Classic is back, full bore
- Updated: September 16, 2021
‘Halfway doesn’t work’ when it comes to the Sunny King Charity Classic, no matter the time of year, and especially this year don’t be slow
More: SKCC tee times posted to the site
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
The committee for the Sunny King Charity Classic had its final formal meeting Wednesday to dot some I’s and cross some last-minute T’s and it was the most satisfying confab it has had in two years.
It meant this year’s Classic is a go and nothing short of a hurricane will keep it from happening.
“Everything is going to be as usual,” tournament chairman Brett Key said. “We’re doing the full Sunny King Charity Classic. 2021 is the full Sunny King Charity Classic again.”
There was no Classic in 2020, cancelled for the first time in its history after a record-breaking tournament the year before due to COVID-19. Organizers were committed to bringing it back this year and did so in a non-traditional September time slot (to give the virus a wider berth), which in itself will create some challenges.
But it’s on and it all gets started at 7 a.m. Sept. 24 at Anniston Country Club, Cider Ridge Golf Club and Silver Lakes.
“I am incredibly excited for this tournament to be back,” Key said. “I’m excited for the golfers. I’m excited for the sponsors. Most of all, I’m excited for these charities. They had to go an entire year, which was hard for every business and every charity, without funding we were able to provide, so I am ecstatic to be able to stand up there on Sunday with Patty King and present a check to these charities and these volunteers who work so hard to make this thing happen.
“There was no doubt we were going to play. In my mind, the biggest decision the committee had to make was whether or not we were going to have the social events; the golf was going to happen one way or another. All the people on the committee feel strongly about the fact that Patty King has a standard and this thing has to be delivered to the standard. I don’t think halfway works for this tournament.”
The biggest challenge to the golf is the limit on daylight, which only becomes a concern in July if weather is involved.
To help ease that pressure, the tee times at all three venues will start a half-hour earlier than usual and there’s a wider break between waves at double-tee locations Cider Ridge and Silver Lakes. The last tee times at each venue each day is expected to be around 1 p.m. In addition, the committee has gotten serious about implementing a slow-play policy that could result in penalties.
Although Daylight Savings Time will not be effect yet, the length of day on Sept. 26 is more than three hours shorter than it would have been on the Classic’s traditional July final day. That may not be a factor at the other two venues, but on Championship Sunday in the best-ball format at Anniston Country Club where the best players in the field will be grinding for the overall title it could be extremely important.
Add in any kind of weather delay and it’s possible the round could finish in the dark, as it has on several occasions even in July. Randy Reaves famously made a 25-foot birdie putt in the dark on 18 in 2007 to give he and partner Gary Wigington a one-shot victory – their fourth King crown together – and that event started just three weeks later than usual to accommodate the refurbishment of ACC’s greens and had a 70-minute weather delay with the leaders on the back nine.
To keep the line moving, tournament organizers will be monitoring pace of play. If it looks like the round might not finish, some groups may be asked to yield to the contenders.
The committee has never issued a slow-penalty before despite the event being known to produce five- and six-hour rounds – it is, after all, a charity tournament and fun is the operative word – but going on the clock and being assessed a penalty are real possibilities this year.
| FLIGHTS | |
| Chmp A | Ford Lightning |
| Chmp B | Ford Bronco |
| 1st | Acura MDX |
| 2nd | Toyota Highlander |
| 3rd | Honda Pilot |
| 4th | Ford Mustang MachE |
| 5th | Toyota Camry XSE |
| 6th | Honda Passport |
| 7th | Honda Civic |
“If we get to Sunday on the Club and we’re looking like we’re fighting daylight, we will put people on the clock,” Key said. “That will be solely decided between the committee and (ACC pro) Steven Driggers.
“It’s the last thing we want to do but we’ve also got to get this thing finished. (Tee times chairman) Keith Howell does a fantastic job and he has us in a good window to be able to finish this thing. Darkness is not our friend and the weather is not, either, but I feel like we’ve done everything we can do in this time frame to set us up for success.”
The close monitoring of pace of play and even the threat of assessing a penalty is welcomed by all who’ve been caught in a multi-team backup.
“There’s no reason a tournament or even recreation (round) should take six hours, absolutely no reason,” said Andrew Brooks, a championship flight contender who plays with Matt Rogers. “I think they need to monitor it in year we don’t have a lack of daylight. There’s no reason it should take that long.
“We’re not playing for thousands of dollars; it’s a charity event. It is prestigious, but it’s a charity event. Get out there and hit your ball and get on and let’s get to the parties. That’s what it’s all about anyway. I like (the idea). I would absolutely welcome it.”
The darkness in 2007 forced a cancelation of the post-round big-money shots. As usual, four players will be randomly drawn for a $25,000 putt, two fairway shots for $150,000 and one for $1 million at the end of Sunday’s round. There’s also a $1,000 prize for holing out during the Saturday night chipping contest from ACC’s 17th tee to the practice green.
In addition, for a $20 donation, there’s a 125-yard drop circle on ACC No. 2, Cider Ridge 16 and Silver Lakes’ Heartbreaker 7.
The September date also brought scheduling challenges, with high school and college football and other charity tournaments on the docket. It did, however, with the prospect of more comfortable weather conditions, also help the tournament sell out faster than ever.
It isn’t necessarily a one-year solution. The tournament has been played in early July since 1985, but it started out as a March season-opener and has been played in June and August.
“We are going to revisit it after we see how the weekend plays out,” Key said. “We have not taken that off the table. We’re going to wait until the end of this thing and evaluate how it looks.”
Among the factors that will be considered are a deep dive into participation, the tournament’s functionality under shorter daylight hours and tradition.
“We’re kind of the elephant in the room; everything is going to move where we move from a tournament standpoint,” Key said. “You have so many of these other charity tournaments and at the end of the day we are a charity tournament and we don’t want to have a negative impact on anyone else. We’ll just have to evaluate it at the end. That’ll be a committee decision. Those guys have got years of experience. I think we’ll sit down and evaluate it from all sides and see what the general opinion is.”
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