Golf

All of the intrigue that was the buildup to the inaugural Odds vs. Evens Shootout moves to the golf course today when the first shot is struck at Cane Creek Golf Course.

The captains of the two teams, Garrett Burgess (Odds) and Jeremy McGatha (Evens), reported their pairings and lineups Wednesday, but by mutual agreement the choices weren't revealed until today, when Calhoun County's version of the Ryder Cup gets underway.

It was an eager wait.

"I'm very interested (in seeing who the Odds send out and when); I wish I knew," McGatha said. "It's never going to fall perfect, but it's going to be huge (in gaining an edge).

"We tried to guess who they might be playing and in what order they'll put them out, but it's tough. Now I know what they go through in the Ryder Cup. You don't know. That's what makes it fun."

The only secret the captains shared with each other was their fashion sense. The Odds will wear red and black, while the Evens will go with light blue and cream.

The teams were determined by the order of finish in this year's Best of the Best Series. They will play four best-ball matches in the morning and four modified alternate shot matches in the afternoon. Eight individual play matches are scheduled (in twosomes) Sunday afternoon.

The first team to 8 1/2 points wins. Spectators are encouraged. While today's pairings were done early in the week, one of the captains is taking a wait-and-see attitude about his Sunday lineup.

"I've got about four or five different ideas," Burgess said. "We'll see how it goes on Saturday to see what we're going to do Sunday. If we're behind, we have a lineup. If we're ahead, we have a lineup. If it's all even, we have a lineup."

Regardless of today's results, McGatha is expected to send his strongest players out early Sunday, either to spark a rally or gain the points to clinch the match.

Burgess went for balance when putting his lineup together, his top four players matched with a lower seed and they'll play together both rounds. With that in mind, he resisted the urge to pair himself with Jacksonville State teammate Marcus Harrell, and said he considered Grant Hockman and Cypress Hathorn his Tiger Woods-Phil Mickelson-type pairing.

"Grant's steady and Cypress can make a lot of birdies," Burgess said. "I thought about doing a strong pairing, but you can hurt yourself and succeed at the same time. Every team is pretty solid."

McGatha leaned toward pairing personalities. He does have a couple high-octane pairings in Brennan Clay and Matt Rogers in the morning and Ott Chandler and Clay and McGatha-Rogers in the afternoon.

On paper, the Odds would appear to have an edge — their players won five of the seven tournaments in the Best of the Best Series (with Burgess winning three), but the county Player of the Year isn't buying it.

"Both teams are pretty evenly matched," Burgess said. "There's really no underdog. Jeremy says we've got five winners and whatnot, but they've still got Ott and Brennan and Jeremy. It's about as even as it could be."

Game on.

Odds vs. Evens Shootout

Today's pairings (Points position in parenthesis)

Best-ball matches

8 a.m. — Marcus Harrell (7)-Dan Griffin (13) vs. Brennan Clay (6)-Matt Rogers (8)
8:10 — Jaylon Ellison (5)-David Martin (17) vs. Jason Johnson (10)-T.J. McGatha (12)
8:20 — Grant Hockman (3)-Cypress Hathorn (9) vs. Ott Chandler (4)-Doug East (18)
8:30 — Garrett Burgess (1)-Dan McClellan (11) vs. Jeremy McGatha (2)-Chip Howell (16)

Modified alternate-shot matches

1 p.m. — Ellison-Martin vs. Howell-East
1:10 — Hockman-Hathorn vs. Johnson-T.J. McGatha
1:20 — Burgess-McClellan vs. Chandler-Clay
1:30 — Harrell-Griffin vs. J. McGatha-Rogers