Chandlers make it happen
- Updated: August 23, 2015
[corner-ad id=2]Father-son team backs up their Sunny King victory with the Buddy Moore Charity Classic
Dalton Chandler (R), under the watchful eye of his father Ott, sinks a 15-foot birdie putt on 18 that clinched the Buddy Moore Charity Classic.
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
When Ott Chandler won the Sunny King Charity Classic earlier this summer with his son Dalton, the feeling, he said, was just “awesome.” The Chandlers doubled their pleasure Sunday.
Dalton Chandler sank a 15-foot putt for birdie on the 18th green to complete an 80-foot two-putt that avoided a playoff with the defending champions and give he and Ott their first Buddy Moore Charity Classic title.
The Chandlers shot 13-under-par 57 in the final round at Anniston Municipal for a two-day total 28-under 112. They beat Matt Rogers and Jeremy McGatha, who also shot 57 Sunday, by one.
Rogers and McGatha, three-time winners of the event, had a two-foot putt for birdie on 18 that would’ve forced a playoff had Chandler missed his clinching putt.
“Any time you can do something special with your kid it’s something you’ll always remember,” Ott Chandler said. “I’m just a proud papa. To have two of these things this year, that’s just icing on the cake. It’s special.
“There’s a lo-o-o-o-t of good players in these things and we just made the putts when we had to. One day they go in, some days they don’t; luckily for us in those two tournaments they went in the hole for us.”
Dalton also made just as big a putt on 17 to keep Rogers and McGatha at bay. He knocked in a 15-footer from off the back fringe for birdie after Rogers and McGatha birdied from the middle of the green.
“In my head I felt like we needed to make both of them; on 18, we definitely did,” Dalton said. “I didn’t want to give Dad a chance to have to make it or miss it, put that pressure on him. I really wanted to make both of them and luckily they both went in.
“We won this one not on our A-game. We won the Sunny King, it was A-plus, but this tournament was B-plus. Neither one of us played like we did in the Sunny King, just excellent; we both just chimed in at the right times and made it happen. That 13-under was a grind today.”
The Chandlers opened a three-shot lead after Rogers and McGatha lipped out from two feet for bogey on 9 and missed five-foot birdie putts on 10, but the chasers got back within one after going birdie-eagle on 12 and 13, then, like Saturday, matched the Chandlers hole-for-hole down the stretch.
On 18, with the pin tucked back left, both teams hit drives down the right side that left them about 200 yards out. Ott Chandler hit his approach to the far right side of the green and Dalton ran his up to the front fringe about 80 feet from the pin. McGatha had his team’s best shot, putting his ball just below the elevated green and then pitching to about two feet, putting pressure on the Chandler’s to two-putt to win.
“I told Matt this was no guaranteed two-putt,” McGatha said. “When they both left that first one short I was like here we go, let’s tap this one in, they miss it and it’s a playoff – and he drained it.
“It’s been that kind of year for him. He won his first event (the Fort McClellan Credit Union Pro-Invitational), wins the Sunny King and now this. I’ve had years like that and it’s fun. When they’re going in, it’s fun.”
They were going in for the runner-ups, but it was the ones that didn’t midway through the round that stuck with them most.
“We turned it on,” McGatha said. “To shoot 8-under the last seven holes to get that close is good; we golfed our ball. Even doing that it still stings; missing those little bitty short ones is very irritating.”
Andrew Brooks and Cory Etter finished third in a scorecard playoff over Clay Calkins and Chris Hubbard (116). Timmy Woodard and Billy Thompson won the first flight, David Hill and David Fitzgerald won the second flight, and Jimmy Jackson and Gordon Stewart won the third flight.
ETOWAH OPEN: Scott Smith shot a final-round 74 Sunday, but still had plenty to win the Etowah Open by three shots. He shot 65 on Saturday. Anniston’s Caleb McKinney finished fourth after rounds of 74-71.
A nice-sized gallery gathered behind the No. 2 green to enjoy the action in the Buddy Moore Charity Classic.
BUDDY MOORE CHARITY CLASSIC
At Anniston Muncipal GC
Buddy Flight
Ott Chandler-Dalton Chandler 55-57—112
Jeremy McGatha-Matt Rogers 56-57—113
Andrew Brooks-Cory Etter 59-57—116
Clay Calkins-Chris Hubbard 59-57—116
Andrew Tyson-Guy Bradley 58-61—119
Jake Goggans-Rob Davie 59-60—119
Mike Zinn-Austin Minter 59-61—120
Adrian Geeting-Kevin Daugherty 59-61—120
Mary Ann Flight
Timmy Woodard-Billy Thompson 61-60—121
Benji Turley-Marcus Harrell 61-61—122
Eddie Salmon-Jason Johnson 61-63—124
Everett King-Jackson King 63-63—126
Daniel Clonts-Brett Key 32-30—62-65—127
Nick Pollard-Chad Watson 65-62—127
Doug Mooneyham-Chris Randall 61-68—129
Russ Montgomery-Steve Montgomery 65-64—129
Roger Jackson-Grant Jackson 65-66—131
Brian Whitley-David Whitley 64-68—132
Scott Moore-Will Prickett 66-67—133
Mike Braxton-Tim Mullendore 65-71—136
Scott Flight
David Hill-David Fitzgerald 68-65—133
T.J. McGatha-Kelly Rogers 67-67—134
Danny Whitaker-Gary Thomas 68-67—135
Mike Herndon-Tony Strickland 68-68—136
Tim Davis-Jackson Bonner 68-70—138
Tommy Pope-Nick Pope 67-73—140
Ted Heim-Grant Heim 67-74—141
Steve Mullendore-Will Mullendore 68-73—141
Jerre Dingler-David Wray 68-76—144
Angie Flight
Jimmy Jackson-Grant Stewart 69-67—136
Derrick Webb-John Roe 69-69—138
Kelly Cleghorn-Matt Cleghorn 72-67—139
Keith Gann-Steve Rogers 73-68—141
Jimbo Phillips-Will Coker 69-72—141
Sean Hayes-Ken Renfroe 70-71—141
Rodney Wade-Bruce Collins 70-74—144
Norman Thomas-Lynn Oswalt 71-72—143
Donnie McGinnis-Herschel Tanner 71-72—143
Tom Mullins-Henry Higginbotham 72-74—146
Ashley Bussey-Patrick Madrid 72-76—148
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