"IF YOU LIKE GOLF"

online golf column
by
Chris Dortch

July 8, 2010

Play has been down a bit in some of the local amateur men’s golf tournaments, but not so in the Chattanooga Metro, which will be played this week at Creeks Bend.

Nine of the top 10 players in the Adman Cup Points list are entered, including defending champion, current points leader and last year’s Player of the Year Sam Bedwell. Also entered is the ageless Neil “Doc” Spitalny, who is currently No. 2 on the points list. He’s the defending Metro Senior Champion.

In addition to the overall and senior championships, 14 teams from the various CDGA clubs will compete on Friday for the Harold Lane Memorial plaque. Three-man teams will play in a low-ball format for bragging rights among area clubs.

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The Tennessee Match Play Championship will be played next week at Chattanooga Golf and Country Club, but the man for whom the tournament’s trophy is named, Tim Jackson, won’t be competing. He’ll play in the Southern Amateur, which begins play July 14 at Shoal Creek in Alabama.

Tim Jackson, who was inducted into the Tennessee Golf Hall of Fame last year, won’t be here, but his son, Austin, will compete.

Other players entered are defending champion Todd Burgan, Tennessee Golf Hall of Famer Danny Green, 2009 Tennessee Mid-Amateur champion Jeff Golliher and 2006 Match Play champion Josh Nelms.

The match play tournament has been popular since it was reinstated in 2004, but the format isn’t unique to Tennessee golf. The first Tennessee Amateur in1914 was conducted at match play, but since 1969 the stroke play format has been utilized.

In 1984, the TGA began sponsoring a match play tournament, but it was dropped after the advent of the Mid-Amateur championship.

Since that time, the number of golfers—and high-level amateurs—has increased in Tennessee and demand for a match play tournament caused the TGA to bring back the event. It has proven to be a popular tournament, but this season, the Southern Amateur siphoned off a few Tennessee amateurs who would have competed in Chattanooga.

Results, pairing and other tournament news are available at http://www.tnmatchplay.com.

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The latest edition of Tennessee Golf Quarterly is available at http://www.tgqonline.com.

This edition features recaps of the Tennessee State Open, the Tennessee Four-Ball and Senior Four-Ball championships and the Tennessee Women’s Amateur along with some recurring features, including Great Par 3s of Tennessee. This edition features a look at the tricky 14th hole at TPC Southwind in Memphis.

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