W.E. Cole Cotton States: Garrett May wins 1 up
Garrett May
(Baylor Athletics Photo)
MONROE, LA (July 31, 2016) -- The championship match of the W.E. Cole Cotton States was delayed three hours after five to six inches of rain overnight, but once it began it was an entertaining battle between two Big 12 rivals. No. 12 Blaine Hale, a rising sophomore at Oklahoma, faced off against Baylor sophomore and six-seed Garrett May, at Bayou Desiard Country Club. The match was tight throughout but in the end it was May outlasting Hale thanks to his ball striking.
“I was very happy with the way I struck the ball. I think that was the reason I was in this position today,” May told The News Star. “Looking back on it, I didn’t get a lot of putts to fall, but it felt like I was hitting 15, 16 greens a round.”
Early on, the match seesawed back and forth a bit with Hale taking an early lead on the 2nd hole, only to have May even the match on the ensuing hole. A few holes later, on the 7th, May hit a wedge to tap-in range which gave him a lead he would never relinquish.
May had a 1 up lead at the turn and extended it to 2 up on the 15th after putting his tee shot on the par-3 to 12-feet. On the ensuing hole, Hale clawed back within one but after a pair of halves it was May hoisting the trophy.
May reached the finals following a 4&2 win over No. 2 Blake Collyer, while it was Hale advancing via a 3&2 victory over Draegen Majors.
-The News Star contributed to this story
ABOUT THE Cotton States Amateur
Originally played in 1949 as the Bayou
DeSiard Labor Day Golf Tournament, the
tournament's
name was changed to the Cotton States
Invitational in 1951 by the club's young head
professional, W. E. "Winnie" Cole. He felt that
the
name better reflected the main states that the
tournament's players originated from (and a
move
to
mid-summer made the name a necessity later
anyway). Little did Cole know that 27 years
later, in
1978, the event would be renamed again,
forever to
be known as the W. E. Cole Cotton States
Invitational Golf Tournament.
Past champions of this highly competitive, yet
festive
tournament include Don January and Hal
Sutton. Gil
Morgan, David
Toms and many other PGA Tour players have
also
competed. The tournament field field is limited
to 96
amateur
participants
having a verified USGA Handicap Index not
exceeding 0.0. Long a match play event, the
format was changed in 2021 to 72 holes of
stroke play.
View Complete Tournament Information