RCGC roundup: Haymore wins Regular Division in thrilling finish

LUMBERTON — Golf’s best drama comes when a tournament comes down to the very last hole.

In the Regular Division at the Robeson County Golf Championship Sunday, Brian Haymore and Phillip Wallwork provided quite the final act to that drama.

It was Haymore who emerged victorious from that dramatic finish to earn a one-stroke victory and win the Regular Division title.

“Tried to keep it in the fairway, hit greens,” Haymore said. “I struggled yesterday and made four bogeys, at (No.) 1, 2, 3 and 4. I just tried to keep it in the fairway, on the greens, keep the big numbers away.”

With Haymore leading by one stroke entering the final hole, he hit his approach to about two feet. Wallwork added pressure to that short putt, however, by holing his bunker shot for birdie to temporarily tie Haymore. Haymore made the putt to clinch the victory, his third in the Regular Division after winning in 2020 and 2021.

Haymore also made birdies on the third and 11th holes in a final round of even-par 72, finishing the tournament at 4 over par overall.

Wallwork shot rounds of 75 on Saturday and 74 Sunday to finish at 5 over. First-round leader Dawson Brooks shot 77 Sunday and finished at 7 over, while 2023 champion Ryan Hundley shot 75 and finished 9 over. June Locklear rounded out the top five at 11 over after a Sunday 78.

Ben Collins and Joey Bengston shared the second-flight championship with a score of 157. Collins shot 77 after Saturday’s 80, while Bengston posted an 11-stroke improvement from 84 to a 1-over 73 in the final round. Bobby Campbell took third in the flight, six strokes behind Collins and Bengston.

Allan Campbell won the third flight by four strokes over Keith Sanders and five over Garrison Locklear.

Locklear takes fifth Senior Division title

The Senior Division also featured a back-nine duel, between Lonail Locklear and Bruce Mullis. Locklear entered the final round with a three-stroke lead, Mullis took a one-stroke lead at the 11th hole, but Locklear rebounded to earn beat Mullis by three shots for the title, his fifth in the division.

“It was a dogfight to me. After 11, after I did that, I knew I had to play the last seven holes to pull it out,” Locklear said. “He come back on me, sort of got me a little scared, but I ended up putting back away from him.”

Both top contenders shot a final-round 73. Locklear shot 71 on Saturday and finished the tournament at even-par 144, while Mullis finished with a 3-over total after Saturday’s 74. Joey Todd finished third in the division at 7 over par, including an even-par 72 Sunday.

Birdies by Mullis at the third and fourth and a Locklear bogey at the fifth got Mullis within a shot, and the gap stayed there until Locklear made double bogey on the par-5 11th, giving Mullis the one-shot advantage.

Mullis made double bogey at the 13th, giving Locklear back the lead by one, and Locklear birdied the 14th and eagled the par-5 15th to create separation, taking a three-stroke lead with three holes remaining. The lead reached four strokes after Mullis bogeyed the 16th; Locklear bogeyed the 17th to create the final three-stroke margin.

Locklear previously won the Senior Division three straight years from 2018-20, and won for the second-straight year after his 2023 triumph. He did so this year after recovering from a recent operation.

“God’s holding onto me,” Locklear said. “I give Him all the credit anyhow. … Everybody knows what my story is, but after I turned my life around, golf and Him has been what I live for now.”

Blackwell wins second straight Ladies title

While every other division in the 2024 Robeson County Golf Championship seemingly had back-nine drama, the Ladies Division saw Toni Blackwell cruise to a 31-shot victory over Pandora Carter.

The UNC Pembroke golfer shot a 3-over 75 on Sunday on the heels of Saturday’s 1-over 73, finishing at 4 over par for the championship to repeat her 2023 division title.

“I just was trying to hit the fairways and greens and make putts over these two days, and just kind of play my best,” Blackwell said. “I missed a few putts here and there, but overall I did pretty good, I played pretty consistent. I came out and tried to do my best to defend my title.”

Only three players entered the division. Carter shot rounds of 93-86 to finish in second at a 179 total, while Kathy Hansen shot 98-107 and finished third.

Lowry claims Super Senior Division

Solid play over two days earned Ray Lowry the championship in the Super Senior Division, which concluded its 36 holes of play on Saturday. Lowry finished at 4 over par, four strokes ahead of runner-up Larry Lynn Locklear and 10 clear of third-place Greg Canady and Cliff Nance.

“(Saturday), I had all pars except for three bogeys,” Lowry said. “I was trying to really play par, so I just held on. I know Larry Lynn came close and had a very good day (Saturday), but I wasn’t trying to do anything wild, I was just trying to play par.”

Lowry opened up a lead with a 73 on Friday, featuring an eagle at the par-5 sixth, and sealed the title with a 75 in Saturday’s round.

Lowry played the county championship for the first time, doing so in the Super Senior Division just months after turning 65 to become eligible for that age group.

“I’ve just been hitting my wedges real good, and I’ve been hitting it long to be 65,” Lowry said. “But I sort of laid up a lot on the par-4s with my 3-wood. My wedges have been playing really good, and people told me with my wedge play and my putting I needed to go play this year, so it’s the first time I’ve ever played in it.”

Larry Lynn Locklear, who won the division title in the last two years, shot a 1-under 71 on Saturday to come from fourth place to a runaway runner-up after a 10-stroke improvement from Friday’s 81.

Canady shot rounds of 80 and 78 to share third with Nance, who began Saturday in second place but faded with a Saturday 83.

It was five strokes further back to Bob Antone, who rounded out the top five after rounds of 82-81.