NATCHEZ — A local golfer will be dining with the governor of Arkansas next week.

Greg Brooking is one of 15 amateur golfers in Mississippi to be invited to the Mississippi Arkansas Governor’s Cup and the MS Cup Matches against the Mississippi Professional Golf Association.

Brooking, the Duncan Park Golf Course manager, is one of five named to the Mississippi seniors’ team.

“It’s a big deal, and I’m honored to be chosen for the team,” Brooking said. “Of course, I had to play my way into it.”

Brooking’s scores from the amateur tournaments he competed in this year made him one of the top five senior amateur golfers in the state. He missed five or six more that could have ranked him even higher.

He played in the Coast Open, the Mississippi Coast Amateur, the Grenada Invitationaal, the Greenwood Invitation, the State 4-Ball Tournament, the Mississippi Seniors Invitational and the Seniors Open Championship.

“I placed high enough in the tournaments, I guess,” Brooking said. “My high finish was in Grenada. I came in first in the senior division and third in the whole tournament. There were numerous events where I won among the seniors and placed in the top five or 10 in the whole tournament.”

For that success, Brooking will get to don a navy blue MGA blazer, embellished with the MGA Crest, to the players’ dinner on Thursday, where Mike Beebe will host the 30 golfers from both states at the Arkansas Governor’s Mansion in Little Rock.

Brooking said some teasing will go on between the two states’ teams, but once they get on the Chenal Country Club course on Friday, all kidding will be aside.

The Arkansas team has won the last two tournaments, including the one at Duncan Park Golf Course last year.

“We’re going to do the very best we can,” Brooking said. “We’ll have to work hard on changing the record. I’ve been practicing a lot, and I know my teammates are too, because it’s a privilege and an honor to represent the state of Mississippi like that.”

Four-ball and foursome matches will be played on Friday, and singles matches will be played Saturday morning.

Other Mississippi team members are team captain George Hinman, Felix Bertucci, Greg Brooking, Michael Dowst, Alan Ellis, Jay Hale, Clay Homan, Richard Reed, Scott Rhodes, Brad Riles, Bob Rupnik, Brother Sandifer, Duke Simmons, Ricky Sims, Ben Show, Robert Willis and Steve Wilson.