped the leaderboard for a sixth Championship Division title, the second most in tournament history.

Bass prevailed in a sudden-death playoff over Brad Locklear and Landon Lowry, with the three emerging as the leading contenders after a back nine with seemingly endless possibilities as eight players across the final three groups all had a chance to win down the stretch.

Bass entered the week saying he didn’t think he was playing quite as well this year as in recent summers, which included previous RCGC wins in 2013, 2019, 2020, 2022 and 2023. But his even-par total of 216 was ultimately enough to win once again.

“I was just glad that I was able to fight,” Bass said. “I was able to fight some of the bad shots, and able to hit some good shots here and there, and just able to not blow up.”

Behind the three who made the playoff, John Haskins finished solo fourth one stroke behind at 1 over par, with Jeff Slabe and Mike Chuchacz tied for fifth at 2 over and Ian Locklear seventh at 3 over.

Bass won the sudden-death playoff with pars on each of the two extra holes. Lowry was eliminated with bogey on the par-4 first, then Brad Locklear made double bogey on the par-3 second.

Locklear lost his tee shot on the second playoff hole in the woods right of the green. He hit his third shot to about eight feet and two-putted, but the door was open for Bass to win with a par, making an up and down from long left of the green.

“I just came up on it a little too early and she came down off the hosel,” Brad Locklear said. “It happens and golf, and you can’t pick and choose when they happen — just at the wrong time.”

Bass and Brad Locklear both parred the first playoff hole, while Lowry made bogey; his tee shot went through the fairway of the dogleg hole to behind a bush and tree, forcing a punchout, before his third shot went just over the green and a must-make par chip was unsuccessful.

“I’ve hit 3-wood all three days off No. 1, and I guess a little adrenaline today, I hit it further than I normally do and it went through the fairway and got a bad break,” Lowry said. “You hit a good shot and you get a bad break — it’s golf, it is what it is. … The third shot looked great but it went straight over the flagstick, a little deep.”

“Tough break for both Brad and Landon,” Bass said. “Landon hit a good 3-wood on No. 1 and he ended up being behind a bush, that’s just bad luck. Brad hit his shot on No. 2, what can you do. I guess I just got lucky, that’s how I feel about it, but it was definitely a battle.”

Each of the three reached the playoff with dramatic play in the final few holes as part of strong Sunday rounds, with Bass shooting a final-round 70, Lowry a 69 and Brad Locklear a 67, the low round of the tournament.

Bass took the lead at 1 under par after birdies at the 14th, 15th and 17th hole, with a stellar two-putt from long range in between at the 16th and a 15-foot birdie make at the 17th.

“I putted pretty well all weekend, that’s actually what saved me was my putting, because if I don’t putt good, I’m probably 6 to 7 over par,” Bass said. “But putting definitely helped me out coming down the stretch, that’s for sure, because my iron shots and my wedges weren’t the best.”

But Bass was left scrambling at the 18th after a tee shot in the rough led to his approach missing well short of the green, with a third shot left about 20 feet short and his par putt going three feet past the hole before making the bogey attempt.

“18 was just disastrous,” Bass said. “I didn’t have a terrible lie, I didn’t have a great lie, just the club I was hitting it just wasn’t my favorite club to hit and I hit it terrible, and I hit a bad third shot, a terrible putt, and luckily I was able to make that 3-footer coming back for bogey to stay in the tournament.”

In the group ahead, Brad Locklear had posted an even-par tournament total after a 4-under 32 on the back nine, which included birdies on the 10th, 14th, 15th and 18th. The last one, from 15 feet, came as he knew what he needed to do on the home hole to have a chance.

“After watching Bass make that putt on 17, I knew my chances was I had to birdie, and heck I was telling (David Lowery Jr.) I might need to hole one out (for eagle),” Brad Locklear said. “I was just fortunate he made bogey and got in that playoff, and the rest is history.”

Brad Locklear, the tournament champion in 2012 and 2017, got his hot round going with birdies on both front-nine par-5s.

“It was one of those rounds, I started off with a bogey early, but made birdies on 6 and 8, made the turn at 1 under, and I just went to the back (nine) and put my foot down,” he said.

With an even-par total posted by Bass and Brad Locklear, Landon Lowry came to the 18th needing birdie to join the upcoming playoff. He hit his approach 30 feet left of the hole before his birdie putt just barely fell over the front edge of the hole to convert.

“I knew I was one back after I hit my second shot; I had a couple of people tell me ‘you need this one,’” Lowry said. “Just making it, it just kind of fell in. I don’t want to say it’s what you dream of, it’s the county tournament, but it kind of is … it was big time. Everybody watching, it was big.”

Lowry began the day three strokes behind overnight leader Ian Locklear, but shot a 3-under par 33 on the front nine, including a pitch-in eagle at the par-5 eighth which moved him to even par for the tournament and into the lead.

“That was great,” Lowry said. “It came off perfect and I just watched it roll into the hole.”

Lowry bogeyed the 10th hole and parred the remaining holes until the 18th.

“Coming home even par, I hit a great tee shot on 11 and didn’t birdie and hit a decent tee shot on 15 and didn’t birdie, and those are two big holes, the par-5s on the back,” Lowry said.

The final-round 70 by Bass featured seven birdies and five bogeys in a back-and-forth day, with birdies on holes No. 2, 7, 9, 12, 14, 15 and 17 and bogeys on No. 1, 3, 10, 13 and 18. Bass, though, pointed to a couple of pars as among the key scores of the day, at No. 7 and 9, after he bogeyed both holes in each of the first two rounds.

“It’s definitely up and down,” Bass said. “Pretty much like it was all weekend, I make a birdie and I give it back with a bogey. It did help this year that we were able to hear what was going on behind us, in front of us. Me and Coach (John Haskins), Coach was playing very well, so we kind of knew where we stood, so that definitely helped.”

Haskins never held a share of the lead at any point Sunday, but was just one behind the lead for much of the back nine. His 20-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to join the clubhouse lead and eventual playoff score of even par lipped out, prompting a loud groan from those assembled around the final green. Haskins finished with a final-round 71.

Slabe shot an even-par 72 and had a chance all the way until the final hole, where he could have made eagle to join the playoff. He was joined at 2 over by Chuchacz, who shot 3-under 69 Sunday.

Ian Locklear parred the first five holes after leading the first two days of the championship, but made four straight bogeys to finish the front nine with a 4-over 40. He recovered with a back-nine 35, but bogeyed the last hole to fall to a seventh-place finish with a final-round 75.

Lenny Locklear, who was in the first flight instead of the championship flight, jumped to an eighth-place finish after a final-round 70, finishing at 4 over overall. He won the first flight by nine strokes over Logan Locklear and Mack Kenney.

Jamie Locklear began the final round one stroke behind Ian Locklear, but bogeys on the 13th and 14th holes ended his chance to win. He finished ninth at 5 over par after a round of 76.

Rounding out the championship flight, Steve Pippin finished 8 over and David Lowery Jr. 9 over after each shot 76 Sunday.

Mark Lassiter and Phil Collins tied for the second-flight title at 24-over 240; each shot 79 in the final round.

Brian Haymore won the Regular Division championship, Lonail Locklear won the Senior Division and Toni Blackwell won the Ladies Division on Sunday, while Ray Lowry won the Super Senior title on Saturday.

Bass’ latest tournament win moves him into elite company in the tournament’s 45-year history. He becomes just the second player to win the championship at least six times, joining nine-time victor Kyle Covington; he is also the third player to win the tournament three straight years, joining Scott Benton, who did so in 1990-92, and Covington, who won five straight from 2006-10.

“It definitely feels good; to even have my name in the same conversation as Kyle and Scott, I looked up to them guys growing up,” Bass said. “I played in the county (championship) when I was probably 15, 16, and I was the one in the carts watching everybody finish, because I teed off early in the morning, I didn’t have to worry about playing late. To have my name in the same conversation as them guys feels pretty good.”