Trio Of Local Golfers Hope To Extend Chattanooga’s Historic Connection With Southern Amateur

With the Southern Amateur Championship returning to The Honors Course this week, it will script the next chapter of the prestigious tournament’s historical connections to Chattanooga.

It will also provide an opportunity for three participants with local ties a chance to become the first champion from Chattanooga in 60 years as the 117^th edition is staged from Wednesday through Saturday.

The Southern Golf Association, one of the oldest golf organizations in America, has promoted golf through one of America’s great amateur tournaments. It all began with an organizational meeting in a Chattanooga hotel, the Stanton House, early in 1902, followed by an afternoon round of golf at Chattanooga Golf and Country Club.

The inaugural Southern Amateur was held a few months later at Nashville Golf & Country Club, during which John T. Lupton – the grandfather of The Honors Course patriarch Jack Lupton – was the tournament’s third low qualifier and advanced to the championship match play semifinals. Lupton also made it to the semifinals in 1905 at Savannah Golf Club before losing to the eventual champion.

Albert W. Gaines became the first of three Chattanoogans to claim a Southern Amateur championship, winning the 1903 tournament in a playoff at Swanannoa Golf Club in Asheville, North Carolina. Gaines also served as the Southern Golf Association’s first president in 1902-03.

Signal Mountain’s Ed Brantly claimed the 1957 title at LaGorce Country Club in Miami Beach, Florida. Brantly was attending Memphis State and competing in his fourth Southern Amateur when he dethroned defending champion Arnold Blum, 3 & 2. Brantly would go on to win three Tennessee State Amateur trophies and a trio of Tennessee State Senior Amateur titles before being inducted into the Tennessee Golf Hall of Fame in 2002.

Six years later in 1963 at Coosa Country Club in Rome, Georgia, another Signal Mountain golfer won the Southern Amateur championship when 17-year-old Mike Malarkey became the second-youngest winner of the event. The only younger champion was the legendary Bobby Jones, who was 15 when he won the first of his three Southerns in 1917. Malarkey, a three-time Tennessee high school champion at Chattanooga City High, defeated 1962 Southeastern Conference champion David Boyd, 4 & 3 in the final year of match play competition. Malarkey would later serve as the University of Tennessee men’s golf coach for 22 seasons.

“I was playing really well, but that was about two levels above what I had ever played in so I just went down there for the experience,” Malarkey said. “It’s the biggest tournament I ever won, and it had a huge impact on my career. It’s hard for me to believe that it’s been 60 years ago.”

Up by six with six holes to play in the 36-hole final, Malarkey recalls struggling down the stretch to close out his match.

“I was having trouble focusing and I remember having the song “500 Miles” by Peter, Paul and Mary stuck in my head as I was walking down the fairway,” Malarkey said. “I lost the next two holes, but was able to tie the next one to win. Every time I would hear that song in the future it would remind me of that special moment.”

One other champion with Chattanooga connections was Baylor School product Harris English. English posted a final round 65 to win the 2011 championship at Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor, Florida by three shots after completing his collegiate career at the University of Georgia.

Two other local golfers have earned Southern Amateur runner-up finishes. In the 1920 tournament hosted at Chattanooga Golf & Country Club, Ewing Watkins lost 10 & 9 to Bobby Jones in the 36-hole match play final. Jones was only 18 having completed his second year at Georgia Tech, eventually becoming one of the sport’s iconic figures. Andrew Black, a former East Ridge and Tennessee golfer, finished four strokes back to place second in 2002 at Atlanta’s East Lake Golf Club.

This will be the fourth time The Honors Course has hosted the Southern Amateur (1986, 2004, 2014), equaling Chattanooga Golf & Country Club (1912, 1920, 1931, 1940). The Farm Golf Club in Dalton was the site of the 1993 competition.

This year’s field will be among the strongest ever, featuring seven of the top ten leaders in the World Amateur Golf Rankings. Among the participants are current University of Tennessee at Chattanooga golfer Paul Conroy along with a pair of former Mocs – Brendon Wilson and Andrew Weathers.

Conroy is a senior at UTC, earning All-Southern Conference honors in spearheading the Mocs’ advancement to the NCAA Tournament. A native of Enniscorthy, Ireland, Conroy has been honing his game this summer competing in the St. Andrew’s Links, the British Amateur and the European Amateur.

“My game has been good this summer even though I’ve not gotten the results I wanted,” Conroy said. “I’m still doing all the right things, making good decisions on the golf course. If the putter clicks, I should be good this week.”

Conroy has familiarity with The Honors Course through his connection with the UTC program. But he knows this week will be different.

“Anytime you go to The Honors, there’s a different kind of feel when you drive through the gate than any other golf course,” Conroy said. “I’m excited to see how it’s set up. There’s not a whole lot at The Honors I haven’t seen, with the exception of a couple of pin placements. I feel like I should be able to play well. I just want to play my game and what happens.”

Wilson has enjoyed a run of success that has his confidence at a high level entering his first Southern Amateur. After winning the Tennessee Mid-Amateur Championship last September, Wilson backed that up by claiming the prestigious Gasparilla Invitational in Tampa, Florida in February with a final round 64.

Wilson was a member of the UTC golf team in 1998-99 before embarking on a professional career in the Golden Bear Tour in south Florida. He won his fifth start at PGA National, finishing 21^st on the tour money list. But after losing his sponsor following the season, Wilson surrendered his professional dreams and remained in Chattanooga where he’s become a successful business owner.

“It was brutal to walk away from the game because it was all I had known,” Wilson said. “I decided to move on with my life, and now I’m enjoying playing again like never before.”

Wilson plays locally at The Honors Course and Council Fire, and is hopeful his course knowledge will pay dividends.

“I wouldn’t say I have an advantage, but there’s not a lot I haven’t seen,” Wilson said. “It will be longer than what I normally play, but I’m comfortable there. I want it to be as hard as it can be. They do such a phenomenal job. It will be fair, but it will be set up to challenge everyone. You’ve got to play every shot at The Honors.”

Wilson is hoping his recent string of victories will parlay into a successful week at The Southern Amateur.

“If I finish in the top 10, I’m going to be happy and disappointed,” Wilson said. “I feel like I can win. I’m playing well, and if I can stay patient and not worry about what other people are doing, I’ll do well. But things can head south in a hurry at The Honors if you lose focus. It would be amazing to win this thing and represent Chattanooga.”

After completing a solid career at McCallie School, Weathers won SoCon Freshman of the Year during his four seasons at UTC which concluded in 2018. He signed up for the Southern Amateur qualifier at Black Creek Club despite having played little golf the past two years.

“I figured I’d give it a shot because I always played Black Creek well,” Weathers said. “I didn’t have any expectations, but I made some birdies and shot 67 to earn a spot. I’ve played The Honors plenty of times and am looking forward to it. Plus, I’ll have one of my old teammates caddying for me so it will be a great experience no matter how I play.”

Paul Payne can be emailed at paulpayne6249@gmail.com

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