T ‘n’ T pull away
- Updated: September 11, 2022
Gary Wigington and Ty Cole pull away from logjam to win Buddy Moore Charity Tournament for first time, just in time for Sunny King Classic
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
Ty Cole didn’t play well. Gary Wigington played better than he has been, but there were still some elements that were a little off. The key was they weren’t bad together.
When one was out of the hole this weekend or missed a shot, the other was there to pick him up.
That was the formula to winning the Buddy Moore Charity Tournament for the first time together — just in time for the Sunny King Charity Classic.
Cole and Wigington emerged from a tight overnight leaderboard to shoot 57 at The Hill for the second day in a row Sunday and win the Moore by three shots over two-time and defending champions Andrew Brooks and Brennan Clay and first-time partners Randy Lipscomb and Chad Calvert.
“We’ve always done that, we’ve always brother-in-lawed good,” Cole said. “And you’ve got to in these formats. You’re not going to come out here and both play good for two days, you’re just not going to.”
The runner-ups were among three teams tied for the lead going into Championship Sunday. Cole and Wigington started the day one shot back, but they started hot — eagle-birdie-birdie — and eventually took the lead for good with a birdie on No. 8. Their lead was never less than two over the final seven holes.
Brooks and Clay did all they could to stay in it, making birdies on six of their last seven holes, but Cole and Wigington, playing in the group in front of them, did the same thing to stay out front.
“You’d think there would be some drama with the four teams that were up top, but none of us others came to play,” Lipscomb said.
As much as Ty and Twig play together in other team events around the county during the season, this was only the second time they teamed up in the Buddy Moore. And the only reason they did is because the Sunny King Charity Classic got moved to September.
“Normally, I’d be done playing (for the season),” Cole said. “But since it’s the week before (the Sunny King) it’s a chance to tune up for that. It can be something as simple as getting used to riding in the cart again together.”
That was the reason behind playing together in the Anniston CC Member-Guest two weeks ago. They already partner in the County Two-Man at Silver Lakes. And, of course, they’ve won the Sunny King together three times and played in the historic six-hole playoff a year ago.
But they changed their partnership routine a little this weekend and Wigington said it “worked out good” going into the the Sunny King.
Normally in a scramble he’ll hit first every shot and putt last. That was their approach Saturday, but because they hit different type shots around the green, they decided Sunday to let Cole chip first. If Cole’s shot missed the mark, Wigington was always there to get them back in the hole.
They made 24 birdies and one eagle over the two days. The only holes they didn’t birdie during the weekend were 7 and 11, but they picked up a lot of ground when Wigington nearly aced the iconic No. 2 both days.
“Twig is the best No. 2 golfer playing,” Lipscomb said. “Tiger Woods couldn’t be better than him on No. 2 in his career out here.”
There’s really no secret. It’s just a hole that plays to his strength and in this weekend’s formate he can take advantage of it.
“I’ve always historically been a good mid- to long-iron player and that’s what you’ve got into that hole,” Wigington said. “So it doesn’t scare you as much as most people because I’ve always hit those irons fairly good.
“I birdied it twice out of the four times and parred it the other two (as No. 11), which is making up two shots on the field probably. Especially when you have somebody else behind you who’s a good player, I can go ahead and hit what I should hit to try to hit it to the hole.”
Buddy Moore Tournament
| BUDDY FLIGHT | R1 | R2 | TOT |
| Ty Cole-Gary Wigington | 57 | 57 | 114 |
| Andrew Brooks-Brennan Clay | 56 | 61 | 117 |
| Randy Lipscomb-Chad Calvert | 56 | 61 | 117 |
| Jeremy McGatha-Matt Rogers | 56 | 63 | 119 |
| Matt Miller-Chad Watson | 58 | 63 | 121 |
| Layton Bussey-Max Basler | 60 | 61 | 121 |
| Landon Straub-Jason Johnson | 61 | 60 | 121 |
| Landon Winfrey-Jared Waits | 59 | 63 | 122 |
| Billy Thompson-Timmy Woodard | 61 | 61 | 122 |
| Chip Howell-Jonathan Pate | 59 | WD | WD |
| MARY ANN FLIGHT | |||
| Tanner Wells-Mark McCaig | 61 | 63 | 124 |
| Tyler Dopson-Will Brown | 62 | 62 | 124 |
| Brian Whitley-Kent Whitley | 62 | 63 | 125 |
| Tony Hicks-Nick Hubbard | 62 | 64 | 126 |
| Clay Calkins-Chris Hubbard | 63 | 64 | 127 |
| Scott Murphree-Greg Shultz | 63 | 65 | 128 |
| Lamar Carter-Daniel Black | 63 | 66 | 129 |
| Blake Jones-Hunter Carr | 63 | 66 | 129 |
| George Salmon-Chris Randall | 62 | 68 | 130 |
| Ted Towns-Drue Snow | 62 | 69 | 131 |
| SCOTT FLIGHT | |||
| Lenn Coffey-Adam Johnson | 64 | 64 | 128 |
| Bob Eaton-Bradley Elliott | 65 | 64 | 129 |
| Johnny Barnes-Chris Reaves | 65 | 65 | 130 |
| Danny Whittaker-Gary Thomas | 65 | 66 | 131 |
| Andrew Tyson-Byron Preston | 66 | 66 | 132 |
| Andy Jenkins-Mark Gaines | 65 | 70 | 135 |
| Jimmy Jackson-Stewart | 66 | 70 | 136 |
| Ted Heim-Garrett Heim | 67 | 70 | 137 |
| Ron Wheeler-Steve McClellan | 66 | 72 | 138 |
| David Hill-David Fitzgerald | 64 | 75 | 139 |
| ANGIE FLIGHT | |||
| Tim Mullendore-Mike Braxton | 68 | 67 | 135 |
| Jimbo Phillips-Mike Hughston | 67 | 69 | 136 |
| Donnie McGinnis-Ron Dulaney | 69 | 70 | 139 |
| Daniel Clonts-Brett Key | 70 | 69 | 139 |
| Steve Mullendore-Will Mullendore | 69 | 73 | 142 |
| Mike Herndon-Tony Strickland | 71 | 72 | 143 |
| Steve Rogers-Keith Gann | 71 | 73 | 144 |
| Grady Sapp-Steve Akers | 76 | 72 | 148 |
| Derrick Webb-John Roe | 77 | 71 | 148 |
| Ken Renfroe-Konner Renfroe | 82 | 80 | 162 |
Specialty prizes
MARK SAWYER LONG DRIVE (1)
Gordon Stewart (AM), Tanner Wells (PM)
TOM SAWYER CLOSEST TO THE PIN (2/11)
Mike Hughston (AM), Gary Wigington (PM)
MIKE CLONTS LONGEST PUTT (6/15)
Johnny Barnes (AM), Blake Jones (PM)
DAVE COLEMAN/PRESTON PEPPER CLOSEST TO THE PIN (7/16)
Mike Braxton (AM), Brian Whitley (PM)
Buddy Moore history
| YEAR | WINNER | SCORE |
| 2022 | Ty Cole-Gary Wigington | 26-under 114 |
| 2021 | Andrew Brooks-Brennan Clay | 26-under 114 |
| 2020 | Landon Straub-Jason Johnson | 25-under 115 (PO) |
| 2019 | Cory Etter-Caleb Bowen | 29-under 111 |
| 2018 | Andrew Brooks-Brennan Clay | 26-under 114 |
| 2017 | Clay Calkins-Chris Hubbard | 28-under 112 |
| 2016 | Benji Turley-Marcus Harrell | 27-under 113 |
| 2015 | Ott Chandler-Dalton Chandler | 28-under 112 |
| 2014 | Jeremy McGatha-Matt Rogers | 27-under 113 |
| 2013 | Jeremy McGatha-Matt Rogers | 26-under 114 |
| 2012 | Jaylon Ellison-Gonzalo Berlin | 26-under 114 |
| 2011 | Gary Wigington-Clay Calkins | 26-under 114 |
| 2010 | Benji Turley-Marcus Harrell | 25-under 115 |
| 2009 | Jeremy McGatha-Matt Rogers | 27-under 113 |
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