MOULTRIE – Brothers Kevin and Andy Blanton had hoped to repeat the Ramsey Pidcock Invitational championship they won back in 2005 when they played in this year’s tournament on Saturday and Sunday at Sunset Country Club.
But when Kevin’s elbow ailment sidelined him, Reb Benton filled in.
And quite admirably.
Benton and Andy Blanton combined to shoot a 130 to win the 70th Ramsey Pidcock.
The pair won by one shot over the teams of Andrew Eunice and Eli Stripling, who also played in the championship flight, and Tanner Brown and J.W. Griffin, who won Flight 1 while turning in a 63 on Sunday, the day’s best round.
Blanton and Benton had Saturday’s first best round, a 62 that gave them a 3-shot lead over Tyler Key and Spencer Ball heading into the Sunday’s round.
The winners hung on with a final 68.
Key and Ball finished third with a 65-67–132.
“Andy is such a good player,” Sunset assistant pro Aaron Elrod said of the longtime veteran Sunset player. “He played extremely well.”
Brad Eunice and Seth Williams were fourth in the Championship flight with a 69-65 for a 134.
Parker Highsmith and Payne Elkins shot 68-66 and for a 134 and were fifth.
Motioning toward the scoreboard where a large number of sub-par rounds were filled with red ink, “Really, the entire field played well,” Elrod added. “And that’s what you want. You want people to come out here and play well.”
Although in some players’ estimation the greens might have played a little quick, the course was in excellent shape, the result of recent improvements, Elrod said.
A two-hour storm that dropped two inches on the course late Saturday forcing Flights 5 and 7 to play just one round.
Flights 4 and 6 played just nine holes on Saturday and a full 18 on Sunday.
Despite the rain, Sunset crews was able to get the course ready for play at 7 a.m. on Sunday.
“We were ready to roll this morning,” said Sunset assistant pro Aaron Elrod following the completion of Sunday’s round. “We had no issues today.”
The field included 114 teams, which Elrod said was the largest he could remember.
“But we stayed on time,” Elrod said. “That’s one thing we really wanted to do. I don’t think we were ever off by more than nine minutes.”
In Flight 1, the team of Peyton Clark and Lance Blanchett shot 137 to finish second, six shots back of Brown and Griffin’s excellent rounds.
Brock Young and Clarke Hendrick were third with a 140 and Jeremy Parker and Tyler Dallas were fourth with a 141.
Tanner Brown and Marshall McCranie won Flight 2 with a 70-65–135.
They were followed by C. Mitchell and C. Collins, 139; Frank Whittington and Seth Coffee, 141; and Gannon Hall and Adrian Fletcher, 141.
Kellen Copeland and Clayton Brooks were first in Flight 3 with a 140. They were followed by Stacy Lasseter and Chad Griffin, 142; Will Koran and Bobby Bruce, 143; and Will Keller and E. McKelvey, 143.
In Flight 4, Ryan Hancock and Blake Moore were first with a 108; Bert Brown and Paxton Clark were second, also with a 108; Marc Thomas and Steve Ready were third with a 109; and Chris Roberts and Martin Cardin were fourth with a 110.
Jake Mobley and Ron Womack won the abbreviated Flight 5 with a 73. They were followed by Ryan Giddens and George Jonce, 74; Trace Eakins and Tucker Hathcock, 74; and Reid Diers and Trey Portier, 75.
Steve Stripling and Guy Stripling shot 109 to win Flight 6.
They were followed by Kohle Hargraves and Gannon Hargraves, 111; Travis Brown and Max Brown, 114; and Will Stevens and Chip Rosser, 117.
Dusty Dalton and Greg Connell combined to shoot a 71 to win Flight 7.
Tim Barber and Mike Briggs were second with a 78. Brad Wheeler and Chip Blalock were third, also with a 78; Max DeMott and John Mark Mobley shot 79 for fourth. Cole Pitts and Quint Pitts also shot 79 and were fifth.