Before he began play in the Tennessee Amateur earlier this week, Steven Fox had a number in mind.

The number was 16, as in 16 under par for 72 holes at Chattanooga Country Club. That was his goal, the carrot on the end of a golf club that he would shoot for all week.

As it turned out, Fox didn’t come close to his number, but he didn’t need to. Making three birdies on the final nine holes to break open a logjam of five players that had a chance at victory, Fox shot 3-under-par 67 on Friday to win the championship with a 270 total, 10 under par.

Tim Jackson, the 54-year-old Tennessee Golf Hall of Fame member who won this tournament a year ago, acquitted himself well in defense of that title, finishing in a tie for second with fast-charging Keith Mitchell, the Chattanoogan and University of Georgia player who closed with rounds of 63-67. Both shot 275, 5-under for the week.

The victory takes Fox’s year full circle heading into next week’s U.S. Amateur at the historic Country Club in Brookline, Mass. Fox’s victory in the Amateur at Cherry Hills propelled him into a yearlong whirlwind of golf tournaments both amateur and professional. And though he didn’t make the cut in any of the nine PGA Tour events—and the first three major championships of the year—he played, the lessons he learned were invaluable.

“Their course management, the way those guys [on Tour] get around the course, it’s different than any amateur,” Fox said. “I’ve taken that and tried to learn from it. Especially knowing this golf course. I know where I can put it. I used that as an advantage this week.”

Fox got off to a sputtering start on Friday, and he admits he’s not a fan of Chattanooga’s front nine. For some reason, he doesn’t play well on the opening half.

Fox started the day at 7-under for the tournament, one shot ahead of former Henderson High School teammate Carson Jacobs, the Vanderbilt player who promptly birdied No. 1 to pull even. Jacobs took a one-shot lead when Fox bogeyed No. 2, and went ahead by two strokes when Fox made another bogey at No. 3.

“After the first three holes, it didn’t look promising,” Fox said.

But Fox didn’t panic. He made birdie at the par-3 5^th to get back to 6 under for the tournament and pull even with Jacobs, who made bogey.

Jacobs bumped up to minus-8 with an eagle at the par-5 7^th, a hole Fox also birdied to stay one back at 7 under. When Jacobs double-bogeyed the par-3 9^th to drop to 5 under, Fox reclaimed the lead, but now his closest pursuer was Jackson, who made a birdie and an eagle on the front nine to get to 6 under.

At the turn, Ryan Thornton and Grant Milner, the 36-hole leader, were also within striking distance of Fox, but as everyone else fired and fell back on the back nine, Fox went to work.

Jacobs bogeyed No. 10 after his approach, which was tracking the pin, bounced long and behind the green. And when Fox birdied the short par-4 11^th to get to 8 under, he had wrested control of the match.

Birdies on 16 and 17 place a dominant stamp on the championship for Fox, who saved par on the par-3 18^th, a hole he double-bogeyed on Thursday, with a great sand shot to tap-in range.

Fox now has three Tennessee Golf Association trophies in his collection, all won within the last five years. He won the Junior Amateur in 2008 and the Match Play championship in 2011.

Asked the key to winning his latest TGA title, Fox pointed to his consistency.

“My game is what you saw this week,” he said. “Two under, three under, two under, three under. I’ve learned that it’s a marathon, not a sprint. As long as you have that consistency, that’s what you need.”

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98th Tennessee State Amateur Leaderboard