After a collegiate golf career at UTC and close to 10 years toiling on various professional tours, Chris Schmidt found himself at a crossroads in 1999. Schmidt didn’t think he was improving at the rate he hoped he would, so he stepped away from the game for a while.

Make that a long while.

For six years, Schmidt didn’t so much as touch a club. Then in the summer of 2005, after being prodded by a good friend, he reached into his closet and pulled out his sticks. Schmidt was ready to play again, only this time as a reinstated amateur.

Golf must be like riding a bicycle for Schmidt, for in no time he was shooting under par again. Soon, he was ready to compete in tournaments.

He first turned up on a local leaderboard in the Signal Mountain Invitational, where he played in the final group. And though he didn’t have enough to overtake leader Danny Green that day, his competitive fire had been stoked.

Fast forward to Sunday. Barely more than a year after taking his clubs and his game out of mothballs, Schmidt was in the winner’s circle again, winning the Chattanooga TPC with a 4 and 3 victory over David Burris.

“This was fun,” Schmidt said. “It feels good [to win a tournament again]. I would like to think I’ll be playing a lot more [competitive golf] in the future.”

At 37, Schmidt has got a lot of time left to play at a high level. He learned how to do that while jousting against the likes of future major championship winners Lee Jansen and John Daly on the mini tours, where players have to fight and scrap just to survive.

“It was a learning experience out there,” Schmidt said. “I played everywhere you can think of—the Hooters Tour, the Nike Tour, the Golden Bear Tour. I even had a plane ticket for Asia, but at the last minute I chickened out and didn’t go.”

Schmidt quickly learned how important a saved stroke here and there was to his score and his livelihood, so he put in countless hours honing his wedge game and putting. Those skills were in evidence against Burris, one of the area’s top amateurs who has played in a few high stakes matches himself over the years.

After both players got off to a poor start in the final match, making bogeys at No. 1 and 2, Schmidt began to turn things around at the par-4 third. He won with a conceded birdie for a 1-up lead, then went 2-up with another birdie at the par-4 5^th hole. He maintained that advantage on the front nine, then quickly moved to put an end to the match on the back.

At No. 10, Burris had every reason to expect he might win the hole after Schmidt flew the green and wound up 30 yards from the pin. Burris was on the fringe about 35 feet away and was able to putt. But before Burris could do that, Schmidt lofted a soft pitch that landed 10 feet short of the hole and rolled true, just like a putt, into the hole.

When Burris missed his birdie putt, Schmidt went ahead 3-up. His lead went to 4-up at the par-5 11^th after he made a birdie to Burris’ par. Far from being overconfident because of that seemingly insurmountable advantage, Schmidt wasn’t exactly sure how the match stood.

“There’s a process by which I play golf,” Schmidt said. “Anything outside that process, I won’t allow in.”

Instead of thinking he had the match sewed up, Schmidt played as though he was behind, focusing over every shot and putting the pressure on Burris by consistently leaving himself make-able birdie putts. He didn’t make another birdie after No. 11, but he kept the pressure on Burris by forcing him to have to make birdies. The match ended on the 15^th hole when both men made par.

Chattanooga amateurs had better get used to Schmidt...

Sunday’s Matches

Semifinals

No. 5 David Burris def. No. 9 Tom Baird, 4 and 2

No. 11 Chris Schmidt def. No. 15 Pete Webster, 5 and 3

Championship

Schmidt def. Burris, 4 and 3