Players still loving golf at recent tournament
Published 10:37 am Wednesday, July 19, 2017
- Tournament sponsor Dennis Sumblin with the first-place team of Robert Diggs, Leslie Speights, Cleo Johnson and Gennie Grant.
SUFFOLK
The third annual “Loving It Now” Track Golf Tournament was at the Sleepy Hole Golf Course in Suffolk on June 23. The Tabernacle Baptist Church Golf Team from Petersburg won the tournament. Members of the team were the Rev. Dr. Robert Diggs, pastor of Tabernacle; Leslie Speights, a retired NFL official; Cleo Johnson and Gennie Grant, Dennis and Mona Sumblin’s pastor, Bishop Courtney McBath — who won the tournament last year — was a member of the runner-up team this year. Other members were Vern Watson, Larry Porter and Chris Sealy. The scores were very close, 61 and 62 respectively. Gennie Grant was closest to the pin and Dennis Sumblin hit the longest drive.
Dennis Sumblin, tournament sponsor, with two members of the second-place team, Vern Watson and Larry Porter. Not pictured are Courtney McBath and Chris Sealy. — Submitted | Mona Sumblin
The purpose of the tournament was to raise funds for the Franklin High School Track Program. This tournament is also special to Sumblin as he commemorates his now-deceased high school PE teacher, Charles Pearce.
“Mr. Pearce tried to get us interested in golf years ago, but we weren’t having it,” said Sumblin. “We just wanted to shoot the “rock” or play football; we didn’t want to play any golf! Mr. Pearce told us that we wouldn’t be able to do either of these when we got older, but we could play golf. I guess he was right.”
