The Selma Country Club has held its annual club championship since 1929, but rarely in that 83 years has the results of a tournament been any closer. In fact, the results could not have been any closer then they were this year; just one shot.

Paul Garner finished the tournament as the low gross winner with a score of a two-day total of 1-under, outdueling his friend Andy Stewart.

“It feels great to win. It doesn’t feel too good to beat my best friends, but I am pretty pleased right now,” Garner said just moments after learning he had won Sunday. Garner said this marked the fifth time he had claimed the title.

As for Stewart, he admitted Garner had played the best golf throughout the year of anyone at the club, but spent a good portion of Sunday afternoon reflecting on the poor shots that cost him the tournament.

“I bogied the last hole, no. 18, and ended up losing by one,” Stewart said. “There were a few holes that I hit shots that I rarely ever hit that cost me the tournament.

“Paul deserved to win this though. He’s been playing the best golf lately and is the best golfer out here.”

Brennan Nedley ended up claiming the title of low net winner, a title he was thrilled to win.

“It’s just a great honor to accept the Hike Eastep Award for 2012,” Nedley said. “It was a great weekend of golf. I was paired up with two great guys – Caleb Morris and Richard Hughey. On the last nine holes of Sunday’s round, Caleb’s oldest son, Thomas Morris, came out and rode with his father, and gave all three of us a boost of encouragement as we finished our round. The weekend as a whole was a great experience and a lot of fun.”

Although he did not win the tournament or his flight, Circuit Court Judge Tommy Jones had the distinction, and the curse, of hitting a hole-in-one during tournament play.

On Sunday’s final round, Jones used a 9-iron to hit the hole-in-one on the 140-yard, par 3, No. 15. It marked Jones’ second hole-in-one of all time and the second one he has hit on the No. 15.

“It looked good from the start. It hit just to the right of the hole and bounced in,” Jones said.

As for the tradition that the person who hits a hole-in-one buys a drink for all those in the clubhouse after the round could not have come at a worse time for Jones. And he knew it as he looked in the clubhouse and saw dozens of his “closest friends” taking him up on the tradition.

“It’s fine,” Jones said with the smile. “I just wish that I had hit this hole-in-one on a slow Tuesday afternoon instead of the final day of the club championship.”

 

TOURNAMENT SCORES

Championship flight:

Andy Stewart — 138

Troy Harvill — 140

James Mooney — 142

Paul Garner — 143

Dr. Don Blanton — 145

Richard Hughey — 146

Ira Wagoner — 147

Beau Boyd — 148

Will Pearce — 148

David Cothran — 156

 

Flight 2:

William Free — 138

Stanley Burns — 141

Parke Keith — 143

Jere Peak — 144

Logan Tucker — 146

Paul Portwood — 147

Web Manderson — 149

Bart Adams — 156

David Y. Pearce — NC

 

Flight 3:

David Stringfellow — 139

Hub Maroney Jr. — 139

Mickey Miller — 139

Tommy Jones — 142

Charlie Shoultz — 147

Kory Taylor — 152

John Hanning — 158

Paul James — 159

Joe Hagood III — 164

 

Flight 4:

Tad Moore — 136

Gordon McLendon — 140

Richard McDowell — 142

Andy Rives — 143

Christian Crane — 147

Jack Mooney — 149

Parker Cheatham — 152

Pick Pickering — 169

Ken Morrison — NC

 

Junior club championship:

Boys 7-under:

Teddy Henry — 124

Sam Garner — 138

Alan Lightfoot — 151

 

Boys 8-10-year-olds:

Jones Free — 85

Gus Wilson Colvin — 97

Arrington Mooney — 103

George Turner — 111

Milam Turner — 117

Haysten Levins — 118

 

Boys 11-12-year-olds:

Thomas Morris — 204

 

Boys 13-14-year-olds:

Harrison Adams — 213

Sam Brackin — 233

 

Ladies club championship (gross scores):

Wanda Burns — 202 (champion)

Beth Mott — 202

Susan Burns — 203

Barbara Moore — 206

Jane Henderson — 214

Julia Ann Minter — 219