RTJ Championship
- Updated: May 6, 2023
Lessons of ’22, lesson on wedge play help Wigington start ’23 Calhoun County Golf Tour with a 66 to lead three golfers by four strokes. Includes scores by flight, tee times, and details about a hole-in-one
By Joe Medley
East Alabama Sports Today
SILVER LAKES – Gary Wigington took lessons from how the 2022 Calhoun County golf season ended, and a literal lesson appears to have helped him flip a tour-long trend of rugged starts to the season.
One round into the 2023 season, Wigington wedged his way atop the field for the RTJ-Silver Lakes Championship, shooting a 6-under-par 66 to lead Jeremy McGatha, Corey Ray and Dane Moore by four strokes.
Defending tour champion Brennan Clay and Scott Martin are tied for third at 71.
Last year’s tour championship came down to a tiebreaker between Wigington and Clay after Wigington suffered two triple bogeys in the final nine holes of the county championship.
“It ended on a bad foot and just, hopefully, get off to a better start this year and put yourself in a better position to have a chance to win at the end of the year,” Wigington said.
In hopes of getting off to a better start this year, Wigington went back to golf school, so to speak. He took a lesson from Birmingham-based Brian Speakman about a month ago, looking to get his wedge game back to a satisfactory level.
“It was just a couple of things he wanted me to do a little bit different,” Wigington said. “I’ve tried it, and my wedge game has gotten a whole lot better than what is has been the last couple of years.
“I’ve really been struggling with the wedge shots, and that (lesson) alone has helped a lot.”
As for the lessons from the way 2022 ended, it’s all about focus, he said.
“The last couple of rounds, somewhere in the round, I’ve lost focus,” he said. “It would be like, I would just have a bogey, double, even a triple in a position where I shouldn’t have had worse than a par.
“Today, I tried to concentrate really hard on every single shot and not get up there and just hit it and not concentrate, where it causes a bad shot and a bad hole.”
It all went into the brew that helped Wigington start the county tour off with what he called “a good day.”
He finished with seven birdies and one bogey, a three-put on his 14th hole of the day, Backbreaker No. 5. His birdies came on Heartbreaker Nos. 1, 6 and 7 and Backbreaker Nos. 3, 4, 7 and 9.
He hit 16 greens and gave himself lots of birdie chances.
“I left myself in good spots and made some putts,” he said.
McGatha called his 70 “lucky.”
He “putted good on the front and shot 33,” he said. “Back nine, hit it decent but made nothing. Shot a 37.
“I wasn’t expecting much, so I’m happy with it.”
Other highlights for the day included Clay’s eagle on the 18th hole, Backbreaker No. 9.
“The tee shot had some frustration fueling it,” he said. “Had 147 yards to the hole, hit it to about 6 feet and made it.”
Kolby Slick hit a hole-in-one on the 152-yard Backbreaker No. 2. His playing partners were Taylor Vera, Cain Hollingsworth and Chance Harris.
“As soon as I made contact, I knew I flushed it,” Slick said. “Vera said, ‘Oh, that’s going to be good.’
“It hit about 6 foot from the pin, and everyone started yelling, ‘Go in! Go in!’ I seen the ball drop, and everyone went crazy. Luckily, my group only hit me for one round of drinks, so my pockets don’t hurt too bad.”
RTJ-Silver Lakes Championship
FIRST-ROUND SCORES
Championship A Flight
Gary Wigington 66
Corey Ray 70
Dane Moore 70
Jeremy McGatha 70
Brennan Clay 71
Scott Martin 71
Kevin Daugherty 72
Daily Thomas 72
Randy Reaves 73
Cam Hurst 73
Andrew Brooks 73
Championship B Flight
Justin Graveman 74
Alex Harper 75
John Rollins 75
Landon Straub 76
Sawyer Edwards 76
Randy Lipscomb 77
Clayton Chandler 77
Dustin Travis 77
Jonathan Swader 78
Will Reaves 78
Blake Cole 78
Tanner Wells 78
Vance Lewis 78
First Flight
Nick Ledbetter 79
Jeff Champman 80
Gage Miller 80
Cody Boyd 80
Mike Bowers 81
Brad Landin 82
Jeff Bain 82
Daniel Black 82
Ryan Powers 83
Mason Dennis 83
Second Flight
John Hagan 84
Chris Cox 84
Ross Johnson 84
Dre Davenport 85
Bob Eaton 85
Houston Black 85
Zach Graham 85
Chris Messer 85
Morgan Cunningham 85
Jackson Freeman 86
Matt Greer 86
Third Flight
Taylor Vera 87
Chance Harris 87
Tyler Berry 87
Ethan Davis 88
Robert Daniel 88
Cain Hollingsworth 88
Devin Williams 90
Joe Hedgepeth 90
Andrew Betts 90
Jake Williams 91
Fourth Flight
Brian Johnson 92
Nathan Williams 92
Michael Ledbetter 92
Kolby Slick 93
Heath Smith 93
Tyler Graham 94
Joe Williams 94
Craig Kiker 94
Cody Wesson 95
Andrew Smith 96
Tate Heuer 98
Mike Williams 100
Andy Lang 102
Austin Martin 105
Keith Hutcheson 106
Adam Benefiel 106
Scott Jimmerson 115
Ladies Division Flight
Marlee Hedgepeth 91
Jaycee Berrong 104
SECOND-ROUND TEE TIMES
7:50 a.m.: Marlee Hedgepeth, Jaycee Berrong
8 a.m.: Andy Lang, Keith Hutcheson, Adam Benefiel, Scott Jimmerson
8:10 a.m.: Austin Martin, Mike Williams, Tate Heuer, Andrew Smith
8:20 a.m.: Cody Wesson, Tyler Graham, Joe Williams, Craig Kiker
8:30 a.m.: Michael Ledbetter, Brian Johnson, Kolby Slick, Heath Smith
8:40 a.m.: Joe Hedgepeth, Devin Williams, Jake Williams, Nathan Williams
8:50 a.m.: Ethan Davis, Robert Daniel, Cain Hollingsworth, Andrew Betts
9 a.m.: Matt Greer, Taylor Vera, Chance Harris, Tyler Berry
9:10 a.m.: Zach Graham, Bob Eaton, Dre Davenport, Jackson Freeman
9:20 a.m.: Ross Johnson, Houston Black, Morgan Cunningham, Chris Messer
9:30 a.m.: Mason Dennis, Chris Cox, John Hagan, Ryan Powers
9:40 a.m.: Mike Bowers, Brad Landin, Jeff Bain, Daniel Black
9:50 a.m.: Nick Ledbetter, Gage Miller, Cody Boyd, Jeff Chapman
10 a.m.: Blake Cole, Vance Lewis, Tanner Wells, Jonathan Swader
10:10 a.m.: Randy Lipscomb, Clayton Chandler,Dustin Travis, Will Reaves
10:20 a.m.: Alex Harper, John Rollins, Sawyer Edwards, Landon Straub
10:30 a.m.: Randy Reaves, Cam Hurst, Andrew Brooks, Justin Graveman
10:40 a.m.: Scott Martin, Brennan Clay, Daily Thomas, Kevin Daugherty
10:50 a.m.: Gary Wigington, Jeremy McGatha, Dane Moore, Corey Ray.
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