It was the shortest playoff in the history of the Chattanooga TPC. When Brendon Wilson blasted his tee shot on No. 1 at Council Fire right and out of bounds on Sunday, he stepped off the tee, shook hands with Brandon Cissom and congratulated him on his victory.

That was it. Cissom, who had split the middle of the fairway with his drive, was surprised at the suddenness of a win that seemed unlikely after Wilson birdied the par-4 16^th to go 2-up.

“I really don’t know how that happened,” Cissom said. “He misses maybe two shots the whole day. He played better than I did and led most of the match. But I never gave up. In match play, you never know.”

After draining that birdie putt at 16, Wilson—who made six birdies on the day—seemed in command. But he missed the par-3 17^th green to the left and couldn’t save par. Cissom, who hit the green and two-putted for his par, still had a chance.

Both players pounded out 300-plus yard drives on the par-5 18^th, and both reached the green in two. Wilson was about 22 feet right of the flag, and Cissom was just in front of him so he could watch the line.

Wilson left his eagle putt about eight feet short. Cissom putted to tap-in range for his birdie and watched as Wilson attempted to close out the match by sinking that eight footer. But he missed, sending the match to extra holes.

Still reeling from the three-putt, Wilson put an uncharacteristic swing on his tee shot at No. 1, and the playoff was over as quickly as it began. For Wilson, who finished second last week in the Children's Classic CDGA Club Champions Shootout at Black Creek, it was another frustrating finish.

“I just haven’t played enough tournaments,” Wilson said. “I haven’t been there [in contention] often enough.”

Wilson tore ligaments in his ankle during the summer and then tried to return to the course too quickly, which resulted in back problems. “I’ve played in two tournaments all year,” he said.

Cissom, on the other hand, has played in more local amateur tournaments in 2011 than ever, and it’s safe to say he emerged as the area’s best player. In winning the TPC, he also claimed the Adman Cup season-long points race. He also tied Matt Robertson for first in the Hamico Birdies for Dollars final standings, racking up 55 birdies in six tournaments.

You make that many birdies and you ought to win a time or two, and Cissom, who had never won an area amateur tournament, claimed three this season. He lost to Mitch Hufstetler in a playoff at Brainerd, and then won the North Georgia Invitational and the Cleveland Invitational.

“It’s been a great year,” said Cissom, who had never advanced past the second round of the TPC.

Things could get better still for Cissom, who recently switched to a belly putter—with great results.

“I’d been looking around for one for a year and a half,” Cissom said. “I bought it Tuesday, putted with it for an hour at Bear Trace on Wednesday and then played with it in the TPC [qualifier] Thursday [he tied Robertson for medalist honors with a 69]. I guess since I won this tournament, I’ll keep it in the bag.”

Cissom has one more tournament to close out his year, the Tennessee Mid-Amateur, which will be played at Cleveland, where he won in August. He’s looking forward to seeing what he can do with his new putter.

“I’d gotten so used to missing eight- to 10-footers,” Cissom said. “This week, every putt I hit was solid. I hope I can keep that going this week.”

Chattanooga TPC

Sunday’s Matches

Semifinals

No. 1 Brandon Cissom def. No. 12 Mitch Hufstetler, 5 and 4.

No. 3 Brendon Wilson def. No. 10 Chris Schmidt, 4 and 2.

Final

Cissom def. Wilson, 19 holes