To hear Earl Aycock Jr. tell it, one would believe he and golf partner Randy Pool just stumbled upon their first-place finish in the 2017 Ed Lewis Memorial Day tournament by sheer luck.

Their 15 years of experience as teammates, and the 63 the two shot to emerge victorious from a three-way tie heading into the final day last year, suggests otherwise.

But Aycock, 63, playfully brushed off any talk that centered around his team entering this year’s tournament as defending champions.

“The truth is, Randy and I are not your typical champions,” Aycock said with a grin. “We’ve only won this tournament a couple times, but there are a lot of golfers in this tournament that are a lot better than we are. It’s just some reason that when we get to this tournament, it jells a little bit and everybody else plays bad, but he and I would never think we would win a tournament — certainly not by ourselves.”

Aycock and Pool maneuvered their golf cart around the scorer’s table at Northwood Country Club shortly before noon Saturday as they wrapped up their opening round of the Ed Lewis tournament. The defending champions shot 70 in the four-ball format portion of the event.

“We played average today,” Aycock said. “We didn’t do anything great; we didn’t do anything stupid. So, we probably, certainly, will not be in the lead — not even close to the lead today with a 1-under-par round, but it’s not embarrassing. It’s just average.”

Bent Moulds and Jarrod Moulds shot a first-day best 65, while Joey Mabry and Joey Sumrow ended the day in second place after shooting a 66. David Rosenbaum and Dalton Baskin enter Sunday in third place after shooting 67.

While Aycock and Pool have played as teammates in 15 Ed Lewis Memorial Day Tournaments, Aycock said they’ve played together for nearly 35 years. The two are also neighbors at Northwood.

The Ed Lewis Memorial Day Tournament began with an 8:30 a.m. shotgun start and will continue through Monday. Sunday will feature a shamble format and the tournament will close with a scramble format on Monday. Aycock said the variety keeps it fresh. 

“It’s different every day, and it makes it a little different and fun,” he said. “You get a different angle every day, and you have to change your strategy every day. Today was the four-ball, which is the toughest day, and then tomorrow is a little easier — they’re doing a shamble. And scramble is the easiest, and that’s the last day. So hopefully, we’ll get better every day. If not, we will be lapped.” 

Patrick Gaddy relocated to Meridian from Long Beach, Miss., in November and boasts a 15-year golf background that includes a stint as the head golf pro at Covington Country Club in Covington, La. Naturally, playing at Northwood appealed to the 29-year-old when he arrived in Meridian six months ago. Last winter’s frosty weather, however, kept him away.

“We had a pretty wet, cold winter, so I waited until it became golf weather,” Gaddy said. 

Gaddy eventually joined Northwood in March and has since played the course 20 times. Saturday, he enlisted the services of his friend, Ryan Black, who traveled from Long Beach for this year’s tournament. After a slow start Saturday, the two men thrived on the back nine and ended the opening day with a 70.

“It started off a little bit shaky — we didn’t brother-in-law well, we struggled on a couple holes on the front, didn’t get it in play — it’s pretty demanding on the front,” Gaddy said. “The back nine is a little bit more open and allowed us to be a little more aggressive, and it worked out.”

Gaddy commented on the state of the course and complimented the Northwood community for its hospitality. 

“It’s always in great shape,” Gaddy said. “All the staff and everybody is really accommodating to anything you need. Everybody here is nice to me and welcoming. The first day I came here, they threw me into one of the groups, and I didn’t have to find buddies to play golf. They threw me in a group with 25 guys, and that was great.”

Despite the threat of Subtropical Storm Alberto stirring in the Gulf of Mexico, this year’s tournament attracted 100 golfers. For most of the day, the weather cooperated, save for some afternoon rain. 

“Today is kind of the hardest format of the three days, and it’s just a fun event and it’s competitive,” Northwood golf pro Billy Pomeroy said. “We’re going to end up with 100 (golfers), which is not terrible, but we’re used to getting about 140, so the weather did affect things. But we still got 100 people, and 100 people is a good turnout.”