LUMBERTON — For the 45th time, golfers will descend on Pinecrest Country Club this weekend to compete in two-man teams, trying to beat the competition but also trying to raise money for a good cause.
The Kiwanis All-American Golf Tournament tees off Saturday, as Robeson County’s biggest golf event returns yet again.
“It’s always a big event, our biggest of the year,” said Dwight Gane, Pinecrest’s head professional. It’s also a huge fundraiser for the Kiwanis Club and the children of Robeson County. They do a wonderful job spreading this money out throughout children’s programs in the county, so that’s exciting and good.”
“We are looking forward to it; we always enjoy playing in the tournament. I’ve moved away now; it’s a club that I was in for a long time when I lived here,” said defending champion Mark Kinlaw, who now resides in Rockingham County. “The tournament has always meant a lot to me because I know all the work that goes into it and I know what the purpose is.
Final preparations have been underway in recent days, an effort which every member of the Kiwanis Club of Robeson-Lumberton invests themselves in.
“Things are very busy this last week, but we’ve got all our ducks in a row and everything’s coming together,” tournament chairman Owen Thomas said. “We’ve got our longtime standing members, past chairmen of the tournament, past presidents that are helping out, and we’ve got some newer members that are excited about the tournament for the first time, and everything in between. We’re looking forward to having a few hundred people out there.”
Preparations include selling sponsorships and seeking donations for raffle items, people at the course helping to set up on Friday and cooking food, among other tasks. McDonald’s, Burger King, Starbucks, Chick-Fil-A and Pepsi have also donated their own products, Lumbee Bank and First Bank donated water, and Healy Wholesale donated beer, Thomas said.
“It’s a full community effort and everybody comes together and makes this tournament one of the best — a two-day event, and it’s one of the only ones in the area like it,” Thomas said. “It’s a great event.”
Thomas set a fundraising goal of $50,000, and believes the tournament is on track to meet or exceed that figure.
Just as it was for the Robeson County Golf Championship last month, Pinecrest is in great condition to provide a strong championship test for the field.
“It’s going to be a great week. Hopefully the weather will cooperate with us,” Gane said. “Our golf course is in fabulous condition, as it was in the county (championship), and we’re excited.”
As of Thursday afternoon, 64 teams were signed up to play; Gane believes that number could increase to “66 or 68” by tournament time. The teams will play 36 holes in a best-ball format.
Kinlaw and Jeff Wishart won the event last year, and are no strangers to playing as the defending champions. They also won in 2020, and have four tournament wins as a pairing; Kinlaw has a record nine wins overall and Wishart has seven.
“We like (our chances) good because we hit the ball the same way we did last year — find fairways, find greens, hope to make a putt,” Wishart said. “There’s a lot of competition out there, though. I know Mike (Chuchacz) and Ryan Bass will be a good team, Scott Benton and his partner (Trey Martin) will be a good team. We’re looking forward to it, looking forward to the challenge.”
“It’s always a strong field, always a lot of good players in it, so a lot of times it comes down to who’s playing well and who’s making putts,” Kinlaw said.
Gane expects Kinlaw and Wishart to be one of the teams to beat again.
“Somebody has to beat Mark Kinlaw and Jeff Wishart,” Gane said. “On paper the strongest team would be Ryan Bass, our county champion, and Mike Chuchacz, who finished third in the championship.”
Chuchacz recently shot a 64 at Bayonet and a 63 from the white tees at Pinecrest. Other potential tournament favorites include the teams of Scott Benton and Trey Martin, and Jamie Locklear and Cal Hunt. John Haskins is “incredibly dangerous” playing from the senior tees, Gane said, and is paired with brother Joel Haskins.
Regardless of who wins, the tournament will be enjoyable for everyone.
“It’s one of my favorite events,” Wishart said. “It’s a two-man (tournament); you get to play with a good friend as a partner, and hopefully play some good golf. We’ve been doing it for a long time, and it’s something we look forward to. It’s a great cause, great tournament and the whole county looks forward to it.”
Chris Stiles can be reached at 910-816-1977 or by email at [email protected] You can follow him on Twitter at @StilesOnSports.