Wilson Cup always a big deal for participants

Willow Springs Country Club, after a lengthy drought, is the defending champion.

Wedgewood Public Golf Course yearns to advance into Sunday’s finals because it would own the home course advantage.

Wilson Country Club, Saturday’s semifinals host, welcomes the opportunity to atone for last summer’s shock—a rare last-place finish. Furthermore, the weekend will mark the final appearance of WCC head golf professional Reid Hill with the team. He will be retiring in a few weeks.

Thus sets the intriguing stage for the 31st Wilson Cup interclub golf tournament. This will be one that area golf fans will want to see. The birdies will likely fly — along with emotions!

Obviously, lack of incentive will not be an issue.

“This is the closest thing in golf that Wilson County has to the Ryder Cup,” declared veteran Willow Springs standout Brock Godwin, who describes himself as a baseball player (NCAA Division II All-American at Barton College) who plays golf. This is not a tournament with you and your partner. This is a BIG team event. Every year, the guys at Willow compete against the best from WCC and Wedgewood. They’ve got great players. The level of play has gotten better and better.”

“I am excited. This is the biggest tournament of which I look forward every year.”

Assured Wedgewood mainstay Mark Whitley: “I still get excited about it. We’re still pumped up for the Cup. We qualified early. We now have youth in the Cup that’s ready to play competitive golf. I think that’s good.

“I am still excited it’s match play. I can kind of guess who I am going to be playing against. It’s super fun. I like the format, but I have lobbied for a few changes.”

Veteran WCC leader O’Hara noted Hill’s last time advising the team, saying: “It’s Reid’s last one, and everyone should want to do the best they can — as well as rectify last year.

“I like our lineup, but we still have to go out there and do it. Playing at home the first day is definitely an advantage. We’ll see what happens. You never know until you tee it up.”

Willow Springs defeated Wedgewood in the 2023 championship match to celebrate its 11th title. WCC, which finished last for just the second time since the field has dwindled from four to three teams, remains the front-runner with 12 top finishes.Wedgewood owns four titles.

The individual pairings were announced during Thursday evening’s rouser at Paul’s Restaurant. Play at WCC begins at 8 a.m. Saturday with a pair of  nine-hole sessions. Two more nine-hole segments will begin at approximately 1 p.m. The weekend formats will be two-player best ball, two-player superball, two-player alternating shot and 18 holes of individual head-to-head competition to conclude the grind of up to 72 holes Sunday afternoon at Wedgewood.

Sunday’s Wedgewood tee times for the two teams posting the highest scores Saturday will be 8 a.m. and 1 p.m.

WILLOW SPRINGS

Lining up will be Brock Godwin, Will Pope, Brandon Godwin, Chance Cox, Zim Hagan, Justin Hayes, Josh Talton and newcomer Matt Sullivan in the regular ranks, and Mike Kennedy, Butch O’Briant, Clayton Pridgen, Ricky Vick, Billy Clark and first-time performer John Wooten in the Senior ranks.

Is it time for Brock Godwin to explode with a birdie rampage for two days? The former club and Wilson County champ assures he’ll be fine with his performance as long as the team thrives.

“I’m certainly going to try to play the best I can,” Goldwin pledged. “I will try to go out there and compete. But it’s hard out there; there are good players out there.”

He likes the lineup and Willow Springs’ chances.

“We need to play well early,” Godwin emphasized. “That will take some of the pressure off. We need to keep the pressure on by putting the ball in the fairways and on the greens.

“Hopefully, we will play good golf and repeat. We’re going to get everybody’s best shot. We look forward to the challenge.”

WEDGEWOOD

Teeing it up will be Mark Whitley Travis Hux, Jody O’Neal, Joey Lamm, newcomer Joe Dyer, Ryan Pittman, Joel Whitley and John Varnell in the under age-50 division. David Lee moves into the Seniors category for the first year and is joined by Mike Caddy, Darryl Webb and Tony Langston.

“David Lee is going to be a great help, especially Saturday,” Whitley expressed. Lee, Whitley and Lamm are each WCC members.

“We have a solid returner in Travis,” Mark Whitley continued. “He has played a lot of competitive golf this summer. Joel is excited to play. This is the second time for John and he knows what to expect.”

O’Neal has turned in sizzling performances each of the last two years, shooting Wedgewood to Cup supremacy in 2022. Ryan Pittman will grind and loves the Wilson Cup about as much as Willow Springs’ Brock Godwin. Dyer, said Mark Whitley, is playing well.

Furthermore, Mark Whitley cautions players from all three teams will be in for a new Wedgewood experience with four of the greens being reshaped.

“I feel good about our team,” he contended. “We have to hit fairways at WCC; the rough is no joke. If we can keep the ball in play and hit greens, we’ll be fine.”

WILSON COUNTRY CLUB

To be called upon in the younger division are O’Hara, Scott deKeyser, Matthew Ellis, Kyle Norville, Seth Patton, Coalter Paxton IV, Dwayne Baker and David Hesmer. All possess Cup experience and O’Hara and deKeyser teamed for the annual WCC Two-Ball Championship in early June. They will be paired. Junior sensation Stephen Abrams, the reigning Wilson County king, dropped out late because of a family matter.

Wilson County golf legend Bill Boles Jr. heads the Senior ranks that include M.A. Tyson, Hewitt Poland, Hearn Walston and Stan Corbett. Wilson Cup founder Kent Williams will miss Saturday’s action because of a family wedding in Asheville, and his status is uncertain for Sunday.

“Our team spot is not where it was 5-7 years ago,” O’Hara explained. “A lot more life stuff is going on. Guys can’t play as frequently now. You play when you can and hope you play well when you play.”

He will be satisfied with his teammates — as well as himself — playing their normal game.

“We need to have both players in the hole and having opportunities,” O’Hara declared. “When you start going sideways, it gets hard and stressful. We just need to give ourselves chances.”

And the winner of the 31st Wilson Cup — WCC in a tight one against Wedgewood!

The post Wilson Cup always a big deal for participants first appeared on Restoration NewsMedia .