Seeking his first victory on the 2025 Calhoun County Golf Tour, reigning Tour champion Wigington appears right on schedule with 5-under 66 to lead at Briarmeade.
By Joe Medley
GLENCOE — Gary Wigington calls his 2025 Calhoun County Golf Tour season “disappointing so far,” but he has a way of showing that disappointment is relative.
The reigning and five-time Tour champion shot a 5-under-par 66 Saturday to lead the Etowah County Open.
He’ll enter Sunday’s final round on the Links at Briarmeade up one stroke on Chad Calvert and two strokes on Chad Hare. Brennan Clay, John Rollins and Tanner Wells all shot 69s.
Wigington has yet to win on the Tour in 2025, but he got his first 2024 Tour win on the same weekend last year, in the Oxford City Championship. He also won the Calhoun County Championship to cap the season and bag his fifth player-of-the-year honor.
Wigington led this season’s previous points event, the Wilfred Galbraith Invitational, after the first of three rounds at Anniston Country Club.
He stands third in the Tour points standings, 229 points behind leader Ty Cole. Neither Cole nor second-place Jacob LeCroy are playing at Briarmeade this weekend.
A victory could put Wigington on top.
“There’s a lot of golf left,” he said. “There’s no doubt about it,”
As for Wigington’s sense of disappointment so far, it’s all about a great player’s expectations of himself.
“I’ve just not been playing well,” he said. “I’ve not been hitting good, and I’ve been making a bunch of dumb mistakes.
“I’ve had some good rounds out there. I just haven’t been able to put two together.”
Wigington went 32-34—66 Saturday, overcoming two bogeys with seven birdies.
“I should’ve shot a lot better,” he said. “I birdied the last two holes to get to 5 under, but … I missed a little 18-incher on 15.
“I played solid. I just didn’t make any bad mistakes. Nothing great, and nothing real bad. I just kept it in play.”
Calvert shot his best round on the 2025 Tour, besting his first-round 68 at Pine Hill by one stroke. He posted a 33-34 split.
“The only hiccup I had was on No. 9, where I made bogey,” Calvert said. “Other than that, I was pretty consistent and didn’t do anything stupid. … I didn’t beat myself in some bad spots.”
Calvert said he feels “good” going into Sunday’s final round.
“Going up against (Wigington) is going to be tough, but you know what?” Calvert said. “I gave myself a chance. That’s all you can ask for.”
| CHAMPIONSHIP | ||
| PLAYER | RD. 1 | TOTAL |
| Gary Wigington | 66 | 66 |
| Chad Calvert | 67 | 67 |
| Chad Hare | 68 | 68 |
| John Rollins | 69 | 69 |
| Brennan Clay | 69 | 69 |
| Tanner Wells | 69 | 69 |
| Caden Wood | 70 | 70 |
| Tee Brown | 71 | 71 |
| Shawn Ledbetter | 71 | 71 |
| J.D. Berndt | 72 | 72 |
| Cam Hurst | 73 | 73 |
| Jeremy McGatha | 73 | 73 |
| Matt Rogers | 73 | 73 |
| Robin Wood | 73 | 73 |
| FIRST FLIGHT | ||
| NAME | RD. 1 | TOTAL |
| Nolan Terrell | 74 | 74 |
| Randy Lipscomb | 74 | 74 |
| Mark McCaig | 74 | 74 |
| Bobby Bannister | 75 | 75 |
| Shane Chappell | 75 | 75 |
| Bob Eaton | 75 | 75 |
| Kole Chandler | 75 | 75 |
| Dre Davenport | 75 | 75 |
| Dylan Jackson | 75 | 75 |
| Turner Shanks | 76 | 76 |
| James Harrison | 77 | 77 |
| T.J. Daugherty | 77 | 77 |
| Jonathan Gibson | 77 | 77 |
| Jeff McRae | 77 | 77 |
| SECOND FLIGHT | ||
| NAME | RD. 1 | TOTAL |
| Eric Ray | 78 | 78 |
| Billy Thompson | 78 | 78 |
| Vance Lewis | 78 | 78 |
| Josh Ballew | 78 | 78 |
| Draevan Bowmans | 78 | 78 |
| Jeff Noah | 78 | 78 |
| Opie Teague | 79 | 79 |
| Greg Hare | 79 | 79 |
| Bumper Jones | 79 | 79 |
| Jason Shields | 79 | 79 |
| Jake Campbell | 80 | 80 |
| Houston Black | 80 | 80 |
| THIRD FLIGHT | ||
| NAME | RD. 1 | TOTAL |
| Lee Hubbard | 82 | 82 |
| Craig Graves | 82 | 82 |
| Luke Haynie | 83 | 83 |
| Rusty Freeman | 83 | 83 |
| Jason Gilley | 83 | 83 |
| Craig Watts | 83 | 83 |
| Chris Sanford | 83 | 83 |
| Mike Underwood | 84 | 84 |
| Tyrel Tucker | 84 | 84 |
| Devan Downs | 84 | 84 |
| Brady Turner | 84 | 84 |
| Craig Kiker | 84 | 84 |
| Eric Morgan | 84 | 84 |
| Hunter Clough | 85 | 85 |
| Landon Davenport | 85 | 85 |
| Dylan Jackson | 85 | 85 |
| Madilyn Turner | 85 | 85 |
| FOURTH FLIGHT | ||
| NAME | RD. 1 | TOTAL |
| Jay Shields | 86 | 86 |
| Russell Spencer | 86 | 86 |
| Nic Higdon | 87 | 87 |
| Dale Owens | 87 | 87 |
| Mason Aulsbrook | 87 | 87 |
| Coleman Oliver | 87 | 87 |
| Hunter Russell | 89 | 89 |
| Peyton Grisham | 89 | 89 |
| Beau Billingsley | 89 | 89 |
| Alex Grisham | 90 | 90 |
| Corey Garner | 91 | 91 |
| Travis Smith | 95 | 95 |
| Devin Sauls | 102 | 102 |
| Toan Nguyen | 104 | 104 |
| Trevor Millwood | 112 | 112 |
| SENIORS | ||
| PLAYERS | RD. 1 | TOTAL |
| Neal Keener | 74 | 74 |
| Craig Colvard | 75 | 75 |
| Ted Heim | 76 | 76 |
| Stanley Hawkins | 77 | 77 |
| Greg Davenport | 82 | 82 |
| Frank Barnes | 82 | 82 |
| Phillip Eades | 83 | 83 |
| Donnie Sutton | 87 | 87 |
| Wade Croft | 92 | 92 |
| Gary Singleton | 105 | 105 |
Sunday’s tee times
8 a.m.: Gary Singleton, Wade Croft, Donnie Sutton.
8:10 a.m.: Phillip Eades, Frank Barnes, Greg Davenport.
8:20 a.m.: Stanley Hawkins, Ted Heim, Craig Colvard, Neal Keener.
8:30 a.m.: Tevor Millwood, Toan Nguyen, Devin Sauls.
8:40 a.m.: Travis Smith, Corey Garner, Alex Grisham, Peyton Grisham.
8:50 a.m.: Beau Billingsley, Hunter Russell, Dale Owens, Nic Higdon.
9 a.m.: Coleman Oliver, Mason Aulsbrook, Russell Spencer, Jay Shields.
9:10 a.m.: Break.
9:20 a.m.: Madilyn Turner, Landon Davenport, Hunter Clough, Brady Turner.
9:30 a.m.: Devan Downs, Eric Morgan, Craig Kiker, Tyrel Tucker.
9:40 a.m.: Mike Underwood, Jason Gilley, Rusty Freeman, Chris Sanford.
9:50 a.m.: Craig Watts, Luke Haynie, Lee Hubbard, Craig Graves.
10 a.m.: Jake Campbell, Houston Black, Greg Hare, Bumper Jones.
10:10 a.m.: Opie Teague, Jason Shields, Eric Ray, Jeff McRae.
10:20 a.m.: Billy Thompson, Vance Lewis, Josh Ballew, Draevan Bowmans.
10:30 a.m: T.J. Daugherty, James Harrison, Jonathan Gibson.
10:40 a.m.: Jeff Noah, Turner Shankles, Shane Chappell.
10:50 a.m.: Bobby Bannister, Kole Chandler, Dre Davenport, Dylan Jackson.
11 a.m.: Bob Eaton, Mark McCaig, Nolan Terrell, Randy Lipscomb.
11:20 a.m.: Robin Wood, Cam Hurst, Matt Rogers.
11:30 a.m.: Jeremy McGatha, J.D. Berndt, Shawn Ledbetter.
11:40 a.m.: Tee Brown, Caden Wood, Brennan Clay, John Rollins.
11:50 a.m.: Tanner Wells, Chad Hare, Chad Calvert, Gary Wigington.
