The Chattanooga TPC has come down to the crafty veterans versus the young birdie machines.

No. 1 seed Neil Spitalny advanced with a 5 and 4 victory over Pat Corey at Council Fire on Saturday and now gets to tangle Sunday with Caleb Roberson, who defeated Adam Stephens, 2 and 1. It was Roberson, who plays for Lee University, who threw six birdies and an eagle at his coach, John Maupin, in winning his first-round match on Friday.

In the other semifinal, Mitch Hufstetler, a long-time competitor in this tournament who defeated Randy Yoder, 2 and 1 on Saturday, will play Sam Bedwell, another Lee player who piled up six birdies in defeating Brandon Cissom in 19 holes.

The 50-somethings vs. the college limber backs. On the surface, there doesn’t appear to be much in common between the combatants, but in truth there is—all credit improved putting with their solid play this season.

It took Spitalny most of his life to get his putting to match his ball striking, but better late than never. At 58, he’s playing some of the best golf of his career. In the last few weeks, he’s advanced to the second round of match play in the U.S. Senior Amateur, got to a playoff in a TGA Championship Series event and now is within two matches of a TPC victory.

Just as it’s been most of the summer, Spitalny’s putter was a weapon against Corey. He drained a 25-foot birdie putt at No. 1 that kept him from going 1-down, because Corey also birdied from much closer.

That probably didn’t get under Corey’s skin so much as the next two holes did. Spitalny rolled in short birdie putts at 2 and 3 to go 2-up, and the match never got any closer.

“I started out well and Pat putted poorly after that,” Spitalny said. “He got frustrated.”

Spitalny won No. 5 with a par and Corey scratched back by winning No. 7 with a par, but when Spitalny saved par at No. 8 to claim the hole and then won No. 9 with a par, the lead was 4-up and the match was all but over.

By contrast, another match between veteran players, Hufstetler vs. Yoder, lasted until No. 17. With a stiff wind blowing in their faces, both players hit the green at the par 3, but Hufstetler, who hit a punched 4-iron, ended up 10 feet behind the hole.

Yoder was faced with a 30-footer that he left about four feet short. Yoder’s miss allowed Hufstetler, who made par, to advance.

Like Spitalny, Hufstetler’s putting has been a big key to his success this year.

“I’ve putted the eyes out of it all year,” Hufstetler said. “Before when I got over a putt, I was just trying to get it close. Now, I’m trying to make it, and if I don’t I know I’ll still leave it close enough to two putt.”

Yoder jumped out to a 2-up lead, but Hufstetler got a momentum-changing break at the par-4 third after hitting his tee shot right, and into tree trouble. He decided to try and loft a wedge over the tree blocking his path to the green, but when his ball nicked some leaves, he feared it would end up short and in the bunker. It actually landed about 15 feet from the hole.

“That was big,” Hufstetler said. “I’m sure Randy liked his chances to go three up after he saw my tee shot. It would have been tough to come back from 3-down.”

Hufstetler trailed 1-down heading into the back nine, but consecutive birdies at the par-5 11^th and the par-3 12^th enabled him to grab the lead. He won the par-5 13^th with a par and led 2-up until Yoder won No. 16, a par four, with a par.

Hufstetler’s tee shot at 17 was critical, and he nailed it. He credits his confident ball striking to Bear Trace assistant Keith Burdette—who helped him groove a swing back in the spring—and increased practice time.

“Both kids are out of the house now, and that’s given me more time to practice,” Hufstetler said. “My amount of practice time has been significantly higher than in the past, and that’s given me confidence in my swing and my putting.”

Another player who has confidence in his putting is Bedwell, who was also quick to hand out credit to a PGA professional, Russ Alstun of Dalton Golf and Country Club.

Alstun gave Bedwell a pre-shot routine—an unusual system of locking in his elbows and making a pendulum swing. After gauging the pace he’ll need to strike a putt, Bedwell stands over his ball, lifts his putter straight up, takes a practice swing and sets the blade behind the ball.

The move worked wonders against Cissom, who himself made birdies at Nos. 2, 6, 9, 13, 14 and 18. That last birdie forced an extra hole.

Bedwell birdied No. 1, 5, 6, 7, 11 and 13. “I needed every one of them,” he said.

He won the match not with a birdie but a scrambling par. Both hit great tees shots on the par-4 1^st hole, but Cissom knocked his approach slightly over the green, and Bedwell’s was slightly short. He chipped to two feet, but Cissom’s chip, which was struck well, snuck four feet past. He missed his putt, setting up Bedwell to drain his for the win. He never had a doubt.

“I’ve been putting the ball great lately,” he said. “The last time I played, in a college tournament [The Birmingham Southern Shootout] I hit the ball terrible, but I finished third because I made everything I looked at.”

Saturday’s Matches

No. 1 Neil Spitalny def. No. 8 Pat Corey, 5 and 4.

No. 12 Caleb Roberson def. No. 4 Adam Stephens, 2 and 1.

No. 7 Sam Bedwell def. No. 2 Brandon Cissom, 19 holes.

No. 6 Mitch Hufstetler def. No. 14 Randy Yoder, 2 and 1.

Sunday’s Matches

8:30 a.m.—Hufstetler vs. Bedwell.

8:40 a.m.—Spitalny vs. Roberson.