NATCHEZ — Pride is a powerful motivator.

In the immortal words of current Kansas City Chiefs coach Herm Edwards, “You play to win the game.”

This weekend members of the Beau Pré Country Club will be competing in the Club Championship for much more than just their name on the plaque of the club house wall.

They’ll be competing for bragging rights and a chance to qualify for the Beau Pré Cup (a Ryder Cup style tournament).

“The Club Championship basically helps us identify the best players at the club,” Beau Pré golf pro Dwayne David said. “We take the lowest 13 players from (The Club Championship) who qualify for the cup. That’s another prestigious reason why people sign-up for the championship.”

Last year’s Club Championship winner Lloyd Trisler will be on the course this year looking for a back-to-back championship.

When asked about his championship run last year, Trisler modestly said his victory last year was due to his steady play.

“Well I had a pretty good year last year,” Trisler said. “I got pretty lucky on Saturday and Sunday.”

If Trisler wants to repeat as champion both he and David recognize it won’t be an easy task.

“I’m playing fairly well,” Trisler said. “A lot depends on who else is out there — there are a lot of good young guys out there.

“It’s a big honor playing with those guys.”

David echoed Trisler’s expectations on the competition this weekend.

“We have some good players, I expect the winning score to be between 138 and 142,” David predicted. “We probably have 15 guys who are capable of achieving those scores.”

David said his high expectations are a good thing not only for the course, but for the championship in general.

“There’s no clear-cut favorite. That’s one good thing about playing out here, we have a lot of talented golfers,” David said. “It’s very competitive.”

David credits course superintendent Dee Barron for doing a good job on preparing the course for the tournament.

“Dee Barron has done a wonderful job. He’s got the fairways looking good, the greens about as smooth as they’ve been all year,” David said. “He’s done a good job of preparing everything for this weekend.

David said he expects over 50 players to compete in the Championship’s three divisions.

The 36-hole Championship tee’s off June 7 at 11 a.m. at the Beau Pré Country Club.