Cole clutch again

Defending Calhoun County player of the year prevails in a playoff to win Oxford City Championship, bag his fourth win on the ’26 Tour.

By Joe Medley
East Alabama Sports Today

OXFORD — Ty Cole began to think 65 was more than retirement age. It was quickly becoming is unlucky number.

It took a playoff, but Cole finally turned a first-round score of 65 into a victory.

Cole shot a 2-under-par 70 in Sunday’s final round of the Oxford City Championship and birdied No. 18 in a playoff with defending champion Tanner Wells to prevail at Cider Ridge.

Cole’s fourth points victory on the 2026 Calhoun County Golf Tour lifted him to 1,865 total points but 1,450 when factoring top-five finishes. County player of the year is based on total points in best five finishes.

He won his seventh player-of-the-year title in 2025 with 1,450 for his top five finishes, but that total does not clinch this year’s county title. Gary Wigington picked up 225 points with a third-place finish Sunday at Cider Ridge and stands at 1,245 points for his best five finishes.

The county season ends in two weeks, at the Calhoun County Championship at Anniston Municipal Golf Course. The county championship counts points and a half, so Wigington could add as many as 450 points to his best-five total.

If Cole wins at county, he’ll match a county-career-best five wins in a season. He did it in 2019.

His victory at Cider Ridge marked his second county victory in a playoff this season. He edged Jacob LeCroy in a playoff in the season-opener at Cane Creek.

Cole had lost his last two tournaments after shooting 65 in the first round, one in a club championship and another at a County Tour event at Twin Bridges two weeks ago.

“I shot 65 at Briarmeade, lost,” he said. “I shot 65 in my club championship, lost. I shot 65 (at Cider Ridge) and damn near lost.”

Cole led Wells and Wigington by two strokes going into No. 18, but Wells eagled and Cole parred. That meant a cart drive back up the fairway to play No. 18 again.

Wells and Cole had misadventures in the playoff. Wells’ had to take a drop after his tee shot went left, into the tree line. Cole teed down the middle but hit a low slice on his second shot, which crossed the tee path and settled into the groove just off of the concrete.

After Wells’ drop, he sent his third shot to the back edge of the green, well back of the front-side tee position. After cart-path relief, Cole hit his third shot off of a dirt mound to the front fringe of the green.

“Just gouge it down there,” Cole said. “I mean, you’re hitting off of those rocks.

“I should’ve never been on there. I’m sitting middle of the fairway, but I hang my 5-iron up when I took my back swing.”

Wells putted to within three feet, but Cole putted in for birdie to end it, learning from his regulation attempt.

“I’ve got to get that ball up and down on 18 the first time around,” he said. “That’s such an easy chip, and I just caught it heavy, and then the putt.

“It helped that putt (in the playoff). The first time I putted it, when I was on the green in regulation, I thought it would break more and hit it by. It didn’t break. This time, I just played the ball out and actually hit it where I was looking for once.”

Open division (Saturday & Sunday)

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