The 48th Annual Cumberland County Golf Championship Classic is over for this year and Fayetteville resident Thomas Owen finished the weekend with a 210 to become the 2016 Cumberland County Champion. Congratulations!  

It was a beautiful weekend at Cypress Lakes Golf Course  -  the host of the the 54-hole event. Other winners included: Larry Robertson, Super Senior Division; Rick Goforth, Senior Division; and Andy Palma who took first place honors in the Open Division. Owen received the 1st Place Cumberland County Golf Classic crystal trophy and a $300 gift certificate. He designated his home course,  Highland Country Club, to house and showcase the CCGC  Legacy Trophy throughout the year. Depending on who wins next year, the trophy could stay at Highland or could move to one of the county’s other golf courses.  The Cumberland County Golf Classic has been a Cumberland County golfing tradition since 1969. 

This is the biggest community undertaking Up & Coming Weekly has taken on in its 21 years of publishing. It seems fitting that the county’s only locally owned newspaper is now the sponsor of this homegrown tournament. It is also one of the most rewarding projects we have collaborated with the community on – and there have been many!

 In just nine short weeks, people, businesses and community organizations stepped up to preserve this Cumberland County tradition. Many new dimensions were added to this year’s tournament like the Opening Ceremony & Pairings Party and the on-course food and beverages; however, the three biggest changes were:

Fort Bragg’s Stryker Golf Course has been added to the Cumberland County Golf Classic rotation and will, in the coming years, host the tournament at its facility. The tournament is supporting literacy through a donation made to Cumberland County’s Kidsville News! Literacy and Education Foundation (501c3 nonprofit). And, the really big news: The Cumberland County Golf Classic is going to incorporate a Women’s Division and name a Cumberland County Women’s Champion in 2017. Dee Dee Jarman, the senior athletic director and basketball coach at Methodist University will head up this endeavor. Pretty exciting, huh? 

Again, I want thank Robert Wilson, PGA Pro at Cypress Lakes and Mac Healy of Healy Wholesale for being such gracious hosts and to this awesome and generous community who know how to party and to keep a good thing going.

See you again next year on Sept. 15-17 of 2017!  Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly.