In the game

By EASportsToday.com
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Updated: July 27, 2024

After losing track of time while playing College Football 25, Clay rushes to course, scorches it for nine birdies to lead Pine Hill Invitational.

By Joe Medley
East Alabama Sports Today

PINE HILL — Brennan Clay has, perhaps, found a new key to golfing success … play NCAA25 a little too long before tee time.

Clay rushed to Pine Hill Country Club just in time to make his 8:30 a.m. tee time and shot a 9-under-par 63 to lead by three strokes after the first of two rounds in the Pine Hill Invitational.

**Brennan Clay holds a three-stroke lead headed into Sunday’s final round of the Pine Hill Invitational. (Submitted photo)**

Gary Wigington and Andrew Brooks stand three strokes back at 66 headed into Sunday’s final round. Four golfers shot 68, and current Calhoun County Golf Tour points leader John Rollins was among five who shot 69.

Wigington is second in points at 1,162.5, 25 back of Rollins. Jeremy McGatha (1,062.5) and Clay (1,012.5) round out the four players over 1,000 points, and Ty Cole is fifth at 790.

A points race can add pressure to what’s already a mental game. A mind thinking too much coming into a round can be dangerous … either to its owner or the rest of the field.

EA Sports’ release of College Football 25 occupied Clay’s mind Saturday, almost too long, and he got to Pine Hill on two wheels.

“I showed up late,” he said. “I only had, like, 20 minutes when I got to the golf course. I was kind of playing video games at home and said, ‘Oh crap, I’ve got to go.’

“I got there and hit about 10 balls, didn’t hit any putts and then right to the tee.”

He didn’t have much time to think about golf before teeing off, and he might’ve just discovered a new mental approach to the game. He made nine birdies with no bogeys, stringing together birdies on Nos. 6-8 and three in four-hole stretch, on Nos. 15, 17 and 18.

He easily fixed few misfires and called his 4-foot par putt on the par-4 No. 13 “the biggest stress of the round.”

“It was just one of those days, man,” Clay said. “I just didn’t really miss anything. It was just weird. …

“It was really kind of a dream round. That’s the best round I’ve played in two or three years. I mean, to make nine birdies and no bogeys, I don’t care what course it is. That was pretty fun.”

Clay, the 2022 Tour player of the year, is positioned to become the seventh winner in seven Tour points events this season. He seeks his first Tour points victory since he won at Gadsden in 2022, and he won at Pine Hill in 2021.

If there’s temptation to stress about that, well, he’ll have Sunday’s latest tee time … plenty of time to play College Football 25.

An Auburn fan, Clay has taken a garnet-and-gold turn in the virtual world.

“They’ve got a mode called ‘Road to Glory,’ where you can make your own player, and you get to pick your college, and all of that,” he said. “I’m the starting quarterback at Florida State right now.

“I’m going to give it a couple of years and probably jump in the portal and see how it works, to get the full experience.”

**No. 18 green at Pine Hill Country Club. (Photo by Joe Medley)**

First-round scores

CHAMPIONSHIP
PLAYER	RD. 1	RD. 2	TOTAL
Brennan Clay	63		63
Gary Wigington	66		66
Andrew Brooks	66		66
Jeff Bain	68		68
Eric Messer	68		68
Mark Durden	68		68
Chad Calvert	68		68
Chase Hollingsworth	69		69
Jeremy McGatha	69		69
Tanner Wells	69		69
Matt Wilson	69		69
John Rollins	69		69

FLIGHT 1
Jonathan Pate	70		70
Eric Cannington	70		70
Randy Lipscomb	71		71
Carson Chandler	71		71
Sawyer Edwards	71		71
Wesley Jenkins	71		71
Cam Hurst	71		71
Josh Reynolds	72		72
Tony Hicks	72		72
Chris Sanford	72		72
Nick Ledbetter	72		72

FLIGHT 2
Billy Thompson	73		73
Doug Gardner	73		73
Jeff Noah	73		73
Robin Wood	73		73
Ethan McCareeth	73		73
Landon Straub	73		73
Daniel Black	73		73
Brayden Cochran	73		73
Mark McCaig	73		73
Clay Calkins	74		74
Rick Barthel	74		74
Steve David	74		74
Ty Cole	74		74
Josh Poole	74		74
Landon Holley	75		75
Jason Payne	75		75
Vann Hall	75		75

FLIGHT 3
Lamar Carter	76		76
Matt Rogers	76		76
Greg Harrelson	76		76
Maverick Smith	76		76
Ryder Hudgins	76		76
Billy McCroskey	76		76
Jason Johnson	77		77
Chris Randall	77		77
Ted Gregerson	77		77
Tom Liles	77		77
Chris Hubbard	77		77
Chris Reaves	77		77
Craig Duncan	77		77
Coleman Messer	77		77

FLIGHT 4
Bob Eaton	78		78
Hunter Fordham	78		78
Dre Davenport	78		78
Caden Wood	78		78
Johnny Barnes	78		78
Ethan Turner	78		78
Danny Whittaker	78		78
Hunter Carr	78		78
George Salmon	79		79
Shane Lee	79		79
Cain Hollingsworth	79		79
Brock Young	79		79
Will Brown	79		79
Houston Black	79		79
Jared Waits	79		79
Heath Waldrop	80		80
Gage Miller	80		80
Keaton Borrelli	80		80
James Lett	80		80
Chris Sprayberry	80		80

FLIGHT 5
Bart Smith	81		81
Trevor Lane	81		81
Jay Whaley	81		81
David Coffey	81		81
Wade Richardson	81		81
Henry Pritchett	82		82
Sean Kline	82		82
Sean Hayes	82		82
Ray Doss	82		82
Scott McFry	83		83
Greg Rainey	83		83
Eddy Burks	83		83
Heath Hammond	83		83
Scott Watson	84		84
George Austin	84		84
Ricky Carden	84		84
Phillip Sanderson	84		84

FLIGHT 6
Tyler Rich	85		85
Joe Hedgepeth	86		86
Jimbo Phillips	86		86
Bryan Beal	87		87
John Grubbs	87		87
Courtney Loveless	87		87
Jeff Roszell	89		89
Austin Jones	89		89
David Medders Jr.	90		90
Mike Ledbetter	90		90
Keith Hutcheson	91		91
Mikey Jones	91		91
Jake Gilley	91		91

FLIGHT 7
Marlee Hedgepeth	92		92
Dison Durden	92		92
Kelly Rogers	93		93
Adam Benefiel	93		93
Cole Chandler	94		94
Rob Jones	95		95
Chris Hollingsworth	95		95
Ken Renfroe	95		95
Tyler Jarrell	97		97
Blake Jones	98		98
Spence Florczak	100		100
Lincoln Forsyth	101		101
Jason Swope	104		104
Jeremiah Boyd	105		105

SENIOR A
Chip Howell	69		69
Ted Heim	72		72
David Sanders	72		72
Greg Garner	73		73
Kurt Duryea	74		74
Steve Davis	74		74
Robbie Hurst	75		75
Keith Haywood	75		75
Jimmy Ingram	76		76
David Messer	76		76
Tim Steward	76		76

SENIOR B
Bob Feicht	77		77
Wilton Page	77		77
Eddie Reese	79		79
Dennis Austin	80		80
Bob McLain	80		80
David Medders Sr.	82		82
Allen Mangham	82		82
Glenn Heathcock	83		83
Steve Borrelli	83		83
Steve Williams	83		83

SENIOR C
Lee Clark	84		84
Steve Perry	84		84
Randall Doss	84		84
Mike Thompson	84		84
Randy Liles	87		87
Doug Sears	88		88
Robbie Robertson	91		91
Rickey Hurst	91		91
Steve Smith	92		92
Frank Cobb	93		93
Carter Gable	94		94
Sam Morgan	98		98