Cole wins at ACC
- Updated: June 2, 2019
Rallies from seven shots back to win third straight County Tour event and sit in some pretty special company
By Al Miuskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
Ty Cole has won so many things on the Calhoun County Golf Tour they’re starting to make things up for him to win.
Cole added two titles to his resume you won’t find in any record book Sunday when he won the Wilfred Galbraith ACC Invitational for the first time.
Cole put together a big back nine to shoot a final-round 4-under-par 66 for a 54-hole total 205 that was one shot better than first-round leader Garrett Burgess and two better than second-round leader Gary Wigington. He turned in 1-over for the day – and even for the tournament – then started the back nine birdie, birdie, par, eagle to take the lead.
He started the day seven shots off Wigington’s lead.
“If you told me 5-under would win Anniston at the start today I would have said you’re full of it,” Cole said. “The way Twig has been playing, Garrett and Dalton (Chandler) are both members … people just don’t back up there like that.
“Here I am turning 1-over-par and I don’t have a history there. I told Ryan (Howard) when we teed off I can’t read the greens at Anniston good enough to win this tournament. To work out the way it did, it’s just crazy.”
No, that’s yet to come.
With the win, Cole now has won the County Tour’s private-club parlay – Gadsden CC and Anniston CC – and the Sunny King Slam, holding all three Tour titles at the courses that host the Sunny King Charity Classic he has won three years in a row with Wigington (2018 Silver Lakes, 2019 Cider Ridge, 2019 ACC). He can hold all three in the same calendar year if he can repeat at Silver Lakes, the next event on the Tour schedule, June 22-23.
But there’s more. He is the first player to win three straight Tour events twice. He’s now tied with Wigington for all-time County Tour wins (16). And since Cole joined the Tour in 2013, the only invitationals he hasn’t won are the King of the Hill at Anniston Municipal and Indian Oaks, and neither are on the schedule anymore.
“I would never know this or think about it if you don’t bring it up,” Cole said. “It’s cool, don’t get me wrong, but it’s like I tell you every time we talk, I show up and pay my money and hope for the best every week.”
Cole shot 31 on the back nine. His winning run started with a 15-foot birdie on 10 from the same spot he birdied the hole Saturday. He made a four-footer on 11 after flying his second shot over the green. He drove the green on 13 (327 yards on the card) and made a 25-footer after seeing the line from playing partner Eric Howle’s putt right before. He added a long birdie putt on 16 “nobody’s supposed to make” that proved to be the margin of victory.
For Wigington it was a particularly bitter pill. He finished second in this event each of the previous three years, held a four-shot lead entering the round and had only to keep it in the road in the final round to claim the only piece missing from his impressive resume.
But he struggled all day off the tee. He lost a 3-wood into the hazard on No. 7 and an iron into the range on No. 9 and took double bogey on both holes. When Burgess made a 35-foot birdie putt on 7, Wigington’s lead that was four at the start of the day was down to only one.
He hit only four fairways in the round.
“That one right there hurts a lot,” Wigington said. “I was hitting it bad the whole way – way right and way left – I couldn’t figure out what it was. I just hit it awful. I thought I had it fixed and don’t.”
Burgess took the lead with a par on 9, then dropped back into a tie Wigington with a bogey at 10 from the middle of the fairway. Both players birdied the par-5 11th and Burgess took the lead in the group again when Wigington bogeyed 12, but neither were aware of the move Cole was making in front of them.
When Burgess birdied 13 it only drew him into a share of the lead. Cole took the solo lead with a long birdie putt on 16 and it held up through the finish. Even Burgess admitted news of the birdie “kind of took the wind out of my sails.”
Still, the potential existed for a three-way tie when Cole didn’t birdie 17. Wigington needed an eagle and Burgess needed a birdie, and both were in position to do so, but both left the green with disappointing pars. Wigington hit the green in 2 and Burgess’ second shot settled just off the green above the hole.
“It was really fun being in the mix, because I didn’t have a whole of expectations coming in for what little bit I’ve played,” Burgess said. “I guess it’s one of those things where if you would’ve known now what you knew then it would’ve been different. I missed a lot of opportunities before 18, but what little that I’ve played I can’t really be upset for not being able to win.”
Cover photo by B.J. Franklin. To see more photos from the round click on this link: www.bjfranklin.smugmug.com
WILFRED GALBRAITH ACC INVITATIONAL
Championship A
Ty Cole 70-69-66—205
Garrett Burgess 64-72-70—206
Gary Wigington 68-64-75—207
Dalton Chandler 70-66-75—211
Ryan Howard 70-69-72—211
Jeremy McGatha 68-71-73—212
Jonathan Pate 76-69-71—216
Eric Howle 72-73-72—217
Kevin Daugherty 71-76-74—221
Timmy Woodard 75-72-74—221
Chance Harris 76-71-81—228
Tyler Putnam 68-78-82—228
Championship B
Brennan Clay 74-75-68—217
Ott Chandler 74-74-70—218
Scott Martin 73-75-71—219
Daniel Black 76-75-69—220
Randy Archer 77-73-70—220
Chase Hollingsworth 73-80-70—223
Chandler Wilborn 73-79-72—224
Tanner Wells 76-73-77—226
Brian Woodfin 75-76-77—228
Matt Rogers 72-77-79—228
David Sanders 77-71-83—231
Ryan Huff 76-76-82—234
Championship C
Logan Archer 75-80-69—224
Randy Lipscomb 73-82-72—227
Cypress Hathorn 78-77-75—230
Kenneth Patterson 77-81-76—234
Kyle Daugherty 76-82-78—236
Frank Brady 76-84-77—237
Jake Nichols 78-79-80—237
Kaine Gibson 76-78-85—239
Don Springer 78-82-81—241
Timothy Dennison 77-81-84—242
First flight
Tyler Dopson 72-73—145
Chip Howell 74-72—146
Jason Britton 78-70—148
Billy Thompson 77-72—149
Jeff Borrelli 71-78—149
Landon Winfrey 75-75—150
Greg Shultz 80-72—152
Charlie Smith 78-76—154
Chris Sanford 74-80—154
Lamar Carter 80-76—156
Keith Raisanen 80-78—158
Graham Morrow 76-83—159
Kenny Fulmer 78-84—162
Matt Hunter 80-WD
Second flight
Eric Lett 81-77—158
Chris O’Dell 86-80—166
Don Hill 81-85—166
Jerry Kemp 84-82—166
Cain Hollingsworth 81-86—167
Joseph Lambert 86-81—167
Bradley Young 87-85—172
Grant Greenwood 88-85—173
Mark Cotton 83-92—175
Cal Lambert 94-83—177
John Lindsey 91-86—177
Kelly Rogers 96-90—186
Aaron Jones 103-NC
Senior flight
Doug Sears 78-74—152
James Ramey 75-78—153
Rick Taylor 83-75—158
Tom Roberts 82-77—159
Dennis Austin 81-80—161
John Carrozza 83-82—165
Don Whitlow 89-90—179
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