Big finish

McGatha goes 6 under par for final six holes, including an eagle, to rally for his fourth victory in Calhoun County Championship.

By Joe Medley
East Alabama Sports Today

Jeremy McGatha ended the 87th Calhoun County Championship the way he started it, and he has a fourth victory in Calhoun County Golf Tour’s season-ending event to show for it.

McGatha shot 6 under par for the final six holes, including an eagle, and rallied to pass Chad Calvert on the final hole Sunday at Anniston Municipal Golf Course.

McGatha shot 12-under-par 128 (62-66) for the tournament and edged Calvert by two strokes.

The victory was the 46-year-old McGatha’s first Tour victory of the 2023 season and 12th since the Tour started in 2007. Ty Cole, who finished fifth in the County Championship while clinching his sixth Tour points title, and Gary Wigington, who had to withdraw while quarantining with COVID, are tied for the career lead t 25 victories apiece.

McGatha started this weekend’s tournament with four birdies in the first five holes en route to a tie for the first-round lead with Cole. McGatha bested that hot start with a big finish.

After everything that happened in the middle, he came away relieved.

“I’m superstitious, man,” he said. “There’s no lead big enough for me. I’ve always got that demon on my shoulder, saying, don’t screw up, don’t to this, don’t do that. I can’t help it. It’s just me.

“It’s great to get that fourth county. I never thought I’d get there, especially pushing 50 and all of these young guys.”

Sunday’s came down to two venerable Calhoun County Tour veterans.

Calvert made his move, working from 7 under par and one shot off of the lead after the first round, to 12 under Sunday. His best surge started with a 42-yard chip for eagle on No. 8, a shot that put him at 10 under for the tournament.

“I just hit a 3 wood and really got lucky,” Calvert said. “Hit it just right, and it trickled on up an went in.”

A string of three birdies in a five-hole stretch, from 10-14, moved Calvert to 12 under.

“I hit it all over this place but scored,” Calvert said. “You’ve got to give it to Jeremy. He shot 6 under for the last six holes.

“I didn’t lose it. He won it.”

McGatha’s big finish featured his own chip-in eagle, from 45 yards on 14. The idea of how to play that came from watching Brennan Clay, McGatha’s long-time friend and playing partner in events like the Sunny King Charity Classic.

Clay, the 2022 county player of the year who was tied with Calvert for second place coming into Sunday, played in the foursome with McGatha, Cole and Calvert. McGatha noted a technique nuance in Clay’s short game.

“He’s got one of the best short games in the county, and he kind of opens it up on those little 45ers and then accelerates,” McGatha said. “I was like, ‘Man, he’s been doing that so good.’

“Right in the middle of a tournament, I’m like, ‘I’m going to try that.’ I got a perfect lie and open it up, and accelerate through, and it hits and spins and goes in the hole.”

After parring 15, McGatha birdied out. He entered No. 18 tied at 11 under, and Calvert hit out of bounds.

McGatha finished with a 10-foot birdie putt and waved to the gallery before hugs and congratulations from friends on the Tour.

He considers the County Championship special. Same for winning it a fourth time, with nine second-place finishes.

“The oldest tournament in this county is the County, 87 years old,” McGatha said. “It’s the one everybody wants to win.”

With McGatha’s victory in the season’s final points event, he won the chance to speak to his other Tour hat … as president. He said he considers the state of the Calhoun County Golf Tour strong.

In Dunn’s HVAC, Plumbing & Electrical, the Tour found a new sponsor going into 2023 and continued to be what it has been for players.

“We’ve a sponsor for the past five years to where nobody has had to pay an entry fee,” McGatha said. “If you play, you’re in the Calhoun County Golf Tour. Before that, we had to charge people 25 bucks to join the Tour to pay for the trophies, the banquet, the match play, everything we try to do.

“This year, our two sponsors before said we can’t do it, and Dunn’s stepped up.”

Final scores

CHAMPIONSHIP A FLIGHT
NAME	RD. 1	RD. 2	TOTAL
Jeremy McGatha	62	66	128
Chad Calvert	63	67	130
Brennan Clay	63	69	132
John Rollins	64	70	134
Ty Cole	62	72	134
Sawyer Edwards	68	71	139
Chris Cox	66	74	140
Chip Howell	68	72	140
Vance Lewis	67	75	142
Clay Calkins	68	75	143
Gary Wigington	WD
CHAMPIONSHIP B FLIGHT
Andrew Brooks	70	69	139
Kevin Daugherty	70	69	139
Billy Thompson	70	69	139
Zach Mangum	69	73	142
Jonathan Pate	69	74	143
Tim Woodard	70	76	146
Benji Turley	70	77	147
Daniel Black	70	78	148
Ott Chandler	69	WD
FIRST FLIGHT
Tanner Wells	71	68	139
Mark McCaig	72	70	142
Matt Rogers	72	72	144
Randy Lipscomb	71	73	144
Jeff Noah	72	74	146
Dustin Travis	71	76	147
Chris Randall	72	75	147
Bob Eaton	72	75	147
Keaton Borrelli	71	78	149
David Coffee	72	77	149
Chris Sprayberry	72	81	153
Tim Steward	72	82	154
Landon Holley	72	87	159
SECOND FLIGHT
Chris Hubbard	73	71	144
Will Brown	73	77	150
Doug Gardner	73	78	151
Chris Reaves	73	79	152
Chase Hollingsworth	73	79	152
Josh Poole	73	79	152
Rush Rutledge	73	WD
THIRD FLIGHT
Landon Straub	74	70	144
Nick Ledbetter	75	69	144
Scott Watson	75	75	150
Lamar Carter	74	78	152
Ted Towns	74	79	153
Dennis Austin	75	79	154
Kolby Slick	75	83	158
Tim Turner	74	WD
FOURTH FLIGHT
Kenny Fulmer	76	71	147
Chance Harris	76	73	149
Cam Hurst	77	73	150
Mike Hughston	76	77	153
Ryder Hudgins	77	77	154
Ted Heim	77	79	156
Tyler Dopson	77	82	159
Vann Hall	77	85	162
Johnny Barnes	76	89	165
Layton Bussey	76	WD
Eric Cannington	76	WD
FIFTH FLIGHT
Gage Ledbetter	79	72	151
Hunter Carr	80	74	154
Bradley Elliott	79	76	155
Tyler TenEyck	78	79	157
Doug Huie	79	78	157
Russ Montgomery	78	80	158
George Salmon	80	78	158
Mark Cotton	78	81	159
Nick Hubbard	80	80	160
Taylor Vera	78	84	162
Jimbo Phillips	80	82	162
Chad Mullinax	80	83	163
Marc Gaines	80	88	168
SIXTH FLIGHT
Places determined by final round
Carson Chandler	84	78
Danny Whitaker	81	81
Austin Jones	81	82
Blake Jones	81	83
Casey Turner	88	83
Logan Watson	81	86
Gene Hicks	81	87
Kelly Rogers	88	92
Larry Champion	91	98
Randy Watson	82	WD

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