Turnbow wins Lupton Memorial on strength of opening 66

On the strength of an opening 66, Whit Turnbow won the championship division of the Lupton Memorial. Turnbow, the president of the Tennessee Golf Foundation, finished the week at the Honors Course in Ooltewah, Tenn., with an even-par 216 total.

A year ago, Turnbow, from Murfreesboro, Tenn., finished T-15 in this event. This year, the opening round of 6-under – which included five birdies, an eagle and a lone bogey – was enough to set him on the path to victory. Subsequent rounds of 72-78 left him atop the leaderboard. Four shots separated Turnbow from runner-up Craig Smith.

Smith opened with 4-under 68 to immediately fall in behind Turnbow. He followed with rounds of 74-78 for a 4-over total. Ryan Green was third another shot back. Calrton Forrester finished fourth at 6 over.

In the senior division, which is a Stableford format, William Mitchell scored a total of 106 points for a one-shot win over Mike Hughett. Paul Simson, an accomplished senior amateur from North Carolina, was part of a three-way tie for third with 104 points and Buzz Fly, who last week won the Tennessee Senior Four-Ball, was part of a tie for sixth with 103 points.

Don Kuehn won the super senior division, also a Stableford, with 100 points.