Sons of the father
- Updated: September 12, 2022
Drennen Beam and Noah Hathorn try to fulfill a legacy, following in their fathers’ footsteps to win Sunny King Charity Classic as first-time partners
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
Drennen Beam and Noah Hathorn are among the 206 teams that will tee it up Friday when the 43rd Sunny King Charity Classic gets underway at its three traditional venues, but it’s a good bet they’ll be the only team with a chance to fulfill a tournament legacy.
In 2013, first-time partners Garrett Burgess and Cypress Hathorn walked off the 18th green at Anniston Country Club as first-time winners of the Classic. Nearly a decade later their sons are hoping for some of the same magic.
It remains to be seen if the new team can follow in their fathers’ footsteps, but the idea does get the dads pretty excited.
“If you ask me, it’s pretty cool,” Cypress Hathorn said. “It says a lot for lasting friendships and it reminds me of all the memories and friends that golf introduced me to. What a great game in so many ways.”
Beam, Burgess’ 25-year-old stepson, played golf at White Plains and Birmingham Southern, but is just getting back into the game after a couple years where it wasn’t as big a priority in his life. Hathorn, 22, played baseball at Pell City and Snead State and is “just starting to figure out” his golf game. They probably won’t be in the championship flight, but they will be playing in the championship flight rotation of courses
The year Burgess and Hathorn won the Classic, they just kind of got together to partner. The sons came together sort of the same way.
“It was kind of just a spur of the moment thing this year,” Beam said. “We played in the Father-Son at Anniston with them. I’m not going to lie, it’s been a while since I‘d seen Noah play. Obviously, he’s upgraded a lot since college, he’s gotten a lot better and I needed a partner. I was like, well, let’s just see how this goes. So it’s going to be a shot in the dark and we’re going to have fun with it.”
The year they won it, Burgess and Hathorn trailed a record-setting scramble team after the first round, took the lead in the scamble at Cider Ridge and won by five over the defending champions.
“It seems like we had a lot of good momentum and good things happen,” Burgess said. “We got one of those three days we brother-in-lawed with each other and everything went perfect. It was just fun to ride the rollercoaster that far. For us to win was kind of huge, kind of like the App State and Michigan (football) thing (in 2007), kind of coming out of nowhere.”
As much fun as it was for the fathers to win, the sons were having a big time following the action, hanging around the 19th Hole and trying to figure out a way to get down to the 18th green for the finish.
“I remember Garrett and I having our families at ACC watching with the hopes that the breaks would go our way that Sunday,” Hathorn recalled. “Noah and Drennen were our biggest fans. I have a picture that was taken on 16. The hope and pride that I see in Noah’s expression is priceless to me now.”
“The thing I remember the most being up there and having that that picture of them with the trophy,” Beam said. “It was just a cool moment for us because golf has always been big in our family. Watching them in the last few holes knowing they were about to take this thing in and win, that was pretty cool.”
The champion partners played together for the next six years, finishing third as defending champs, fifth in 2015, third in 2016, fourth in 2017, T-2 in 2018 and seventh in 2019. When the tournament returned last year after a year off for COVID, they returned with different partners.
Hathorn teamed with Kenny Wright, giving the Classic its first all-lefthanders team, and Burgess partnered with Tanner Wells. Both teams remain intact this year.
Beam said it would be “freaking awesome” if the legacy team could repeat their fathers’ feat, but for now it’s all making their way.
“Right now, it’s more of a let’s just have fun with it because we’re both at that age where we’re going to have a little fun,” he said. “If it comes about, I think it would an awesome tradition to keep carrying on.”
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