By Mike London
Salisbury Post
GRANITE QUARRY – Asked for an opinion with regard to “Rowan County Golfer of the Year,” East Rowan coach Shane Benfield had to meditate for a while.
“That’s a tough one,” he said.
Benfield coached senior Brady McIntyre and freshman Cameron Honeycutt. They were the top two guys in the county – there wasn’t any doubt about that – but it wasn’t a case of 1 and 2, it was a case of 1A and 1B. The pair led East to Rowan County and South Piedmont Conference championships and a sensational season. East’s team posted the best four-man score in the county tournament (290) in 15 years.
After some deep thought, Benfield concluded that both deserved the honor equally, so they are officially the Post’s Co-Rowan County Golfers of the Year.
“The picture that will always stay in my mind from this season was their epic playoff in the South Piedmont Conference Tournament,” Benfield said. “Brady Mac and Cam just kept halving and halving (five playoff holes at Irish Creek) until it was too dark to play anymore, and we finally called it a tie. Brady won the county tournament, with Cam runner-up. Cam led us in the regional. They both were top five in the 5A State Championships. The difference at state being Cam holed out an eagle on his last hole to finish a shot ahead of Brady. If Cam pars, he finishes a shot behind Brady. That’s how neck-and-neck they were, and it was like that all year.”
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Honeycutt showed an aptitude for golf before he left his crib. His father, Ryan, was a standout at Salisbury High and finished second in the 1997 State Championships. His son equaled that feat this year.
“They say I had a golf club in my hands as soon as I could walk,” Honeycutt said. “I think I got pretty serious about the game around 7.”
He’s been viewed as a rising star in Rowan golf for quite a while. He was outstanding at Erwin Middle School and he has stayed busy – and successful – in high-level tournaments.
So his first match as an East Rowan Mustang disappointed him.
“I shot 4-over for nine holes, my worst match all season,” Honeycutt said. “What I’m proudest of about my freshman year was that I steadily got better. From 4-over for nine holes to second in the state was a pretty good progression. I was consistent. I don’t think I won a match all year, but I was always right there. I tied for first several times, at Rocky River, at the Country Club of Salisbury. I didn’t go out and shoot 6-unders. but I made a lot of pars.”
He’s being modest. Yes, he did make a lot of pars, but he also had moments where he dropped some jaws. He finished both of his rounds in the state tournament with eagles. That’s not ordinary.
“I did have a good finish to the season in the second round at state,” Honeycutt said. “A birdie, a par, and then I hit a good drive and holed out with a one-hop eagle.”
Honeycutt agreed with Benfield that the most fun match of the year was the battle with McIntyre for the SPC championship at Irish Creek. Team stuff was on the back burner that day. It was just a head-to-head tussle, with neither conceding an inch.
Honeycutt has a very busy summer planned. He’ll be in the NC Amateur/Carolinas Amateur Qualifier at Colonial Country Club in Thomasville on June 1. He’s also entered in the NC Junior Boys Championship at Catawba Country Club in Newton on June 25-26. The list goes on and on.
“I think there are maybe five weekends all summer where I won’t have a big tournament,” Honeycutt said. “But that’s great. I love to play.”
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It was a super season for McIntyre, who became the county champion at Crescent for the first time as a senior, after watching the title slip away on No. 18 his junior year, as Salisbury’s John McCoy rallied.
“One bad shot cost me at Rolling Hills last season,” he said. “So winning this year, handling adversity a lot better, not getting mad at myself, it did mean a lot to me.”
McIntyre overcame a triple bogey on 11 to be the county champ. Even with the triple, he shot 68 by making nine birdies. That was the lowest score posted in a county tournament since East’s Nick Lyerly shot 66 at Corbin Hills nine years ago.
While McIntyre and Honeycutt often had similar scores, their games are different.
“I’m older so I hit it longer,” McIntyre said. “But Cam’s short game is better than mine. He has an awesome short game. We always say he could get up-and-down from a trash can.”
The 5A Central Regional held at Sapona in Lexington was the most frustrating day of the season for the Mustangs. Only two teams could advance to the 5A State Championships. Oak Grove shot 300 to win the regional. Seaforth edged East by one shot for second place.
East was in good shape but had some struggles on 17. Then Seaford finished strong on 18. It was that close.
“We were definitely not ready for it to end from a team standpoint,” Benfield said. “We felt like we had a great chance of going all the way. It was a heart-breaking finish to our season to miss by one.”
Honeycutt shot 71 and McIntyre shot 76 in the regional. While East didn’t make it to the state tournament, also held at Sapona, as a team, they were well-represented by Honeycutt (69-72, tied for second) and McIntyre (69-73, tied for fourth).
“State was good for me, but it could have been even better,” McIntyre said. “I hit it great, but just didn’t putt very well. The greens at Sapona are different from any we played on this year – very firm, sloping, and they were hard to read.”
McIntyre has some offers and does plan to continue his career in college. He hasn’t made a decision yet, but he hopes to make an announcement soon.
While McIntyre has finished at East, the image of the McIntyre-Honeycutt battle at Irish Creek will stick with Benfield for years to come.
“There was pretty good gallery there on 18, and they played a match that will be talked about for years to come,” he said. “It was fun to watch them duke it out.”
McIntyre and Honeycutt aren’t done playing together just yet. They plan to be a team in the Labor Day Four-Ball Tournament.
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All-Rowan County players are determined by the order of finish in the Rowan County Championships.
Coach of the Year – Shane Benfield, East. The Mustangs won their first team title since 2021.
Player of the Year – Brady McIntyre, East and Cameron Honeycutt, East
All-County
East – McIntyre, Honeycutt, Griffin Robbins, Mason Mainville
Salisbury – Bryant Davis, Sam Goodman, John McCoy
Carson – Jacob Rockwell
South – Miles Carden
West – Sam Faulkner.
Goodman, the 4A Central Regional champ, and South’s Dane Wheeler played in the 4A State Championships.
