Sewanee’s Taylor Mottern Wins Tennessee Mid-Amateur For First TGA Title

Please forgive Taylor Mottern if he seemed a tad unsure after capturing the 36^th Tennessee Mid-Amateur Championship on Friday. After all, it had been since his days as a junior golfer in Atlanta that he had last stepped into the winner’s circle.

But the former University of the South golfer who now serves as the women’s golf coach at his alma mater might want to get accustomed to this new routine following his three-shot win at the challenging The Country Club, Inc. course in Morristown.

Entering the day with a one stroke lead, Mottern overcame some early nerves to record four birdies in his final nine holes, closing with a 68 to finish at 9-under 207. Winburne Hughes of Memphis and Knoxville’s Craig Reasor tied for second with scores of 6-under 210.

“I’ve never won a tournament of this magnitude,” Mottern said. “I never won a high school tournament, and I didn’t win one in college either. So, this is a little surreal. Knowing I could do it and actually doing it is a completely different feeling. I’m super happy right now.”

Mottern, 27, didn’t start playing competitive golf until his teen years, and winning his first Tennessee Golf Association title brings a sense of validation to his steady commitment to improve his game.

“The difference today was the mental maturity I’ve been able to develop, better understanding my golf swing and thinking my way through each round,” Mottern said. “I know that the 20-year-old version of me would have ended up in a different spot after running into trouble early in the round.”

After opening with a birdie, Mottern missed some makeable putts resulting in bogey on the next two holes to relinquish the lead to Nashville’s Grant Milling.

“For some reason I got nervous after the birdie on No. 1, and I missed some putts I had been making all week,” Mottern said. “I was able to put that behind me though and refocus my attention.”

After a front nine 36, Mottern opened with a pair of birdies on his homeward nine to regain the lead. Seeing his name back atop the leaderboard allowed him to relax down the stretch.

“I was feeling confident and I let my mind start to wander about winning,” Mottern said. “I allowed myself to dream about this becoming a reality and was relaxed over the final holes.”

Mottern added two more birdies on 15 and 16 to increase his margin, parring the final two holes to secure the victory.

“This means a lot to me and to our golf team,” Mottern said. “They’ve been texting me their support throughout the week, and I look forward to getting back to Sewanee and celebrating with them. They’re an awesome group of ladies and such nice people that I’m proud to coach.”

Mottern becomes the second straight Chattanooga area golfer to claim the championship, following Council Fire Golf Club member Brendon Wilson’s win last year.

“I would love for the Tennessee Valley to hold onto that trophy for a while,” Mottern said.

Milling was among a trio finishing tied for fourth at 2-under 214, joining four-time champion Todd Burgan of Powell and Nashville’s Tucker Jenkins.

Riceville’s Wes Farris, who competes at Cleveland Country Club, posted the day’s low round with a 66 to finish in a four-way tie for seventh at even par 216 along with Matthew Bowers of Jonesborough, Brad Burling of Knoxville and Talbott’s Lucas Tabor.

“It was a positive experience this week to finish well,” Farris said. “I’ve been working on my game, and it’s encouraging to know that I can still compete at a high level.”

First-round leader Bryce Ledford, who prepped at McCallie School and played collegiately at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, closed with rounds of 76 after opening with a 67 to finish in 18^th place at 3-over 219.

After competing on various professional tours for 13 years until 2020, golf is now on the back burner for Ledford as he devotes most of his time to his real estate and development career along with investing time into his son’s activities. While disappointed with his final result, he walked away encouraged with his week.

“My expectations weren’t there so I’m not beating myself up after these last two days,” Ledford said. “Nothing’s on the line like it was when I played for a paycheck every week, so it’s nice to play golf again purely for the enjoyment. I thought I could win after Wednesday, but I threw away some shots that led to some big numbers the past two days.”

Bear Trace at Harrison Bay’s Seth Brandon, who finished runner-up to Wilson last year, was among seven golfers tied for 11^th along with Signal Mountain Golf and Country Club member Kyle Wittler after posting a 2-over 218. Former McCallie and UTC golfer Andrew Weathers shot even par the final day to finish at 4-over, tied for 19^th.

Paul Payne can be emailed at paulpayne6249@gmail.com

1	Taylor Mottern	-9	70-69-68	207
T2	Winburne Hughes	-6	72-71-67	210
T2	Craig Reasor	-6	70-71-69	210
T4	Todd Burgan	-2	74-72-68	214
T4	Grant Milling	-2	70-72-72	214
T4	Tucker Jenkins	-2	70-72-72	214
T7	Wes Farris	E	73-77-66	216
T7	Matthew Bowers	E	72-71-73	216
T7	Brad Burling	E	70-73-73	216
T7	Lucas Tabor	E	73-70-73	216
T11	Eric Russell	+2	74-75-69	218
T11	Seth Brandon	+2	71-77-70	218
T11	Jake Headrick	+2	73-74-71	218
T11	Grant Bodie	+2	73-73-72	218
T11	Kyle Wittler	+2	73-73-72	218
T11	Cameron Fields	+2	76-71-71	218
T11	Lowery Thomas	+2	74-71-73	218
18	Bryce Ledford	+3	67-76-76	219
T19	Matt Mitchell	+4	74-76-70	220
T19	PJ Smith	+4	77-71-72	220
T19	Andrew Weathers	+4	72-76-72	220
T19	Ryan Greer	+4	76-71-73	220
T23	Justin White	+5	77-71-73	221
T23	Tanner Davis	+5	67-77-77	221
T23	Jack Smith	+5	70-74-77	221
T26	Mike Poe	+6	73-76-73	222
T26	Chase Roswall	+6	75-69-78	222
28	Garrett Marschke	+7	73-74-76	223
T29	Tim Richardson	+8	72-78-74	224
T29	Dane Rheinecker	+8	76-73-75	224
31	Whit Turnbow	+12	75-74-79	228
DQ	Stuart Smith		69-71-DQ	DQ