Tyler Johnson claims Chattanooga Choo Choo crown

To quote the Glenn Miller classic, “there's gonna be a certain party at the station” for Knoxville, Tenn.’s Tyler Johnson, as the rising senior at Tennessee put together rounds of 66-72-68—206 (-10) to claim the 2021 Chattanooga Choo Choo Invitational which concluded Wednesday Chattanooga’s Council Fire Golf Course.

Johnson began Wednesday’s final round at 6-under par, tied with Cincinnati junior Sam Jean(Greenwood, Ind.) in fifth place. The pair were two strokes behind second-round leader, recent Wofford graduate Ryan Marter (Columbia, S.C.) and former Middle Tennessee State golfer Spencer Provow (Murfreesboro, Tenn.).



Johnson quickly gained two strokes on the competition in his first four holes, with birdies on the par-5 second and fourth holes. A third birdie on the front side, on the par-5 ninth, gave Johnson a front nine 33 and pulled him even with Marter, who finished his first nine holes at 1-under-par.

Tyler Johnson (@Vol_Golf) has a birdie putt coming at the 7th and currently leads by 1 (-8). @TNAmateurGolf pic.twitter.com/TATpiPOb7X

— Jonathan Shuskey (@j_shuskey1) June 16, 2021

On the inward nine, Johnson made up for a bogey on the par-4 10th hole with an immediate birdie on the par-5 11th. The Volunteer senior added one more birdie on the 14th, finishing his final round with a four-under-par 68. Marter and Johnson, playing in the last two groups, were neck and neck most of the afternoon until a triple bogey on the par-3 16th hole derailed Marter, who will play golf at Appalachian State next season. Johnson’s final round score of 68 was the only score in the 60s during Wednesday’s final tournament round.

@Tcjjohnson Tyler Johnson is our 2021 Chattanooga Choo Choo Invitational Champion @Vol_Golf @GarrisonBrayden pic.twitter.com/dru5ZFvGW4

— ChooChooInvitational (@TNAmateurGolf) June 16, 2021

After starting the final round in a tie for second place at 7-under-par, Cincinnati senior Clay Amlung (Louisville, Ky.) and Rutgers Junior Luke Wells Springfield, Ohio.) finished in the same position on the leaderboard, carding matching 71s (-1) to finish two strokes behind Johnson. While their final scores were the same, the two golfers came to those scores in very different ways. Amlung’s final round scorecard featured six bogeys, six pars, five birdies, and one eagle, while wells had a more conventional three birdies, two bogeys and 13 pars.

Rounding out the top five on the leaderboard were Provow, who finished with a one-over-par 73 to finish in solo fourth place, followed by Jean, Marter and Trevecca Nazarene (NCAA DII) seniorBlain Turner (Mt. Juliet, Tenn.), who all finished in a tie for fifth place at 6-under par.