Honoring their own
- Updated: September 24, 2021
Sunny King Classic committee members will wear Alabama caps Sunday to honor the memory of Clonts, Coleman
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story appears in the Sunny King Charity Classic tournament program
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
Players and visitors to the final round of this year’s Sunny King Charity Classic might look around on Championship Sunday and see so many Alabama hats on the course they might wonder if they’re not being overrun by a flash mob from the local Red Elephant Club.
Nothing remotely close. It’s actually a loving gesture even the most ardent of Auburn supporters would appreciate.
The tournament committee – and certainly some players in the field (many whom don’t need a reason to show their support for the Tide) – will be wearing Alabama ball caps as a tribute to two beloved committee members and former tournament chairmen who passed away in the past year – Matt Clonts and Gibson Coleman.
“Matt and Gibson both, to me, embodied what this tournament was about,” 2021 tournament chairman Brett Key said. “They were two guys who, in all facets of their lives – professional, personal, all of it – had a high commitment to investing in their community.”
Clonts passed away last September, Coleman in January. Both will serve as honorary chairmen of this year’s 42nd Sunny King Charity Classic.
Coleman was the one of the longest standing committee members at the time of his passing. While not a golfer, he embraced the Classic, undertaking a variety of responsibilities.
He was the tournament’s course manager for Anniston Country Club. He coordinated the vehicles on display at each course. He’d rummage through tight office spaces in the middle of summer to secure the sponsor hole signs.
He collected the mulligan money raised at each course that helped boost the tournament’s contribution to its charities and he procured the king-sized check officials displayed at the awards ceremony each year to announce that total. He was overall tournament chairman in 1994, the first of Eric Hamilton and Patrick Cushman’s five SKCC titles.
“Gibby was a true servant,” committee member Jason Alderman said. “He was always willing to help out no matter what the job was and anything he was involved in he did full on. When something came up while we were on the course you could count on Gibby to take care of whatever was needed to be taken care of.”
“There’s a ton of detail that goes into this that people don’t realize and small things like that that make a large difference,” past chairman Hank Smith said. “A lot of what he does you wouldn’t think you could see but without it you definitely would miss it.”
Clonts was part of the next generation of tournament leaders. He had only been on the committee a couple years at the time of his passing, but had taken on a lead role on the financial side, writing checks and securing sponsorships. He was in line to become the tournament chairman this year.
“The plan was to bring some of us in to take things over and Matt and I were kind of those two,” Key said. “Matt was around in 2018 learning the ropes and then was given more responsibility in 2019. Like everything else he did, he took charge. He was adding another thing to the list.”
As the committee brainstormed ways of honoring their colleagues, the plan to wear the Alabama hats grew out of an idea Smith and partner Patrick Cushman had about 10 years ago. They wore Ohio State hats during the Classic’s final round that year to honor a friend from Ohio who had passed shortly before the tournament.
“I think it’s just a fun gesture both Gibson and Matt would get a good laugh at, watching a bunch of Auburn people wearing Alabama hats,” Smith said.
“This will be the only time an Alabama hat will be on my head,” said Key, an avid Auburn fan.
So remember those two guys and all the passion they brought to making this year’s tournament what it is when you see one of those hats on the course on Championship Sunday.
“I’m not a fan, but I’ll proudly wear an Alabama hat that Sunday for those two guys,” said Alderman, an ardent Georgia supporter. “I think a lot of people will.”
You must be logged in to post a comment Login