By Leslie Lawrence
Beechwood Country Club

AHOSKIE – Beechwood Country Club hosted its annual Member-Guest Tournament June 17-18.

Golfers were serenaded prior to the shotgun start on the first day by the sounds of bagpipes coming up the ninth green, as Peter McArthur, who’s played pipes at Pinehurst.

With the largest field ever, 52 teams competed for the coveted “Grand Champion” title that was ultimately awarded to member Tim Davis and his partner, Paul Godwin.

The two day tournament consisted of five, nine-hole matches conducted in a round-robin format. The first place team from each of the nine flights, as well as the winner of the “Pirate Flight” competed in the play-off round to determine the Grand Champion. This was the first year of the Pirate Flight.

The team with the worst score in each flight after Friday’s round was placed into the Pirate Flight with the winner determined by scoring the most points on Saturday. Member Andy Woodard and partner William Whitley made an amazing comeback, scoring a spot in the play-offs and were the eventual Pirate Flight winners.

Other teams that earned bragging rights as champion of their respective flights:

Casper: Perry Brown & Larry Williams

Watson: Keith Rawls & Ken Mcree

Jones: Gus McLean & Dan Maloney

Player: Dean Lilley & Ray Williford

Nelson: Chad Hoggard & Braxton Jernigan

Snead: Tim Davis & Paul Godwin

Palmer: Billy Greene & Patrick Merritt

Hogan: Bucky Gyoker & Sandy Winslow

Nicklaus: Ricky Sowell & Barry Sowell

The weekend concluded with an awards dinner and dance with the three course meal was prepared by Chef Joanna Dunn while the sounds of “The Castaways” entertained guests on a beautiful summer evening.

Beechwood would like to send a special thanks to the corporate sponsors of the 2016 Member-Guest Tournament: Southern Bank and Heave Ho Promos.