The heavy stuff started to come down the past couple of days, and there’s more on the way. That’s why the Warren County Championship is shifting its dates.

Heavy rain the last two days and more in the forecast for this weekend has forced the postponement of the annual golf tournament at Clear Creek Golf Course, course pro Kent Smith said. The tournament was scheduled to begin Saturday but will now be played Aug. 6 and 7.

“We’ve gotten 4 inches or more” of rain since Wednesday, Smith said. “It just rained all morning (Thursday). Maintenance can’t mow anything and the traps are full of water. It’s supposed to rain more this weekend, so we just decided to go ahead and move it.”

Smith said about 65 people have signed up for the tournament so far, and was hopeful that the extra week will bring in a few more entries. He noted that the Vicksburg Country Club Championship was last week, and some of those golfers are also regulars in the Warren County Championship.

Playing tournaments in back-to-back weeks is difficult, but Smith said having a week between them to rest might be a difference-maker.

“It might help us some, because the Country Club had their championship last weekend and a lot of guys don’t want to play two weeks in a row,” Smith said. “This tournament has a real late sign-up. We’ll shoot for that and hope it helps.”

Golfers can register for the Warren County Championship at the Clear Creek clubhouse in Bovina, or by calling 601-638-9395. Registration is open until the tournament begins on Aug. 6.

Festivities for the Warren County Championship will begin Aug. 5 at 5 p.m., when last year’s top 12 finishers. play a shootout. One golfer will be eliminated on each hole until only one remains. Clear Creek will also host the Gator Golf Classic, a benefit tournament for the Vicksburg High School baseball team, that morning.

On Saturday, Aug. 6, the tournament itself gets under way at 8 a.m. The course will be closed to the public in the morning, but will reopen after the final group begins its round at 11 a.m. They’ll follow the same schedule on Sunday, Aug. 7.

The entry fee is $110 per person and also includes a practice round. In addition to the main tournament, there are separate divisions for seniors and women.

Jeff Cowan won last year’s seniors title, and Karley Whittington is a three-time defending women’s champ. Whittington, a junior at Warren Central, finished second in the Mississippi Junior Amateur’s girls division earlier this week.

Parker Rutherford won the Warren County Championship in 2015.

The Warren County Championship also marks the peak of the summer golf season in Warren County. It’s the county’s final “major” — after the Clear Creek and Vicksburg Country Club championships, and the Warren County Junior Championship — and the last big event before the Warren County Cup.

The Warren County Cup pits the top finishers from the Clear Creek and VCC championships in Ryder Cup-style matches. This year’s Warren County Cup is scheduled for Sept. 2-4 at Vicksburg Country Club.

“It’s peaking out,” Smith said. “We had the juniors and the country club had theirs, and then the Cup matches, and then it’s football season.”

WARREN COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP

The Warren County Golf Championship, a two-round, 36-hole tournament, is scheduled for Aug. 6 and 7 at Clear Creek Golf Course in Bovina. The tournament is open to all Warren County residents or those holding a Clear Creek golf pass, and the entry fee is $110 per person. Clear Creek will be closed to the public on Saturday and Sunday morning, and will reopen at 11 a.m.

To register, or for more information, visit the Clear Creek clubhouse or call course pro Kent Smith at 601-638-9395.