May 24–Benji Turley has been putting together the county’s holiday Par-3 tournaments for more than a decade, but he’s never gotten the response he
received this year. A new format and a new marketing strategy has drawn commitments from at least 18 teams for a Memorial Day Par-3 on Monday at the Short Course at Silver Lakes. Registration starts at 8 a.m., with play to follow at 9. For the first time in the event’s history, the format is two-man best ball. The teams will play the white tees first, then drop back to the oranges for the second go-around. With the format change, Turley said he was hoping to draw players who would bring their Sunny King Charity Classic partners along — and it worked. “I pumped it up as a Sunny King prelude,” Turley said. “This is definitely the biggest (field he’s had).” There were years when Silver Lakes’ Short Course was part of the rotation of the Sunny King Classic — even hosting the 25th anniversary Par-3 Contest for past winners — but the three-day early-July event has since moved away from the Robert Trent Jones Trail facility. This year’s Par-3 has commitments from many Sunny King regulars, including past multi-winners Jeremy McGatha-Jaylon Ellison and Randy Reaves-Gary Wigington.
The defending Sunny King champions, Marcus Harrell and Ott Chandler, have broken up at the urging of Harrell’s Jacksonville State coach James Hobbs, but each will play in the Par-3. Harrell will play with Turley, his new Sunny King partner, while Chandler will play with his former Classic partner Gary Wilborn.