Payne Denman ran away from the field to win the 2025 First Coast Amateur at The Deerwood Country Club in Jacksonville, Fla., finishing 18-under and winning by nine shots over the field.
The University of Tennessee assistant coach carded rounds of 63-69-66 to get to 18-under. His first-round 63 consisted of nine birdies and no bogeys.
"It was just one of those days where everything went right," Denman said about his 63 in the first round. "I played really well and made a good amount of putts from 10-15 feet, which is what you have to do."
Denman recorded 21 birdies, one bogey, and one double bogey in the tournament. The bogey and double bogey were both on hole No. 12, the bogey in the second round, and the double bogey in the final round. He lipped out a five-foot par putt in the second round, and then on the final day, his tee shot plugged in the bunker and was forced to take an unplayable.
"It helped me refocus in a way," Denman said about the double bogey.
Denman's 18-under was good for a 198 total. The only other time he broke 200 in a 54-hole tournament was an AJGA event on a par 71 when he shot a 199 total.
"Something I used to struggle with that I have improved upon over the years is just shooting as low as I can," Denman said. "Playing games within myself."
Denman added, "I am still going to keep the same aggressive mindset and try to execute everything the way I have been. Whenever you let your foot off the gas, you can let some shots slide, so in my head, I still had more to prove."
Ali Khan of Ball State and Fillppo Serra of North Florida finished T2 at 9-under. Andrew Riley of North Florida finished in solo fourth place at 8-under, and Pearce Lewin of Tennessee and Giuseppe Puebla of West Palm Beach, Fla., finished T5 and 7-under to round out the top five.
Denman won the 2024 Tennessee State Amateur Championship at Tennessee National Golf Club after firing an 18-under total. He became the first Tennessee State Amateur winner to receive an exemption into the U.S. Amateur for his state championship victory.
According to Tennessee Athletics, Denman spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach at MTSU. During the 2023-24 season, he helped guide Middle Tennessee to a team win at the Daniel Island Intercollegiate, aided in the development of his players individually, and ultimately saw five Blue Raiders earn All-CUSA awards.
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Middle Tennessee State assistant coach Payne Denman wins 2024 Tennessee State Amateur
Denman also made a quarterfinal run at the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball with partner Brett Patterson and most recently finished runner-up in the Tennessee State Amateur Four-Ball while playing alongside Whit Turnbow.
Denman played collegiately for MTSU from 2012-15 after transferring from Florida, making his mark on the program's record book. He finished with 26 rounds of par or better, tied for 15th in the career rankings.