Jake Hall (Tennessee Golf Association)
Jake Hall of Knoxville came into the final round of the
108th Tennessee Amateur at Chattanooga Country Club two shots behind
John Houk of Athens.
He walked off No. 18 with a four-shot win.
Hall shot a course record, bogey-free 9-under 61 to finish the tournament 17-under and run away from the field. Houk finished in solo second place at 13-under.
"I felt the first couple of days, I put up good scores, but I didn't think I had my best stuff," Hall said. "My shorter wedges weren't feeling that tight, and I missed some 5-10 foot putts. I embraced my weaknesses today and faced that head-on, and was not afraid of any shots. I knew I had to go get it."
Hall shot rounds of 68-68-66-61 to win the championship.
The previous course record was 63, set by PGA Tour member Keith Mitchell.
"It is not too difficult of a course," Hall said. "The fairways are tight, and the rough is high, but you have a lot of wedges. I was just going to take every opportunity I could and be aggressive to the targets I picked out."
Hall started the final round 5-under through seven holes. A double-bogey on hole No. 4 for Houk gave Hall the outright lead.
And Hall never looked back.
"Some stuff went my way early to pick up the momentum," Hall said.
Hall, a rising senior at the University of Tennessee, finished with 22 birdies, an eagle, three bogeys, and two double-bogeys. Four of the last five Tennessee Amateurs have been won by a Volunteer.
"I felt like I had complete control of my ball," Hall said. "I hit bad shots this week and even today, but a big part of going out there and playing bogey-free is knowing where to miss and what my own tendencies are."
Hall holed out for an eagle on hole No. 11 in the third round with a gap wedge from 120 yards.
"I had a really good game plan for the course and was limiting bogeys as much as I could," Hall said about his 22 birdies to three bogeys for the week.
Evan Woosley-Reed of Shelbyville finished in solo third place at 9-under, Patton Samuels of Clarksville finished in solo fourth place at 7-under, and Micah Stangebye of Brentwood finished in solo fifth place at 5-under.
Samuels joined Hall as the only two golfers in the field to shoot all four rounds under par.
ABOUT THE Tennessee State Amateur
Applications are open to amateurs who possess an
active
USGA/GHIN Handicap Index of 8.0 or less from a
TGA member club or
course. An 18-hole stroke play qualifier is required
for
those who do not meet the exemption criteria.
Format
consists of 72 holes of stroke play with a cut to the
low
60 and ties after the second round.
View Complete Tournament Information