News

September 27, 2007
Retired Teacher Wins Car

Jack Sykes, second from right, scored a hole-in-one during the ECC Foundation’s 22nd Annual Golf Tournament on September 20 at Maccripine Country Club in Pinetops. Sykes won a Honda CR-V for “the lucky shot” that was donated to the college by Keihin Carolina System Technology. Keihin Senior Manager Tim Freeman, left, Accounting Manager Bruce Baker, and ECC President Dr. Deborah Lamm join Sykes in a celebration.

By Calvin Adkins
Sports Editor
The Daily Southerner

Whatever you call it, Jack Sykes couldn’t stop smiling after he knocked in a hole-in-one to win a 2008 Honda CR-V during the Edgecombe Community College Foundation’s 22nd Annual Golf Tournament on September 20 at Maccripine Country Club in Pinetops.

Rain poured down throughout the tournament, but it didn’t dampen Sykes’ spirit.

“It is hard to believe,” Sykes said. “You don’t see many pros hitting a hole-in-one. It was nothing but luck. I’m going to give the car to my wife,” he added.

Sykes and his wife, Barbara, had been car shopping, and she had her sights set on a gray Ford Edge. On Thursday morning, Barbara instructed her husband to bring her back the red convertible Chrysler Sebring that Farris Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge of Rocky Mount had donated to be given away at the tournament.

“She asked me to bring back the Sebring and I said, ‘Get real. You don’t hit holes-in-one that often.’

“When I called her I said, ‘I didn’t win the Sebring, but I won a Honda.’ She couldn’t believe it. Now, we will not be buying an Edge,” Sykes said.

The Honda that was donated by Keihin Carolina System Technology of Tarboro was placed at the 11th hole. Sykes used a 3-wood from 185 feet to knock in the miraculous shot. Sykes said the rain conditions prompted him to use the 3-wood.

“When I hit it, I didn’t know whether it went in or not. I thought it had gone off the green because it disappeared. Then I heard a roar, and I knew it had gone in.”

Sykes, a retired teacher from Tarboro, became a fill-in for team Piggly Wiggly after Jerome Creech, who cosponsored the team, backed out to go on vacation.

Sykes has been a golfer for many years but became an avid player after retiring in 2000. The hole-in-one was his first, and it couldn’t have come at a better time.

Piggly Wiggly owner Kenny Hunneycutt, who was playing with Sykes, was just as excited as his partner.

“I was hollering louder than he was,” Hunneycutt said. “A hole-in-one. I’ve been playing golf for 20 years and that was my first time seeing one.”

Larry Boone, who also was Sykes’ playing partner, said, “I was in disbelief even though I saw it. I wasn’t sure that it went in until we got to the hole. Jack should call Jerome (Creech) and wish him a happy anniversary.”

Sykes was the first person to hit a hole-in-one in the tournament’s 22-year history. Thirty-two teams participated in the tournament that raised about $25,000. The funds will be used for ECC scholarships.

“The college is excited for someone to have won the hole-in-one for the first time in 22 years,” said ECC President Dr. Deborah Lamm. “We are grateful to Keihin for their generosity in providing a car for the hole-in-one. It continues to reflect the strong partnership that exists between Keihin and Edgecombe Community College.”

Keihin Carolina System Technology Senior Manager Tim Freeman said, “We’re excited to be a part of this event and to give away this fine Honda. We hope that he enjoys it for many years.”

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