Great golf supporting even greater causes arrives in Fayetteville Saturday, Aug. 23, with the 38th Annual Fayetteville Rotary Club-hosted Walker Family Golf Classic. Registration at the host course, King's Grant Golf & Country Club at 347 Shawcroft Rd., Fayetteville, is from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m., with the tee-off at 8:30 a.m.
Since 1986, the Fayetteville Rotary has hosted the annual Walker tournament, originally the Fayetteville Rotary Father-Son Golf Championship of Cumberland County. Over the years, the Classic has expanded to include fathers and daughters, grandfathers and grandsons, mothers and daughters, mothers and sons, brothers, nephews and uncles, and other family duos. Today, the Walker, renamed in 2015 for the event's founder, former Rotary Club President Joe Walker, welcomes a wider variety of players.
FRC Director and Chair of the Tournament Committee Tim Richardson explained the tournament’s foundation.
“It originally started as a true father-son golf tournament, almost identical to the tournament (now the Carolinas Parent Child Championship) held annually by the Carolinas Golf Association, the CGA, in Pinehurst. They use many courses because it's such a big event. And Joe Walker played in it with his sons. He loved it so much, and he thought it would be a great thing for us to have here in Cumberland County, and that the Rotary Club could do it. So that's how it started,” he said. “And even before Joe's death, we said, you know, there are so many people that have loved playing in this tournament and golf in general, we're going to change the format and make this a family golf championship. So, if your team (of two) is of a family relation, you can play.”
The links are also open to all ages. Younger players and well-seasoned players are eligible for the oldest and youngest team awards, determined by the combined age of the team. The furthest-traveled team receives another prize. Even though entries must be amateur golfers who are legal residents of Cumberland County, non-residents can play with a qualifying teammate. According to Richardson, players come from across North and South Carolina, and sometimes even further, to join.
A trophy and prize presentation and a cookout catered by ScrubOaks Restaurant are slated after the 18-hole, alternate-stroke tournament. Winners and runners-up in each of five flights will be recognized. While teams in the lowest handicap division will compete for the championship, higher divisions will compete for flight prizes.
Last year, the father-son team of Chuck and Chad Mohn took first place overall, and the team of David and Anthony Knight placed second overall. The tournament raised over $26,000 to support annual service projects. The 2023 Walker Family Golf Classic saw the father-son team of Brian and Sutton Drier achieve a three-peat as they earned their third straight tournament title. The team of Johnny Taylor and Timmy Parker placed second overall. The 2023 tournament raised over $23,000 for the Fayetteville Rotary Club’s annual service projects.
As for this year, Richardson floated some big names in area amateur golf who plan to take to the greens on Aug. 23.
“Thomas Owen is going to be playing this year with his dad. Thomas has won the Cumberland County Golf Championship and the Highlands Country Club Golf Championship,” Richardson shared. “Billy West is going to be playing with his son. And of course, Billy has been the Cumberland County Golf Champion many times, and also the Highland Country Club Champion. So, we have several really good players playing in the field.”
Other special players who turn out year after year are members of the tournament's namesake family. Mark, Todd and Brian Walker, sons of the late Joe Walker, and their children carry on the tournament tradition their dad and granddad started. Last year, Joe’s wife, Melba, was among the spectators who cheered them on.
Richardson’s son-in-law, Greg Whitley, joins him in the round and enjoys the camaraderie of the day.
He said, “I have been on boards for and played in a lot of the charity tournaments in Cumberland County. What sets the Walker apart is the fact that it’s family-oriented. Unlike most other tournaments, the Walker pairs family members and allows you to spend some time with family on the golf course. I appreciate that they’ve expanded beyond the initial father-son format to allow and encourage family members--blood, marriage or otherwise--to spend some great time together!”
Whitley said a joke or two with family is par for the course.
“The pairings with other family teams are very enjoyable, and a little good-natured family ribbing after a bad shot is always good for a lighthearted laugh,” he quipped.
Whatever the score is at the end of the day, and no matter who takes the trophy, Cumberland County is the real winner.
“This is the major way that we raise the funds that we put back into the community. The Walker Classic is our largest fundraiser,” Richardson said.
The Fayetteville Rotary Club supports many local nonprofits and service organizations, including Rick's Place, Better Health of Cumberland County and Habitat for Humanity. The circa 1920 club also champions children and youth through many different initiatives. From coordinating the Fayetteville Christmas Parade and bringing the traveling Morehead Planetarium to schools to funding scholarships, achievement programs and quality of life projects, Rotary members fulfill the club’s service mission with pride.
Highlights from 2024-25 included celebrating the Fayetteville Christmas Parade’s 25th anniversary, delivering $16,000 in cash and tuition credits to four Methodist University students for the Lowdermilk Achievement Awards and selecting 15 local high school students for Rotary Youth Leadership Award (RYLA) program participation. The Fayetteville Rotary invested over $50,000 in this community last year alone.
And Rotary’s reach extends to both the region and the world. Examples of global goodwill include the club’s support of a Rotary Peace Fellow from Gaza beginning his fellowship at the Duke-UNC Rotary Peace Center and donations to communities in the Bahamas. Closer to home yet across the state, the Fayetteville Rotary supported Hurricane Helene recovery and the Boys and Girls Home of Lake Waccamaw, and much more.
The Fayetteville Rotary Club is part of Rotary International’s District 7730. Rotary is an organization of business and professional leaders united worldwide, who provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations and help build goodwill and peace in the world. There are approximately 1.2 million Rotarians, members of more than 29,000 Rotary clubs in 161 countries.
To get into the swing of things and enter the Walker Family Golf Championship, visit the Fayetteville Rotary Club website at https://fayettevillerotaryclub.org/walker-family-golf-classic.php and download the entry form. The form plus the $150 per team fee is due by Aug. 15. Entries will be limited to 44 teams, and the fee includes the greens fees and cart for both players and all festivities. Game on!

(Photos: Above: The Fayetteville Rotary Club has put on the Walker Family Tournament since 1986. Pictured are Fayetteville Rotarians Maureen Running, Magda Baggett, Bonnie Dawdy and Shawn Johnson.
Bottom: Rotarian and tournament Chair Tim Richardson teamed up with son-in-law Greg Whitley, along with Sean Aul from Tile, Inc. Photos courtesy of Carolyn Justice-Hinson)