Serving as a tune-up before next week’s TSSAA state championship, East Hamilton High School seniors Griffin Law and Tucker Wick showed they have enough game to compete with the big boys at Friday’s Chattanooga TPC.
Law and Wick both had convincing wins in the Regular Division Round of 16 on their home layout at Council Fire Club.
Law used his course knowledge to claim four straight winners including three birdies to grab a 5-up lead after 11 before eliminating fellow Council Fire member Rusty Johnson, 5 and 3.
Wick won the first two holes with birdies against Seth Brandon, eventually growing his lead to 6-up thru eight holes to cruise to a 6 and 5 victory.
Chris Wells, last year’s runner-up, made a convincing statement he’s ready to claim the top prize this time around. Wells jumped out to an early lead over Dustin Gill to seize a 5-up lead after eight holes, closing out his match with a par on 14 to win by a 5 and 4 count.
There will be a new champion crowned as defending title holder Andrew Weathers fell in his opening match in a showdown between Council Fire members. Brendon Wilson grabbed a lead by birdieing the 5th hole, and was 3-up thru 13 before Weathers mounted a charge.
Weathers won three of the next four holes to trim the margin to one before both golfers parred the final hole to give Wilson the 1-up win.
Other winners were No. 1 seed Keoni Vidrine, Steven Locke, Matt Crowder and Brandon Cissom.
Vidrine never trailed his match with Josh Baker, taking a 3-up lead after nine holes before sealing the 3 and 2 victory with a birdie on 17.
Locke overcame a 1-down deficit by winning the last two holes, capping his 1-up win over Phil Spitalny with a birdie on the final hole.
Crowder was 3-down after three holes against Mike Dunn before squaring the match at the turn. He then won four holes in a six-hole stretch on the back before sealing his 3 and 2 decision with a birdie on 16.
Cissom continued his stellar week after teaming with Locke to win the CDGA Four-Ball title on Tuesday with a 3 and 2 win over Mike Craig. Cissom was 2-up at the turn despite trailing after four holes, then sealed the match with a par on 16.
Saturday’s quarterfinals will pit Vidrine against Law, Locke will take on Wells, Wilson does battle with Crowder and Cissom squares off with Wick.
In the Senior Division quarterfinals, the top two seeds advanced to Saturday’s semifinals. No. 1 seed Jay Potter earned a 1-up victory over Neil Spitalny, while 2nd-seeded Joe Markham Jr. eliminated Bret Douglas, 6 and 5.
Others advancing included Jim Lett defending his home turf with a 5 and 4 win over Shonn Weldon, and Scott Patton moved on by taking down Bob Rice, 3 and 1.
Potter’s match with Spitalny was a classic, with neither golfer leading by more than 1-up all day. Finding himself 1-down after Spitalny birdied 14, Potter claimed the next two holes with a par and a birdie then halved the final two holes for the win.
Taking a 5-up lead after eight holes, Markham Jr. lost only one hole in his match to secure a comfortable margin before closing his match with a birdie on the par-5 13th.
Patton was deadly on Council Fire’s trio of par-3s on the back nine, winning with birdies at 12 and 17 and a par at 14 to set the pace in his quarterfinal match.
After trailing by 1-down after four holes, Lett went on a blistering run with six winners over the final eight holes to coast into the semifinals.
Potter will face Patton in one semifinal match, while Markham Jr. and Lett do battle in the other Saturday match.
Sunday will feature the Regular Division semifinals in the morning, while both championship matches will be staged later that afternoon.
Paul Payne can be emailed at paulpayne6249@gmail.com