Mustangs: County champs
Carson’s Jacob Rockwell. Brian Wilhite photo.
By Mike London
Salisbury Post
SALISBURY – Monday’s Rowan County Golf Championships at Crescent featured a return to the top 0f the leaderboard by the East Rowan Mustangs and redemption for East senior Brady McIntyre, the new county champion.
East, coached by Shane Benfield, shot a sizzling 290 and won by 28 strokes. That’s the best team score posted in the county event in 15 years. A Salisbury team led by medalist Eric Edwards shot 284 at McCanless in 2011.
McIntyre, a senior who leads a young team, shot an eventful 68 to pace the Mustangs. It was a 31-37 – 68. There was never a dull moment. He had to overcome a triple bogey. He made nine birdies.
Yes, nine birdies. McIntyre birdied half the holes on a course that provides a lot more challenges than easy birdie opportunities.
“I guess I like to add some spice to my round,” McIntyre said cheerfully. “I had a rough hole on No. 11 and hit two balls out of bounds, but then I had three birdies in a row on 13, 14 and 15. I put it close. None of those birdie putts were more than 5 feet. That made up for the triple.”
McIntyre drives it long and has come far for an athlete who didn’t get serious about golf until middle school. Now he has realistic college golf aspirations. He has played some superb matches in his high school career, but he’s had no luck in the showcase event of every spring high school golf season – the county tournament.
As a junior, McIntyre carried the lead to the 18th tee at Rolling Hills, but double-bogeyed and was overtaken by Salisbury’s John McCoy.
As a freshman, he shot a respectable 77 and finished five shots off the pace at Crescent, but as a sophomore, he shot an 87 at Warrior that still makes his head spin.
“I don’t believe I’ve shot an 87 since that day,” McIntyre said. “That was just a long day on the golf course.”
East had a lot of strong rounds on Monday. Freshman Cam Honeycutt shot 1-under 71 and was runner-up to McIntyre. East’s Griffin Robbins placed fifth with a 76. Mason Mainville provided the fourth counting score for the Mustangs with a 79. He finished seventh.
“Brady Mac played amazing and Cam was steady,” Benfield said. “Griffin was solid, 38-38 -76, and he keeps improving every match. Mason shot a 37 on the back nine. He seems to play his best golf in the bigger events, and that’s a real good quality to have.”
Honeycutt had a tremendous day of ball-striking and had repeated birdie looks, but didn’t sink many putts.
“I think Cam had 40 putts,” Benfield said. “To have 40 putts and still be able to shoot 71 that tells you how good he was hitting it today. When his putter gets hot, look out.”
East played exceptionally on the front nine and made the turn at 142, 2-under par as a team. The Mustangs were up 22 shots on the field at the halfway mark.
“I’ve been saying all along that we have a chance to be a special team, and I’m tickled to have a chance to coach this group of guys,” Benfield said. “Out there on that front nine today, we saw some glimpses of what we can be as a team. If all of our guys can play well at the same time, we can do some special things.”
Brody Benfield, the coach’s son, shot 83. He started fast. It was a 38-45 – 83.
“Brody missed making all-county by one shot, with 82 as the cut-off,” Coach Benfield said. “He played well on the front, but he sprayed it around a little bit on the back.”
McIntyre three-putted on No. 1 and No. 10, but other than the putts were dropping for him. He made five birdies on the front nine.
Some teenagers would have come unraveled after that three-putt on 10 was followed by that double-OB triple bogey “7” on No. 11, but McIntyre stayed focused. He put 11 behind him. He realized he had simply made a wrong choice of clubs. He still had full confidence in his game. He knew he had more birdies in him, and he went out and proved it to himself and everyone else.
“Brady Mac is as good as anyone I’ve ever seen at his age as far as being able to move on from a bad shot,” Coach Benfield said. “He’s got a knack for it, and that’s a very important thing for a golfer to have. A lot of young golfers can’t put a bad shot behind them quickly, and then they make two more. I’m really happy for him because he was so close to winning county last season and just couldn’t quite close it out.”
McIntyre’s 68 was the lowest score anyone has shot in the county tournament since Mustang legend Nick Lyerly fired a 66 at Corbin Hills in 2017.
East celebrated its first team championship since 2021. West Rowan won at the Country Club of Salisbury in 2022. After West’s victory. Salisbury, the 2A state champion in 2025, reeled off three RoCo titles in a row.
The Hornets settled for runner-up on Monday. They shot 318 as a team.
Bryant Davis, who plays No. 2 singles and No. 1 doubles for Salisbury’s SPC champion tennis team, also competes in golf whenever he can. He shot 75 to lead SHS golfers. He placed fourth individually. Davis’ 34 was the best score carded by anyone on the back nine.
Salisbury’s Sam Goodman shot 78 and placed sixth. McCoy shot 80 and was eighth.
Carson’s Jacob Rockwell finished third individually with a 1-over 73 and led the Cougars to third place. Carson shot 333 and was 15 shots behind Salisbury.
Fourth-place South Rowan and fifth-place West Rowan also had all-county golfers. South’s Miles Carden was ninth with an 81. West’s Sam Faulkner was 10th with an 82.
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