Hughston’s clutch putt on No. 15, eagle No. 17 key his and LeCroy’s late rally to win 48th Sunny King Charity Classic.
By Joe Medley
ANNISTON — Jacob LeCroy warned everyone.
After starring in his and partner Harrion Hughston’s historic 19-under-par round at Cider Ridge during Saturday’s second round of the 48th Sunny King Charity Classic, LeCroy warned that Hughston will have a big Sunday.
He had a big finish.
Hughston’s 18-foot putt on No. 15 brought him and LeCroy within one shot of Ty Cole-Gary Wigington, and Hughston’s crushing tee shot and lip-out chip to set up eagle on No. 17 gave him and LeCroy a one-shot lead.
It held up, albeit barely, for LeCroy-Hughston’s second consecutive Sunny King Charity Classic title.
The pair shot 42-under-par 172 over rounds (58-53-61) at Silver Lakes, Cider Ridge and Anniston Country to win by one stroke and became the first duo to win the tournament back to back since Cole-Wigington won it three years in a row, from 2016-18.
LeCroy stood victorious at the Sunny King for the third time, including his victory with Jacob Harper in 2019. Hughston, LeCroy’s former Donoho School teammate, felt Sunny King glory for the second time.
“It’s special to me,” Hughston said. “This tournament means so much to me and Jacob, these three courses, especially this one, where we grew up.”
They narrowly avoided a playoff when Cole’s 15-foot eagle putt on No. 18 missed just short.
“I had the read,” Cole said. “It’s just one of them, I wanted to be a little aggressive with it. I blew the one on 16 so far by being aggressive, so I just left it short, right on the lip.
“I knew what it was for. I knew I had to make it to tie.”
Cole-Wigington, seeking their would-be fifth Sunny King title together, led by two strokes going into No. 15, but that’s when Hughston began finding his best. LeCroy called Hughston’s uphill 18-foot put to trim the lead to one stroke “a game changer.”
“I’m just proud of myself for staying patient, because I had honestly been putting terribly for most of the weekend,” Hughston said. “I was kind of like, what’s going on? I’m not making anything.
“The only thing I could do was stay patient, and I finally stepped up to one that I knew would be huge, and just dead up the hill, I’ve hit that putt my whole life.”
The ball dropped dead center, and both teams parred the par-3 No. 16.
That set the stage for 17, and Hughston punched through a rainy day’s gloom and a boom.
“It was probably my best drive of the tournament,” he said.
It put him in position to hit his second shot with a wedge. After LeCroy hit within three-and-a-half feet of the hole from 203 yards, but Hughston chipped to the lip.
It settled about a foot from the hole.
“When they hit the shot they hit on 17, get out of here,” Cole said. “You hit where they hit it then hit an iron up there that lipped out for a two, good playing, man.”
LeCroy enjoyed his told-you-so moment, predicting Hughston’s heroics.
“He came alive, just like I said yesterday,” LeCroy said.
Both teams birdied No. 18 to finish 9 under par for the day, leaving LeCroy-Hughston a chance to match Cole-Wigington’s string of three Sunny King titles in a row next year.
“It will always be our home,” Hughston said. “The people that come out, the sponsors, that’s what makes it. I’ll never take it for granted, winning this tournament or even playing in it.
“I hope to be a worthy champion for many more years to come.”
Championship-Honda Passport
| TEAM | RD. 1-2-3 | TOTAL |
| Jacob Lecroy / Harrison Hughston | 58-53-61 | 172 |
| Gary Wiggington / Ty Cole | 55-57-61 | 173 |
| Jacob Harper / Kyle Daugherty | 57-56-63 | 176 |
| Eric Bouthwell / Lewis Lecroy | 59-60-60 | 179 |
| Brennan Clay / Jeremy McGatha | 56-61-62 | 179 |
| Jackson King / Woody Eubanks | 58-58-65 | 181 |
| Layton Bussey / Tanner Wells | 62-58-62 | 182 |
| Hanna Dyar / Abby Gattis | 63-58-62 | 183 |
| Ott Chandler / Devin Broadway | 60-59-64 | 183 |
| Taylor McCullum / Dalton Chandler | 57-59-69 | 185 |
| Landon Straub / Jason Johnson | 62-60-63 | 185 |
| Kevin Daugherty / Landen Daugherty | 59-61-65 | 185 |
| Tanner Wilder / Braylin Hathorn | 58-61-66 | 185 |
| John Collins / Keaton Borelli | 58-64-64 | 186 |
| Luke Couch / Tyler Hale | 62-59-65 | 186 |
| Christopher Hicks / Colby Houser | 61-60-65 | 186 |
| Brock McNeely / Chandler Wilborn | 58-63-66 | 187 |
| Jordan Anderton / Kevin Schrum | 61-59-67 | 187 |
Girl power
Championship B-Acura MDX
| TEAM | RD. 1-2-3 | TOTAL |
| Josh Chapple / Jackson Bonner | 63-62-60 | 185 |
| Mike Lett / James Lett | 67-61-58 | 186 |
| Dana Wright / Jason Peterson | 65-60-62 | 187 |
| Taylor Jones / Tyler Huckaby | 65-61-61 | 187 |
| Marcus Harrell / Brock Harrell | 64-60-64 | 188 |
| Dustin Travis / Bob Eaton | 68-59-62 | 189 |
| Matt Rogers / Andrew Brooks | 61-63-66 | 190 |
| Kyle Glover / Corey Mize | 61-63-67 | 191 |
| Austen Giesie / William Giesie | 64-62-65 | 191 |
| Corey Etter / Zoey Etter | 68-58-65 | 191 |
| Evan Owan / Charlie Smith | 62-65-65 | 192 |
| Jonathan Chandler / Daniel Crumly | 67-61-65 | 193 |
| Drennen Beam / Noah Hathorn | 64-64-65 | 193 |
| Alan Smith / Lamar Carter | 66-61-66 | 193 |
| Chase Hollingsworth / Hunter Carr | 64-60-69 | 193 |
| Taylor O’Connor / Cain Hollingsworth | 63-64-66 | 193 |
| Rhett McGowan / Shawn Javed | 65-63-66 | 194 |
| Joseph Salonia / Mark Salonia | 65-63-67 | 195 |
| Will Brown / Austin Jones | 60-65-70 | 195 |
| Hank Smith / Brett Rothwell | 63-66-68 | 197 |
| Drew Archer / Ryan Howard | 66-62-72 | 200 |
First-Grand Highlander
| TEAM | RD. 1-2-3 | TOTAL |
| Grant Hockman / Doug White | 66-64-64 | 194 |
| Chad Key / Brett Key | 64-66-64 | 194 |
| Tanner Tabor / Dallis Daugherty | 63-69-62 | 194 |
| Bailey Masters / Tripp Johnson | 69-64-62 | 195 |
| Jake Goggans / Rob Davie | 66-66-63 | 195 |
| Coleman Messer / Ryder Hugins | 61-70-65 | 196 |
| Zach Zahn / Gavin Lindsey | 66-65-65 | 196 |
| Evan Daugherty / Ryan Stovall | 67-65-65 | 197 |
| Chris Randall / Sean Gillispie | 67-64-66 | 197 |
| Chris Hubbard / Danny Whittaker | 65-67-66 | 198 |
| Wes Couch / Tyler McNickle | 67-66-65 | 198 |
| Matthew Hardin / Jimbo Williams | 69-64-66 | 199 |
| Clay Costner / Doug Gardner | 69-62-68 | 199 |
| Bill Wakefield / Minton Edwards | 67-66-66 | 199 |
| Henry Pritchett / Neil Elders | 66-67-67 | 200 |
| Dee Pruit / Mark Lindsay | 69-63-68 | 200 |
| Dustin Ellison / Mike Saenz | 65-66-70 | 201 |
| Jason Payne / Jeff Pool | 68-63-70 | 201 |
| Kory Oliver / Kody Oliver | 67-63-71 | 201 |
| Colin Edwards / Braden Beecham | 65-66-71 | 202 |
| Phillip Austin / Bruce Collins | 65-75-73 | 203 |
| Jason Greene / Jamie Strickland | 66-67-70 | 203 |
Second-Honda Pilot
| TEAM | RD. 1-2-3 | TOTAL |
| Charles Estes / Richard Patty | 68-66-58 | 192 |
| Tyler Teneyck / Don Hill | 67-68-60 | 195 |
| Andy Carden / Jon Pollard | 69-66-60 | 195 |
| Terry Sumner / David Reavis | 70-66-60 | 196 |
| Tyler Northcutt / Nick Swindle | 68-67-62 | 197 |
| Jay McElroy / Nick Pope | 65-69-64 | 198 |
| Trenton Ray / Cameron Ray | 71-63-64 | 198 |
| Will Broome / Ben Elrod | 69-67-63 | 199 |
| Caro Manning / Brian Brennon | 66-68-65 | 199 |
| Daniel Black / Michael Thompson | 68-68-64 | 200 |
| Andrew Tyson / Andrew Morris | 68-68-64 | 200 |
| Will Prickett / Scott Jackson | 69-67-64 | 200 |
| Nathan Franklin / Benji Chandler | 70-65-66 | 201 |
| Cooper Martin / David Martin | 68-66-67 | 201 |
| Cody Boyd / Mark Wood | 68-66-69 | 203 |
| Ryan Townley / Luis Fourquet | 68-68-67 | 203 |
| Ted Gregerson / Aaron Gregerson | 67-68-68 | 203 |
| Shannon Page / Bradley Elliott | 69-66-68 | 203 |
| Ben Milligan / Jose Macias | 67-68-69 | 204 |
| Sidney Kreis / Lance Muncher | 69-65-70 | 204 |
| Drue Snow / Evan Snow | 70-65-69 | 204 |
| Trae Williams / Matthew Peters | 67-67-70 | 204 |
| Brandon Roberts / Dalton Fisher | 73-63-68 | 204 |
| Brian Howell / Ken Howell | 69-67-69 | 205 |
| Josh Reynolds / Bart Smith | 69-67-69 | 205 |
| Jimbo Phillips / Mike Hughston | 67-68-70 | 205 |
| Jono Waugh / Blake Lowry | 67-67-72 | 206 |
| Caleb Bowen / Logan Wright | 68-68-71 | 207 |
| Patrick Thornton / Jamie Cash | 68-68-72 | 208 |
| PJ Sotelo / Gavin Burrage | 66-70-72 | 208 |
| Ty Johnson / Keith Howell | 68-68-73 | 209 |
Third-Acura RDX
| TEAM | RD. 1-2-3 | TOTAL |
| David Holt / Anant Patel | 66-72-60 | 198 |
| Tyler Romine / Jason Romine | 73-64-64 | 201 |
| Nate Pearce / Nick Jenkins | 68-70-64 | 202 |
| Andy Jenkins / Mark Gaines | 67-70-65 | 202 |
| Daniel Clonts / Clay Blackwell | 71-67-64 | 202 |
| Chad Watson / Brent Nance | 70-68-65 | 203 |
| Josh Wright / Jeremy Wright | 68-69-68 | 205 |
| Easton Wright / Kacey Ray | 68-70-67 | 205 |
| Kyle Price / Derrick Kirby | 72-65-69 | 206 |
| Ford Wyatt / Trent Smith | 70-68-68 | 206 |
| Houston Black / Scott Jimmerson | 70-68-68 | 206 |
| Shaughn Rankin / Austin Parris | 71-66-69 | 206 |
| Larry Reaves / Noel Johnson | 68-69-71 | 208 |
| Landon Price / Shane Price | 70-67-72 | 209 |
| Scott Watson / Randy Cobb | 69-68-72 | 209 |
| Tim Wilcox / Tyler Lawson | 70-68-71 | 209 |
| John Austin Carpenter / John Carpenter | 69-69-71 | 209 |
| Wayne Tillman / Tony Stickland | 71-66-74 | 211 |
| Keith McCullough / Brennan McCullough | 69-69-78 | 216 |
Fourth-Tundra
| TEAM | RD. 1-2-3 | TOTAL |
| Heath Waldrop / Greg Rainey | 73-66-62 | 201 |
| Will Bedwell / Kevin Bedwell | 71-68-63 | 202 |
| Eric Manning / Clay Sanford | 72-67-64 | 203 |
| Shane Lilly / Dallas Dunn | 69-71-65 | 205 |
| Matt Hunter / Will Coker | 73-68-64 | 205 |
| Timothy Hammond / Patrick Awbrey | 72-69-65 | 206 |
| Jeff Barnwell / Randy Jones | 69-70-67 | 206 |
| Blake Drummond / Brian Rosenbalm | 72-69-65 | 206 |
| Cal Lambert / Travis Stout | 69-70-68 | 207 |
| Madilyn Turner / Brady Turner | 69-70-68 | 207 |
| Tommy Clutter / Jerad Fellows | 69-70-69 | 208 |
| Dalton Cobb / Kevin Bryant | 71-68-69 | 208 |
| Jonathan Mosley / Eric Williams | 71-68-69 | 208 |
| Tim Steward / Dennis Austin | 70-71-68 | 209 |
| James Harrison / Toan Nuguyen | 71-68-70 | 209 |
| Jim Black / Wes Black | 71-68-70 | 209 |
| Matt Whitaker / Joey Stewart | 72-67-70 | 209 |
| Lee Ledbetter / Tommy Beard | 67-72-71 | 210 |
| Brent Busby / Brian Mathison | 70-69-71 | 210 |
| Landry Wright / Grant Pearl | 71-69-71 | 211 |
| Chris Bowman / Braxton Swinford | 70-69-73 | 212 |
| Jeff Roszell / Larry Champion | 72-68-73 | 213 |
| Keith Yates / Josh Goodson | 70-70-75 | 215 |
| Baylen Clough / Barry Clough | 73-68-76 | 217 |
| Mike Angel / Brock Reaves | 69-71-78 | 218 |
| Jackson Fillingim / Lott Cates | 70-71-81 | 222 |
Fifth-Honda Accord
| TEAM | RD. 1-2-3 | TOTAL |
| Michael Downey / Tracy Downey | 70-74-65 | 209 |
| Eric Loggins / Jerod Haynes | 71-71-68 | 210 |
| Trey Martin / Brent Ayres | 69-73-68 | 210 |
| Kenneth Willingham / Mark Cotton | 70-72-69 | 211 |
| Terry Cobb / Michael Ray | 73-69-69 | 211 |
| Connor Giesie / Kai Martin | 70-73-69 | 212 |
| Marc West / John Woods | 71-75-66 | 212 |
| Amanda Summers / Terry Smiley | 69-73-70 | 212 |
| Chuck Robinson / Chad Brewer | 75-68-70 | 213 |
| Jameson Carden / James Carden | 73-71-69 | 213 |
| Jason Copus / Arlin McCauley | 76-70-69 | 215 |
| Raymond Stover / Reg Mulligan | 74-69-72 | 215 |
| John Michael Pegusky / Rob Jones | 71-75-70 | 216 |
| Will Hollingsworth / Andy Moore | 73-72-71 | 216 |
| Alex Freeman / Ryan Cash | 72-71-74 | 217 |
| Wade Shellnut / Josh Meigs | 75-71-71 | 217 |
| Jayden Shadrix / Steve Shadrix | 70-76-71 | 217 |
| Chad Cabeen / Tim Kurecka | 71-72-74 | 217 |
| Lee Higgins / Bruce Lott | 74-69-75 | 218 |
| Mike Miller / Bill Miller | 71-75-73 | 219 |
| Logan Watters / Jackson Veasey | 72-73-74 | 219 |
| Cliff Wright / Carson Wright | 74-70-75 | 219 |
| Kenton Sprayberry / Tiffany Sprayberry | 71-73-76 | 220 |
| Will Johnson / Nate Parker | 74-71-75 | 220 |
| Peyton Whitten / Patrick Hamlet | 71-71-80 | 222 |
| Mark McCraken / Jason Shelby | 75-70-79 | 224 |
Sixth-Toyota 4 Runner
| TEAM | RD. 1-2-3 | TOTAL |
| Alex Stennis / Patrick Adams | 72-75-66 | 213 |
| Andrew Cruthirds / Marc Walker | 77-70-67 | 214 |
| Will Mckinney / Chase Lowry | 74-73-71 | 218 |
| Ryan Parrish / Mykel Story | 73-79-68 | 220 |
| Jason Alderman / Christopher Alderman | 77-73-70 | 220 |
| TR Jones / Kaleb Littlejohn | 73-76-75 | 224 |
| Mike Whitlow / Don Whitlow | 72-77-75 | 224 |
| Ethan Carter / Alex Bailey | 74-77-73 | 224 |
| Chris Reaves / Clint Burns | 75-75-74 | 224 |
| Greg Smith / Greg Stroud | 75-72-78 | 225 |
| Tim Evans / Kevin Wilhoite | 74-73-78 | 225 |
| Mitch Mittelmark / Sean Adams | 70-82-73 | 225 |
| Nathan Gilbert / Beau Winn | 78-76-71 | 225 |
| Zack Moody / Tim Arnold | 77-72-77 | 226 |
| Jason Ausburger / Michael Ward | 74-80-73 | 227 |
| Brock Wright / Zach Cunningham | 77-73-77 | 227 |
| Brandon Johnson / David Kinney | 78-70-80 | 228 |
| Brad Roberts / Brandon Thrift | 78-77-75 | 230 |
| Terry Phillis / Ernie Torain | 75-73-85 | 233 |
| Nick Dreher / Cam Tant | 86-69-80 | 235 |
| Cody Prickett / Neil Cochrum | 82-79-80 | 241 |
| Chris Doran / Ryan Burger | 90-81-87 | 258 |
| Bo Ladd / John Coulter | – | WD |
| Jonathan Scott / Jonathan Jones | – | WD |
| Shane Peacock / Jon-Michael Tinney | – | WD |
The final group
