Garner, Blanton favorites for Country Club championship

Published 12:21 pm Saturday, July 29, 2017

Registration for the Club Championship golf tournament at the Selma Country Club will close at five o’clock in the afternoon on Friday, Aug. 4.

The tournament will begin on Saturday, Aug. 5, through Sunday, Aug. 6. Registration is limited to member’s only, and the $100 entry fee includes the cart and trail fees.

Golf pro Tommy Burns is running the tournament and registration will be located at the pro shop.

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A week ahead of the tournament, the course is ready for the competition.

“The golf course is in great shape,” Burns said. “The greens are super, and, of course, all the added rain has helped us make it much better.”

Even if the good conditions hold up through the week, golfers will still have to face the most difficult hole on the course, No.18.

“It’s just the length of it,” Burns said. “It’s uphill, and straight away the length is 440 yards. It’s tough, and the ground is saturated so the ball is not rolling much right now.”

The tournament will be split into three flights between the men, women and junior competitors.

In 2016, Burns recalled more than 40 players competed in the tournament.

The club is expecting approximately 60 men, eight women and up to 12 juniors to compete this year, according to Burns.

Burns also said that there wouldn’t be a team competition in this tournament, since one was done earlier this year.

At the end of the tournament, there will be a winner in each flight. The net score champion is the player who achieves “the lowest score on shots with the handicap,” Burns said. There will also be a champion for the best gross score, which excludes the handicap.

The “Hike Estep” award will go to the player with the lowest net scores of all the participants in the tournament, regardless of which group they’re competing in.

Last year’s champion was Paul Garner, who has won the championship at least six times already. Burns says that Garner will be one of the pre-tournament favorites along with Don Blanton.