10 Again at Calhoun County Golf Tournament

Calhoun County – LeCroy matches 10-under-par mastery of ACC from 2022, makes it back-to-back Wilfred Galbraith Invitational championships

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By Joe Medley

Ten makes a perfect score in some sports. As a measure of under-par golf, it’s close to perfect for three rounds at Anniston Country Club in tournament conditions.

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Score Jacob LeCroy 10 under par for the Wilfred Galbraith Invitational for the second year in a row, and call him a back-to-back champion.

The recently graduated University of South Alabama golfer and star of Donoho’s 2018 state-championship team finished with three consecutive birdies to go 3 under par for Sunday’s final round. It put him at 10-under-par 200 for the tournament, matching last year’s subversion of the mark.

He beat fellow ACC member Freeman Fite by six strokes after Fite closed within two with six holes to go. Ty Cole, one of three first-round co-leaders who stood within two shots after the second round, finished third at 3-under-par 207.

Birmingham’s Trey Rouse, who plays for Stephen F. Austin University, rounded out the day’s final group, shooting a 69 to finish at 208.

How did LeCroy feel about matching his 10-under number from last year?

“Well,” he said with a sheepish grin, “it tells me I didn’t get any better. No, I’m kidding.”

LeCroy led by two strokes coming into Sunday. The edge quickly moved to three when Cole bogeyed No. 2 and stayed there until he ued the driver for the first time of the day, drove to the edge of the No. 7 green, chipped to within 3 feet and birdied to make it a four-stroke lead.

A Cole bogey plus Fite’s 8-foot birdie putt on 8 moved Fite ahead of Cole and alone in second place and within three strokes of LeCroy.

Cole answered by chipping to within a foot of the hole to set up a birdie on No. 9, and his 20-foot birdie putt on 10 moved him back to within a tie for second, three strokes back.

Fite’s birdie on 11 plus LeCroy’s bogey on 12 closed the gap to within two shots, and LeCroy had two big saves to keep it from getting closer.

His drive on No. 13 settled directly under the lone tree on the left side of the fairway, but he chipped left of the green and used a curved embankment to settle on the back edge. Two putts later, he had par.

His tee shot on No. 14 settled in the bunker just right of the cart path between 12 and 13. He hit out of the bunker to the back-right side of the green and two-putted to save par again.

After a par on 15, LeCroy accelerated to the finish, with birdies on 16, 17 and 18. His approach on 18 parked about a foot right of the hole, prompting cheers from the gallery up the hill, by the club building.

It was a strong finish to a weekend that saw him go 67-66-67.

“I”m tickled to death,” LeCroy said. “I’m really happy with how I played. …

“I don’t think I had a three-putt all week, and that’s huge out here. I don’t know if anybody else can say that, and that’s just special.”

Fite, another ACC member, joined the three-way tie for the lead after the first round, shot a 70 on Saturday to fall four strokes off the lead then rallied with a 69 on Sunday to emerge in second place.

“The putts that I needed on the front just didn’t go down, on 4 and 5,” Fite said. “I really needed both of those to kind of get close, and then on the back, I just didn’t leave myself in good places.

“After 11 and 12, coming in, the best look I had was a chip on 14. I just didn’t give myself a chance to make anything.”

Fite called finishing second “disappointing” but likes the way he’s playing.

“I’m playing more this year than I have in a long time,” he said. “I’m playing well, and I’m enjoying it. I’m not just kind of going through the motions like I have.”

Complete scores