Local golfers helped lead Team East to the Tennessee Junior Cup on Sunday, Pictured, from left, are Tucker Wick, Thad Whitfield and Griffin Law.
photo by Contributed
Tucker Wick secured a critical half-point that ultimately meant the difference as the East squad captured the Tennessee Junior Cup on Sunday, 14.5 to 13.5.
The event at Nashville’s Hillwood Country Club patterned after the Ryder Cup competition featured 14 singles matches as the teams entered the day deadlocked at 7-7.
The East Hamilton High School junior was the tenth pairing taking on Jackson Whaley of Collierville, as the West squad won the first three points on the day.
Wick was 2-up after four holes before consecutive birdies from Whaley evened the match. Wick again gained a 1-up advantage after 7, only go down by one through No. 13 as Whaley posted birdies at 12 and 13.
Pars at 14 and 16 gave Wick a lead of 1-up heading into the final hole, but a short approach shot led to bogey while Whaley posted a par to leave the match all-squared.
“It was a great match, but I left several shots on the course,” Wick said. “I feel very confident with my game after getting hurt a few weeks ago, and the pressure I felt on the last few holes with everyone watching was awesome. It’s what you live for. I felt very comfortable under pressure, which should help me prepare for the upcoming high school tournaments.”
Wick’s East Hamilton teammate, Griffin Law, was first off against Brentwood Academy’s Blades Brown. Only a sophomore, Brown is currently listed fourth in the Rolex American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) rankings. Brown is also two-time defending champion in the TSSAA Division II-AA tournament, winner of this year’s Tennessee Junior Amateur Championship by a mind-blowing 12 shots, and tied for low medalist – the youngest in the event’s 123-year history as a 16-year-old - at the U.S. Amateur Championship before losing in the second round of match play.
In other words, Brown is pretty good. He was 3-up on Law after four holes with a pair of birdies, and Law birdied No. 9 to keep the deficit at three headed to the back nine. Brown then eagled the par 4 10th to increase his lead to four before eventually winning 5 & 4.
“I had a really fun time playing with Blades,” Law said. “I’ve known him for a while and he is one of the nicest kids that I know. I didn’t play how I wanted on the front but the birdie on 9 gained me some confidence, but it was too late.”
McCallie School senior Thad Whitfield overcame an early 2-down deficit to go 1-up through 10 holes in his contest with Kaiser Godinez of Collierville in the day’s second match. But Godinez won the next three holes to lead to a 3 & 2 victory.
“It was really fun,” Whitfield said of the weekend of competition. “I’m glad I was able to play with Tucker on Saturday and we were able to go out on a win in my last Junior Cup.”
The opportunity to compete with Wick and Whitfield in the event hosted by PGA Tour professional Scott Stallings was meaningful for Law.
“It feels great to get the team win,” Law said. “We all enjoy each other and it was a fun week. It was really made special to win it with a few of my closest friends.”
Paul Payne can be emailed at paulpayne6249@gmail.com