Sixth-seeded Papa Chandler edged son Dalton 2 and 1 in the Chris Banister Bracket final Saturday at Cane Creek Golf Course. He’ll play either top-seeded Gary Wigington or No. 4 Jeremy McGatha after McGatha routed No. 12 Dan Griffin 8 and 7 Sunday in their Buddy Moore Bracket semifinal.
“I’ll be practicing getting ready for it,” said Chandler, the 2010 Match Play champ. “I’m looking forward to it.”
Ott Chandler reached the final by dispatching his 17-year-old son in a rematch of their 2011 opening-round match won by the younger.
Dalton, the No. 10 seed, had an early lead in this one, too, but his father won three straight holes going into the turn to take control. Ott missed chances to extend the lead on 10 and 11, but had a 4-up lead on the back before Dalton birdied 13, 14 and 16 to get back in it. Ott closed the match with a birdie on 17.
“It was no fun, I can tell you that,” Ott said. “It’s hard to have that killer instinct against your kid.”
“He got me fair and square,” Dalton said. “I’ll be rooting for him.”
In the other semifinal, McGatha birdied the first two holes, won the first three and kept going. He was 7 up through 8 and closed the match with a 12-foot birdie on 11.
“Dan’s a good player,” McGatha said. “He kind of struggled a little and I had it going good and sometimes it turns out that way.
“With Dan beating Matt (Rogers in the first round) I definitely was not taking it lightly. I really was practicing. I’ve been working on a few things and it’s starting to come around.”
Calhoun County Match Play
(Seedings in parenthesis)
Buddy Moore Bracket
Gary Wigington (1) d. Nick Pollard (16), 4 and 3.
Janson Wilborn (8) d. Frank Brady (9), 2 and 1.
Dan Griffin (12) d. Matt Rogers (5), 19 holes.
Jeremy McGatha (4) d. Daniel Black (13), 5 and 4.
Chris Banister Bracket
Ott Chandler (6) d. Clay Calkins (11), 1 up
Jaylon Ellison (3) d. Doug East (14), 6 and 5.
Dalton Chandler (10) def. Adrian Geeting (7), 2 up
Benji Turley (15) d. Marcus Harrell (2), concession
Quarterfinal matches
Wigington vs. Wilborn, 4 and 3
McGatha d. Griffin, 8 and 7
O. Chandler d. Ellison, 22 holes
D. Chandler vs. Turley, 7 and 5
Semifinals
Wigington vs. McGatha
O. Chandler d. D. Chandler, 2 and 1
Championship match
Wigington-McGatha winner vs. O. Chandler
Sports Writer Al Muskewitz: 256-235-3577. On Twitter @JSUSports_Star.
