Big Creek Country Club in Mountain Home will once again host the Governor’s Cup, marking the first time the event has been played at the course since 2011.
The Governor’s Cup is an annual Ryder Cup-style match play team event between the Arkansas State Golf Association (ASGA) and the Mississippi Golf Association (MGA), featuring four-ball, foursomes and singles competition between the two states’ top amateur golfers.
The event was created in 2005 following the end of the Mid-South Cup Matches, which originally began in 1977 at Texarkana Country Club and included six southern states Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas. When that competition ended, Arkansas and Mississippi elected to continue an annual head-to-head event, forming what is now the Governor’s Cup.
Under the current format, ASGA selects a 20-player roster that typically includes top amateurs (excluding college players), along with seniors and super-seniors. Mississippi fields a similar team. Players are responsible for their own travel and lodging, and each team wears coordinated uniforms provided by their respective associations.
Arkansas hosts the event in even-numbered years, while Mississippi hosts in odd-numbered years. Big Creek previously hosted the competition in 2011, when Mississippi earned the victory.
The 2026 matches are scheduled to begin May 16 at Big Creek Country Club.
Arkansas roster announced
The Arkansas State Golf Association has released its roster for the 2026 Governor’s Cup, featuring 40 golfers who will compete in the four-ball portion of the event before lineup adjustments for later match play formats.
The roster includes Jason Adams, Robert Ammon, Hunter Bell, Ryan Bell, Kyle Billingsley, David Calhoun, Dwayne Cox, Sterling Dahl, Austin Franks, Carson Garner, Doug Garner, Casey Ham, Bev Hargraves, Monty Hilton, Clay Homan, Bill Hood, Andrew Hopkins, Chris Jenkins, Naret Johnson, Trey Kamman, Jake Kight, Terry Kirby, Bubba Klugh, Ron Mangold, Paul McMillin, Wes McNulty, Shaw Nickels, Richard Reed, Lance Reid, Carson Roberts, Chris Rogers, Tim Roop, Stacey Shiew, Ricky Sims, Max Ullan, Ron Whittaker, Steve Wilson, Brent Winston, Nickolas Zimmerman and Stafford Gray.
Players represent communities across Arkansas, including Conway, Little Rock, Searcy, Hot Springs, Maumelle, Pocahontas, White Hall, Rogers, Bryant, Jacksonville and Lonoke.
The Governor’s Cup continues a longstanding rivalry between Arkansas and Mississippi amateur golf associations and remains one of the region’s premier team match play events.
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