Nucara grew up in Philadelphia, earning the nickname “Hawk” on the public basketball courts in his hardscrabble neighborhood.

“We played constantly outside on the blacktop,” Nucara said. “I was a relentless ball hawk on defense. Nobody could remember Demetrio, so they just kept calling me Hawk. It’s stuck ever since.”

Nucara was living in San Francisco during his early years on the PGA Tour while also working at San Francisco Golf Club for 14 seasons. However, with only eight Tour stops on the West Coast, he and his wife, Joanie, decided to give Chattanooga a try to cut down on his travel.

“I decided to come here temporarily and see what this place is about because I knew about six or seven caddies in this area,” Nucara said. “After my wife got sick, we decided to stay here full time. I quit the PGA tour and I came here (to The Honors Course).”

He has been a fixture at the revered club ever since, where he has gained a solid reputation among the membership as one of the top caddies around.

“He's out here every day, and he's requested all the time by our members, said Henrik Simonsen, Director of Golf at The Honors Course. “Hawk can read these greens in his sleep and adds tremendous value to his golfers.”

Nucara’s connection to Brown this week came through a fellow member at Atlanta Country Club – Brown’s home course – who also is a member at The Honors Course.

“I caddie regularly for John Ferguson, and I know Joe Inman at that club from my years with the PGA Tour,” Nucara said. “I told (Brown) right off the bat, ‘I don't use the shooter. I'll give you middle yardage and we’ll go from there.’ He said, ‘No problem.’ That's how we worked every shot. I'm the only caddy in the yard that doesn't use a laser. I walk every yard.”

While Nucara was providing the information, Brown still had to execute the shots. And he did so with uncanny precision, especially considering this was his first tournament since he tied for fourth in the Georgia Senior Amateur last fall.

“I’ll tell you what – he has the mentality of a professional,” Nucara said. “He had an amazing week. I’ve always told people you can’t hide talent, and he definitely has it.”

The conviction behind Nucara’s local knowledge enabled Brown to execute his gameplan flawlessly on the lightning-fast greens. Birdies on the first two holes and a par-saving putt on the par-3 3rd after finding the front bunker vaulted Brown to a 3-up lead before the dew had evaporated.

Two more birdies on 6 and 7 increased his advantage to 4-up, and the former University of Georgia golfer – where he was all-SEC twice – was able to keep his foot on the gas by halving the next five holes with pars.

“I can see how you would think that Hawk and I have worked together regularly,” Brown said. “I would not have played as well without some of his reads, but I would like to think I'm good enough to have won it without him. We’ll never know.”

Brown chased the dream as a professional golfer for years on the PGA, Canadian, Nike and Australian tours, even winning the Australian Tour’s Rookie of the Year in 1989. But after relinquishing the elusive pursuit of life as a tour professional, Brown became a partner in a wealth management firm.

Competing in his third U.S. Senior Amateur – having advanced to match play in both 2018 and 2023 – Brown had played The Honors Course “probably 8 to 10 times”. But the mastery he displayed over the course the past week did not come as a complete surprise.

“I’m certainly not shocked that I won,” Brown said. “You’ve got to win six matches, and that’s tough to do. But along the way, you can't think too much about winning. You just have to keep playing.”

The combination of Brown’s soft-spoken southern drawl combined with Nucara’s demonstrative Philly vibe created an unlikely pairing, but it worked to perfection.

“I would read and tell him what I was seeing, and most of the time I was where he was, which I think tells me I'm reading them pretty good,” Brown said. “But there were times when he was like, ‘No’. He wasn’t always right, but on some very important putts he adjusted me.”

Nucara’s insights helped bolster Brown’s ability to remain dialed in on executing shot after shot to perfection.

“We talked every day about not worrying about who we're playing,” Nucara said. “I told him, ‘You beat this golf course, and you'll beat all these guys. You stay in your process, do what you have to do once you’re on the golf course Doesn't matter what the other guy's doing.’”

Nucara became the third caddie from The Honors Course to be on the winning bag from the five USGA individual events the club has hosted. His name will go on the wall in the caddie shack, forever commemorating his incredible week.

It becomes further validation that he made the right decision to hang his bib up at The Honors Course more than two decades ago.

“I tell people all the time, I've worked everywhere but this is the best modern golf course I've ever been on,” Nucara said. “I worked on all those old courses in Philadelphia, all those old courses in California, all those courses on the tour. But this is a special place.”

Sullivan’s Surprise Visitor: Runner-up Sullivan was treated to a special surprise that helped console his disappointment in losing.

His wife, Lindsay Amstutz, hopped on a red-eye flight last night from Los Angeles to Atlanta, then rented a car to drive to The Honors Course in hopes of making his 8 a.m. tee time.

She arrived a couple of minutes late, catching up to the golfers on the 3rd hole but maintained a low profile so as to not distract her husband. Her strategy worked so well, that Sullivan never even knew his wife was present until the match ended on No. 15.

While being interviewed, Sullivan was asked if he had any family with him this week, to which he replied, “No, it’s just me.”

Amstutz, who had sidled up near her husband, said, “Yes you do. I’m here.”

A shocked Sullivan couldn’t believe his wife had successfully pulled this off, and it certainly made his disappointing flight back to Southern California more enjoyable. The couple will board another flight on Saturday, heading to Cabo San Lucas sans children for some much-needed reconnection.

Local Former USGA Champion Looking On: Blakesly Brock, the 2021 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Champion won at South Carolina’s Berkeley Hall Club, was in attendance throughout the week.

She was part of a quartet of former champions of USGA events greeting the golfers upon arrival last week, joining U.S. Amateur winners Steven Fox (2012) and David Gossett (1999) along with Charlie Rymer, 1985 U.S. Junior Amateur champion.

“Being back out here brings back a lot of good memories for when I won,” Brock said. “I think about all the adrenaline I felt during that match and how these guys must be feeling.”

Brock is still recovering from a medical procedure earlier in the year that will cause her to miss this year’s U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur. But she definitely has 2026 circled on her calendar when The Honors Course hosts that year’s U.S. Women’s Amateur.

Paul Payne can be emailed at paulpayne6249@gmail.com