Courtesy of Tennessee Golf Association
It’s hard to determine what is more amazing about
Tyler Johnson’s record-setting performance at the Tennessee Men’s Amateur Golf Championship, which concluded play on Friday at Council Fire Golf Club in Chattanooga.
Is it that Johnson won the tournament by 14 strokes after turning in a 27-under par score of 261; or that he trailed by five strokes after the first round?
Two things can be equally true.
In one of the most dominating performances of the summer, the University of Tennessee redshirt senior carded rounds of 69-65-64-63 at Council Fire Golf Club, where he claimed the biggest win of his young career by 14 strokes over Vol teammate Russell Cade, who must be scratching his head a bit after carding a 13-under score of 275, only to finish second.
Matt Copeland and Jake Hall tied for third at 11-under 277.
The Tennessee Amateur had the makings of a track meet when Johnson opened with a 3-under 69 but found himself five strokes behind 2018 Tennessee Mid-Amateur champion Ryan Terry, who carded an 8-under round of 64.
Johnson was 5-under through 11 holes on his second round and pulled even with Terry at 8-under par. He was 10-under at the halfway point of the tournament and had a slim one stroke lead over Chase Roswall and Jake Hall.
Then Johnson hit the accelerator and he hit it hard.
He opened his third round with birdies on four of his first five holes en route to an 8-under 64, which left him at 18-under for the tournament, but just two strokes clear of Cameron Tankersley, who was keeping pace at 16-under after matching Johnson with his own 64.
Johnson got off to another fast start on Friday with birdies on four of his first five holes and after dropping in another birdie on No. 8, the Farragut, Tenn. native moved to 5-under on the day and was 11 strokes clear of his closest pursuer.
The back nine was a mere formality, but just for fun, Johnson birdied four of his last six holes coming home for a final round 63 and a 14-stroke victory.
Johnson made just two bogeys in four days at Council Fire Golf Club, which has treated him well this summer. In June, Johnson won the 54-hole Chattanooga Choo Choo Classic on the same course with a 10-under par score of 206.
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