Like moths to a flame and similar to the words of legendary rock band Thin Lizzy, the boys are back in town.
“The boys” refers to 136 golfers that are set to do battle for the championship trophy at the 2023 Mountain State Golf Classic.
Now in its 44th year, the prestigious tournament that always sports an elite local field, will tee off Saturday, July 8 and continue through the championship round, Monday, July 10.
“We are really excited about the tournament. The field has been set since about the first of June which is really nice,” committee member and six-time champion Mike Mays said. “(Fellow committee member) Ryan Neal does a phenomenal job and he puts countless hours into this tournament.”
Originally known as the BNI Tournament and enjoyed as a reunion of friends and competitors, the Mountain State Golf Classic has also evolved into a charity tournament.
“We partner with the Senior Friends at the Raleigh General Hospital. It benefits their organization which distributes money to benefit the Alzheimer’s Association and different organizations like that,” Mays explained. “At minimum we have been able to give $5,000 to the cause over the last several years. Last year it was $7,000 and this year the goal is $10,000. We may be a little shy of that, but each year we try to bump it up a little bit.”
One of the unique features of the three-day event is the tournament is contested on three separate golf courses.
Play will open at Grandview Country Club Saturday and the championship round will be played on the Cobb Course at the Resort at Glade Springs.
The Stonehaven course at Glade Springs had been used for round two in previous years before scheduling issues forced a change of venue last year and again this year.
For the 2022 tournament, the field played the Cobb Course on Sunday and Monday, but that will not be the case this year.
For round two, a longtime favorite, Pipestem Resort State Park, returns to the rotation. The Geoffrey Cornish design is a par-72 layout with tree lined fairways and trouble lurking all around.
“Pipestem was a thought, so we polled our players and instead of playing the Cobb Course two days in a row like we did last year, everybody liked the uniqueness of playing three different courses,” Mays said. “Everybody loves Pipestem and Pipestem loved having us there. It is a great golf course and I have always loved it. It has some risk-reward holes and sometimes the long ball can get you in trouble. It is a strategic style of golf course.”
Current West Virginia University golfer Todd Duncan returns to defend his title after being the only competitor to record three rounds below 70 last year.
Duncan was a two-time Class AA individual state champion while at Shady Spring and also hoisted the 2020 Mountain State Golf Classic trophy.
The former Tiger standout will once again need his A-game if he is to become a three-time champion.
Playing alongside Duncan will be two-time champion, Davey Jude, who won his titles in 2021 and 2014 and finished second last year. Jude was also runner-up this year at 104th W.Va. Amateur Championship played at The Greenbrier the last week of May.
Cam Roam from Huntington will join Duncan and Jude in one of the premiere groups. Roam is an accomplished amateur player that finished ninth at the Amateur this year.
Three of the best high school players over the last couple of years have also thrown their hat in the ring this year.
Former Beckley standout Zan Hill, Herbert Hoover graduate Bryson Beaver and recent Shady Spring grad Tanner Vest all have the game to bring home their first Mountain State Golf Classic trophy.
Hill and Beaver were both individual state champions as high school seniors. Vest was runner-up last year in his senior campaign and has signed to play golf for Marshall University next year. Beaver will be a sophomore golfer in the fall at WVU Tech and Hill will be playing his second season for Concord University.
Beaver and Vest have also combined to win the last two W.Va. Four-ball titles. They are the youngest duo to ever accomplish that feat.
“The field keeps getting stronger and stronger every year,” Mays said. “We are getting some of the younger college kids playing and other new players each year. That is what we really want.”
Last year Dennis Vass won the Senior title on the 40th anniversary of his tournament win back in 1982 and he will be back to defend that title.
The Mountain State Golf Classic is divided into an Open Division and a Senior Division. All players in the Open division will play the white tees the first two days and the Senior division will play the gold tees.
For the final round, the championship flight will move to the blue tees. The remainder of the field will be flighted and play the white tees.