Coming off The Greenbrier Classic, Charleston native Christian Brand said he’s going to bring a more relaxed attitude to this year’s BNI Memorial Tournament, but he will still have to put in some work if he wants to become the tournament’s first-ever three-peat champion.
After winning the West Virginia Amateur Championship in July, Brand earned an exemption into The Greenbrier Classic field where he toiled with some of the game’s best for two rounds before missing the cut. Now, with the 31st annual BNI, it’s back to the roots and back to fun.
“I look at the event as just going down there and having fun, and the golf takes care of itself,” Brand said.
At 23, Brand has already built an impressive golf resume with a standout career at Marshall University and other accolades. Becoming the first golfer to win back-to-back-to-back BNI tournaments would present another achievement.
“It would be great,” he said.
Still, Brand maintains it’s all about fun.
“It’s great to be the first to do anything, but like I said, I’m just trying to have fun, and if a win happens, that’s fine,” he said. “I’m just going to let the golf take care of itself.”
Before Brand, it was Brandon Reece who was the most recent golfer to have an opportunity to win three consecutive BNI tournaments. Reece, a 2001 Liberty graduate, won the tournament in 2006 and 2007.
Reece graduated from the University of Charleston, where he played golf, in 2007. Now, a Raleigh, N.C., resident, Reece returns each year for the BNI fun — like Brand — and the competition, too.
“It’s fun just coming home and playing with guys that I grew up with,” Reece said. “The competition is great, of course. There’s obviously some great players in the area, and it’s getting tougher and tougher to win each year. There’s no doubt about that.”
Reece, 28, is expected to be among those to challenge Brand for the title this year, and Brand is no stranger to Reece.
“I played a little bit with Christian,” Reece said. “I went to school in Charleston, and he’s from Charleston, so I got to play with him a little bit. He’s obviously a good player, so it’s going to be tough to beat him. He’s obviously playing good and playing The Greenbrier Classic.
“That’s always fun to play with people that are playing a little bit better than you to see where your game’s at.”
Brand may enter this year’s tournament as one of the tournament’s most-talented golfers to ever participate, but Reece said he’s no slouch either, playing three or four times a week, including six or seven tournaments this summer.
Both golfers said the tournament’s unique format that features three rounds over three days on three different courses makes it a worthwhile experience.
“That’s what makes this tournament so fun,” Brand said. “It’s three different courses, three very good courses and a pretty good field to go with it.”
Reece echoed Brand’s sentiment.
“It’s always exciting when you have a tournament that has three different courses on three different days,” he said. “It’s a pretty cool tournament to play in.”
While both Brand and Reece are having fun, don’t expect them to be far away from the leader’s spot, if not claiming it.
The first two rounds of the BNI will be at Pipestem State Park and Grandview Country Club today and Sunday, with the field changing courses on Sunday before the championship at The Resort at Glade Springs’ Cobb Course Monday.
— E-mail: nbrockman@register-herald.com
The BNI
Related Photos
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Brandon Reece hits out of a bunker on the No. 3 hole of The Greenbrier Course during the second round of the West Virginia Amateur in August 2007 at The Greenbrier resort in White Sulphur Springs. Reece is a two-time BNI champion. Register-Herald file photo
Players enjoy BNI's unique format
Brand has work to do to become first-ever three-peat champ
- The BNI
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In memory of Jimmy Jones — 1988 champion to be honored at 32nd annual Beckley Newspapers Memorial Golf Classic
Linda “Penny” Jones knew how much the game of golf meant to her husband. So when an accident befell his set of clubs, she doesn’t mind telling you she panicked.
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BNI returns to The Brier Patch Golf Links
For it’s 33rd anniversary, the BNI Memorial Golf Classic will have a distinctly local flavor once again.
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Finally, some time to relax
Most of the 154 golfers in the three-day, 54-hole, three-course Beckley Newspapers Memorial Golf Classic described the tournament as “a grind.”
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BNI Scores
Final scores from the 32nd annual Beckley Newspapers Memorial Golf Classic:
Championship Flight -
Down to the wire — Miller beats Reece in playoff to capture BNI
Three courses and 54 holes — 55, in fact — weren’t enough to separate Bosten Miller and Brandon Reece and determine the champion of the 32nd annual Beckley Newspapers Memorial Golf Classic.
But on the second playoff hole — No. 2 at The Resort at Glade Springs’ Cobb Course — Miller, the leader after each of the first two rounds, tapped in for birdie and his first BNI championship. -
Almost 78, Hamrick is still going strong
Jim Hamrick has plenty of excuses for not playing at his best in this week’s Beckley Newspapers Memorial Golf Classic.
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BNI Scores
Here are scores after the second round of the 32nd annual Beckley Newspapers Memorial Golf Classic:
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Miller pads BNI lead
Marshall grad up by 4 going into final round
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CORRECTED: Final-Round Tee Times
Here are Monday’s tee times for the final round of the 32nd annual Beckley Newspapers Memorial Golf Classic. The round will take place on the Cobb Course at The Resort at Glade Springs:
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Home for vacation
It’s no secret that the Beckley Newspapers Memorial Golf Classic — still affectionately known as the BNI — is a focal point for many of its competitors.
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