County golf notes

Oxford halves its match; Ellison bids farewell to county tour

By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today

OXFORD — Tyler Putnam shot even-par 36 with a birdie to help Oxford halve its nine-hole match with Etowah Tuesday at Cider Ridge Golf Club.

Both teams shot 170 and in non-tournament situations it remains as a draw. Moody also sent players, but didn’t have a full-team complement.

Clayton Esty shot 42 for Oxford. The Yellow Jackets return to Cider Ridge Thursday for an 18-hole match with Gadsden City.

THE NEXT STEP: Jaylon Ellison made a bid for a spot in the Web.com Chitimacha Louisiana Open Monday and missed the qualifying number by two shots. He was among eight players at The Oaks shooting 69, a good score but in this field fell short of the mark.

His attempts at Monday qualifying and continued mini-tour starts represent Ellison’s serious move into the next step on his golf career path. It’s a path that is taking him away from playing on the Calhoun County Golf Tour this season.

As Ellison looks ahead, he won’t be playing in this weekend’s King of the Hill opener. He’s leaning toward playing in the Anniston Country Club Invitational but called the Sunny King Charity Classic “borderline.” Everything, he said, depends on his tournament and professional schedule.

“I’m trying to grow my game and feel like I need to go play other places to try to let my game continue to develop,” he said.

He said he enjoyed competing on the County Tour, where he won nine times and was 2010 Player of the Year, but at age 36 he has been working on his game in recent months in hopes of meeting the challenge of the next level.

Last year in four mini-tour starts – as an amateur — he had a second and had three thirds.

“It’s definitely made an impact on the development of my game,” Ellison said of the local tour. “It has been instrumental for me to grow my game and give me an opportunity to take it to another level.”

BUBBA & ME: Lee Morgan birdied three of his last four holes to shoot 10-under-par 61 and win the second annual You & Bubba Tournament at Cherokee County Country Club by a shot over Adam Weaver. Scott Hays was third at 64.

Weaver birdied six of his last eight holes and Hays had two eagles.

Scotty McFry shot 70 with three birdies and won a scorecard playoff for the first flight over Kurt Duryea (four birdies) and Ricky Young (five birdies) won a scorecard playoff.

The format was basically a stroke-play event with a mulligan on every shot.

UPCOMING EVENTS: Entries are still being accepted for this weekend’s King of the Hill at Anniston Municipal Golf Course. Entry fee is $100, which includes the registration fee for the Calhoun County Golf Tour season; it’s $90 for players not wishing to participate in the Tour.

The ERA King Charity Golf Classic benefitting UCP of East Central Alabama is May 8 at Cider Ridge. Entry fee for the two-man scramble is $100 per player. Hole sponsorships are available for $100, as well as silver and gold level sponsorships. For more information call the UCP office (237-8203) or Mike Pruitt (835-0246).

It’s never too early to start talking about the Sunny King Charity Classic and tournament officials recently began their sponsorship campaign for this year’s 37th annual event. The tournament is July 11-13, presumably at Anniston Country Club, Cider Ridge Golf Club and Silver Lakes. For more information on sponsorship opportunities call tournament chairman Braxton Harris (831-9198) or Hank Smith (831-0590).

Last year’s Classic raised more than $100,000 for 36 local charities, pushing the 36-year draw of charitable contributions to more than $2.3 million.

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