Cole blooded

Cool Cole finishes with birdie in the rain to edge Okins, Graveman for a one-stroke stroke victory in Oxford City Championship

By Joe Medley
East Alabama Sports Today

CIDER RIDGE — The hole that marred Ty Cole’s mood Saturday became his birdie for the win on Sunday, and a tournament he nearly missed became his second win on the 2023 Calhoun County Golf Tour.

Cole fought off Kenny Okins’ Sunday surge, sinking a 4-foot birdie putt on No. 18 to clinch a one-stroke victory in the Oxford City Championship at Cider RIdge.

Cole’s bagged his second Tour victory this year, the first coming at Twin Bridges in June, and his 24th Tour victory overall.

Cole’s par-72 round on Sunday backed up a 64 on Saturday to finish at 8-under 136. It was just enough to edge Okins, who led by two strokes through 15 holes while shooting a Sunday-best 66, and Justin Graveman by one shot.

Cole very nearly didn’t play in the Oxford City Championship. He wasn’t listed in Thursday night’s release of tee times but called Friday to get back in.

“It was just one of those deals,” he said. “I had committed a long time ago, and then kind of committed to a buddy of mine. I was kind of going back and forth.”

When Cole saw Scottsboro’s Thomas Looney was playing in the Scottsboro-based tourney, he changed course again.

“Realistically, up there, you’re not going to beat him,” Cole said. “I would’ve literally been going up there to play for second.”

Cole prevailed in the season’s fifth Calhoun County Tour points event.

Because of rain throughout the week, including a 3-inch downpour on Friday, Cider Ridge pro Cory Etter placed the field on shorter white tees on Saturday. The Championship A and B flights played on longer blue tees on Sunday.

“Shooting par ended up being good enough,” Cole said. “Kenny played great. To shoot that number from those tees, and where the pins were, that’s a damned good score.”

Every stroke mattered, including Cole’s 25-foot putt to save bogey on No. 9.

Then came the big finish on No. 18, which had its own back story. His bogey on 18 Saturday soured his mood after a round that otherwise featured nine birdies. He left the course abruptly to work through misadventures from just outside the bunker and in the bunker and a missed 8-foot putt.

On Sunday, Cole caught two breaks that helped him score the decisive birdie on 18. 

He hit four inches behind the ball on his 5-iron second shot, but the shot settled just short of the green, and not in the sand trap that bedeviled him Saturday.

Rain started to fall before his third shot.

“The rain helped on 18 because I could skip it from the fringe,” Cole said. “If it wouldn’t have rained, I didn’t know what I was going to do. When it rained, and the grass got wet, I knew I could skip it.”

His third shot settled 4 feet short of the hole, and rain became a motivator as he sought to avoid a playoff.

“I’m standing over the putt going, ‘You’re playing in the rain if you miss it. You’re playing in the rain if you miss it,’” Cole said. “That was going through my head. I did not want to play in the rain.”

Okins, who began the day in the Championship B Flight after shooting a 71 on Saturday, hoped for a hole or two in the rain.

Playing four groups ahead of Cole’s final group, Okins reached 8 under par for the day with a birdie on 15. That birdie put him at 9 under for the tournament, then two strokes ahead of Cole.

The former White Plains High and Southern Union Community College golfer shot his big number for the day using irons.

“I didn’t hit anything more than a 3 iron today,” he said. “I’ve been struggling with my driver bad. 

“I played real consistent for the first 15 holes. I hit about every fairway, almost every green and made a lot of putts.”

Okins said he became aware of his score relative to Cole’s after birdies on Nos. 10 and 11. Okins’ momentum changed when he missed a 2-foot par putt on 16.

After parring 17, he hit into the woods on 18 and had to chip out. He missed a 12-foot par putt.

He wound up tied for the tournament’s second-best score and first place in the Championship B Flight, where he started the day. He called his run at a Tour victory “kind of crazy.”

“I’m done playing college golf, and I really hadn’t been playing much,” he said. “It was unexpected, to say the least. I can’t lie. I was kind of shocking myself out there.”

Final scores

CHAMPIONSHIP A FLIGHT
PLAYER	RD. 1	RD. 2	TOTAL
Ty Cole	64	72	136
Justin Graveman	66	71	137
Gary Wigington	66	74	140
Chad Calvert	69	71	140
Brad Moultrie	67	74	141
Skylar Dennis	68	73	141
Tanner Wells	69	72	141
Dustin Travis	66	76	142
Andrew Brooks	65	77	142
Hunter Carr	67	77	144
John Rollins	66	79	145
Brennan Clay	65	80	145
Mark McCaig	69	77	146
CHAMPIONSHIP B FLIGHT
PLAYER	RD. 1	RD. 2	TOTAL
Kenny Okins	71	66	137
Ott Chandler	70	71	141
Jeremy McGatha	70	73	143
Nick Ledbetter	71	72	143
Jackson Bowman	72	73	145
Landon Straub	72	74	146
Bill McCroskey	72	76	148
Caleb McKinney	71	78	149
Gage Ledbetter	71	78	149
Cam Hurst	72	77	149
Chase Hollingsworth	72	77	149
Michael Brice	72	79	151
Chris Sprayberry	72	80	152
Vance Lewis	72	81	153
Danny Shears	72	89	161
Zac Love	72	NC
FIRST FLIGHT
PLAYER	RD. 1	RD. 2	TOTAL
Layton Bussey	73	68	141
Daily Thomas	74	68	142
Sawyer Edwards	74	69	143
Kevin Daugherty	74	69	143
Tyler Putnam	74	72	146
Chance Harris	75	72	147
Ethan Davis	74	74	148
Landon Winfrey	74	74	148
Matt Rogers	75	74	149
Gage Miller	75	75	150
Clayton Owens	73	79	152
Jake Goggins	75	77	152
Jason Rich	75	79	154
Steven Keen	74	81	155
Jonathan Pate	75	WD
SECOND FLIGHT
PLAYER	RD. 1	RD. 2	TOTAL
Mason Dennis	76	73	149
Timmy Woodard	76	73	149
Graham Morrow	77	73	150
Ryan Huff	78	73	151
Billy Thompson	78	73	151
Josh Chappell	77	76	153
Cain Hollingsworth	76	78	154
Nathan Williams	78	76	154
Caleb Morrow	77	78	155
Robert Daniel	78	77	155
Coleman Messer	76	80	156
Nick Hubbard	77	79	156
Ryder Hudgins	78	78	156
Henry Pritchard	77	82	159
Josh Reynolds	78	82	160
Vann Hall	78	84	162
Nash Messer	78	84	162
Keaton Borrelli	77	85	162
Tyler TenEyck	76	90	166
THIRD FLIGHT
PLAYER	RD. 1	RD. 2	TOTAL
Kilgore Knight	79	71	150
Greg Shultz	79	73	152
Daniel Black	79	74	153
Jared Waits	79	75	154
Landon Holley	80	77	157
Kobe Messer	79	79	158
Hanna Dyar	79	81	160
Eric Cannington	80	80	160
Taylor Morrow	80	80	160
Tony Hicks	80	82	162
Nate Pearce	81	81	162
Benji Turley	81	83	164
Brock Young	79	86	165
Craig Duncan	80	86	166
Chad Humphries	79	88	167
Rick Okins	81	WD
FOURTH FLIGHT
PLAYER	RD. 1	RD. 2	TOTAL
Clayton Chandler	82	76	158
Neil Glass	83	79	162
Carson Chandler	83	80	163
Houston Black	82	82	164
Blake Drummond	84	80	164
Bradley Young	84	80	164
Chris Reaves	84	82	166
Dre Davenport	84	83	167
Jay Whaley	82	89	171
Zack Limberis	83	90	173
Dakota Clark	84	89	173
Eddy Burkes	84	90	174
Brayden Cochran	82	96	178
Jimbo Phillips	82	WD
FIFTH FLIGHT
PLAYER	RD.1	RD. 2	TOTAL
Shane Lee	86	79	165
Logan Turner	87	79	166
Jason Payne	85	83	168
Heath Hammond	85	86	171
Nick Machowicz	85	86	171
Kobie Webb	86	85	171
Tyrel Tucker	86	85	171
Michael Ledbetter	85	88	173
Chance Haywood	87	87	174
Daniel Ricks	85	88	175
Blake Jones	86	89	175
Shane Roney	86	89	175
Kevin Burgess	87	88	175
Johnny Barnes	86	94	180
Greg Rainy	85	96	181
Spence Florczak	87	99	186
Ricky Carden	87	101	188
SIXTH FLIGHT
PLAYER	RD. 1	RD. 2	TOTAL
Doug Huie	93	75	168
Marc Gaines	89	82	171
Bart Smith	90	84	174
Wade Richardson	89	85	174
Chase Thomas	92	90	182
Wilson Lowe	93	89	182
Matt Greer	90	94	184
Alex Whaley	94	92	186
Daniel Mitchell	99	88	187
Adam Benefiel	94	97	191
Stuart Criss	99	102	201
Larry Champion	99	104	203
Will Sewell	98	110	208
Palmer Pearce	109	101	210
Jason Swope	107	111	218
Bailey Masters	89	WD
Trey Hanvey	WD
Brian Irwin	WD

SENIOR A FLIGHT
PLAYER	RD. 1	RD. 2	TOTAL
David Sanders	74	72	146
Mike Granato	77	74	151
Frank Toland	77	76	153
Robbie Hurst	76	77	153
David Messer	78	76	154
Gary Austin	76	79	155
Dennis Austin	79	76	155
Andy Jenkins	74	86	160
Mike Lett	81	79	160
Chip Howell	71	WD
SENIOR B FLIGHT
PLAYER	RD. 1	RD. 2	TOTAL
Tim Steward	82	75	157
Bob Feicht	82	77	159
Charley Estes	82	77	159
Ted Heim	82	83	165
Anthony Humphries	83	82	165
Wilton Page	86	80	166
Rick Barthel	85	83	168
Lamar Ward	85	87	172
Buddy Carden	92	91	183
Lee Clark	97	98	195

Cover photo: Ty Cole (left) and Cider Ridge pro Cory Etter pose during awards after Sunday’s final round of the Oxford City Championship. (Photo by Joe Medley)

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