Anniston, AL – Gary Wigington and Ty Cole pull away from logjam to win Buddy Moore Charity Tournament for first time, just in time for Sunny King Classic
By Al Muskewitz
Ty Cole didn’t play well. Gary Wigington played better than he has been, but there were still some elements that were a little off. The key was they weren’t bad together. When one was out of the hole this weekend or missed a shot, the other was there to pick him up. That was the formula to winning the Buddy Moore Charity Tournament for the first time together — just in time for the Sunny King Charity Classic.
Cole and Wigington emerged from a tight overnight leaderboard to shoot 57 at The Hill for the second day in a row Sunday and win the Moore by three shots over two-time and defending champions Andrew Brooks and Brennan Clay and first-time partners Randy Lipscomb and Chad Calvert. “We’ve always done that, we’ve always brother-in-lawed good,” Cole said. “And you’ve got to in these formats. You’re not going to come out here and both play good for two days, you’re just not going to.”
The runner-ups were among three teams tied for the lead going into Championship Sunday. Cole and Wigington started the day one shot back, but they started hot — eagle-birdie-birdie — and eventually took the lead for good with a birdie on No. 8. Their lead was never less than two over the final seven holes. Brooks and Clay did all they could to stay in it, making birdies on six of their last seven holes, but Cole and Wigington, playing in the group in front of them, did the same thing to stay out front.
“You’d think there would be some drama with the four teams that were up top, but none of us others came to play,” Lipscomb said. As much as Ty and Twig play together in other team events around the county during the season, this was only the second time they teamed up in the Buddy Moore. And the only reason they did is because the Sunny King Charity Classic got moved to September. “Normally, I’d be done playing (for the season),” Cole said. “But since it’s the week before (the Sunny King) it’s a chance to tune up for that. It can be something as simple as getting used to riding in the cart again together.” [*** read more]
