Brian Templeton, left, of Peachtree City, Ga., and Steve Johnson of Rising Fawn were co-medalists to earn their way into the U.S. Senior Amateur
photo by Paul Payne
The stars seemed to be aligning perfectly for Steve Johnson and his quest to earn his way into the U.S. Senior Amateur.
With the USGA’s championship slated to be hosted by The Honors Course in late August and the 18-hole qualifier taking place on his home course at Lookout Mountain Club, it was an opportunity Johnson simply could not squander.
On the heels of capturing the Men’s Metro Senior championship held at LMC last weekend, Johnson took full advantage of his favorable scheduling on Tuesday. He shot 1-under par 69 to secure a berth into the U.S. Senior Amateur which will be staged on a course where he has a great deal of familiarity.
Joining Johnson as co-medalist at 1-under was Brian Templeton of Peachtree City, Ga., who posted his score early in the day and spent the rest of the afternoon in the clubhouse hoping it would stand.
Stuart Smith of Nashville snagged the final qualifying spot, defeating Lookout Mountain’s Zeb Patten on the second playoff hole. Both golfers posted rounds of 1-over 71 on the day, then had to endure a lengthy rain delay before commencing their sudden-death decider.
Patten earned the first alternate spot, while Brent Henley claimed the second alternate with a score of 2-over 72. Oddly enough, Henley tied his brother, Kip, with identical scores. But Kip ceded his shot in a playoff to his younger brother as he had to depart for the airport to spend time with his daughter before she returned to California.
“When they announced the qualifier would be here and Lookout was hosting the Metro the weekend before, I was like, ‘Really?’ Things just fell into place for me this year,” Johnson said.
Even more fortuitous for Johnson was the fact that The Honors Course was originally scheduled to host the event in 2021. However, due to COVID altering the USGA schedule and the golf course sustaining damage from tornadoes, The Honors’ host year was pushed back to 2024.
“I was not yet 55 when The Honors was originally supposed to host,” Johnson said. “When they moved it to ’24, it worked out perfectly for me. I thought ‘Well, that's awesome. Hopefully I can get in now.’ I played really well today besides a screw-up on 12 where I had a double-bogey.”
Johnson, who has previous USGA experience in one U.S. Amateur and six U.S. Mid-Amateur events, had birdies on 6, 8, 10 and 14 that were offset with his hiccup at 12 and a bogey on No.3.
While Johnson was able to benefit from his knowledge of the intricacies needed to succeed at LMC having played it for more than 20 years, Templeton found himself in a completely different position.
He had never laid eyes on the property until walking the layout late Monday afternoon, and Tuesday’s qualifier was his first circuit playing the historic course.
“I've always loved coming up to Chattanooga, but I didn’t even know this golf course existed,” Templeton said. “I've been up here probably a dozen times to go to Rock City, Ruby Falls and visiting the area.”
Templeton originally planned to attend the Atlanta qualifier, but a conflict at work forced him to seek an alternate site.
“I was sitting there looking at my options and decided I’d come to Lookout Mountain because it was the next closest one,” Templeton said.
Templeton stood at 1-over on his round before making birdies on 15 and 16. He drained a 30-footer from the valley on the front of the green on the par-4 15th, then recorded one of only four birdies on the difficult par-3 No. 16 by hitting his tee shot to three feet.
“I didn’t know if 1-under would be good enough, but I was very happy with the round I played,” Templeton said. “You never know while sitting around waiting for other scores to post. I had just told myself I’d be fine with whatever happened.”
Templeton, 57, will be competing in his first USGA event after missing out on previous U.S. Mid-Amateur qualifiers, once as an alternate.
“I’ve tried for many years, but this is the first one,” Templeton said. “I’m really looking forward to playing The Honors.”
Smith, who teamed with his childhood friend and former University of Tennessee teammate Jeff Walker to win the Tennessee Senior Four-Ball championship in May, will be making his third appearance in a USGA event. He participated in the 1985 U.S. Open and the 1990 U.S. Mid-Amateur.
He tallied four bogeys and three birdies to tie Patten, who birdied 13 and 14 during his round that to go along with a trio of bogeys.
Both players parred the No. 13 – the challenging par-3 “Redan” hole – to open their playoff, then Smith birdied the par-5 14th to seal his spot at The Honors.
Patten, who has competed in four PGA Tour events over the course of his career, is hopeful to gain entry as an alternate.
“I’ve been looking forward to this for two years when I heard the Senior Am would be at The Honors,” Patten said. “I’ve put in a lot of hard work to get there. I missed one putt I wish I could get back for par at No. 7, but the rest of my putting was solid.”
The Henley brothers seemed destined to both punch their ticket to The Honors Course for much of the afternoon. Kip completed 15 holes in 1-under, but a double-bogey on 16 and a bogey on the last hole left him at 2-over.
Meanwhile, Brent found himself in a similar position as his brother with a 1-under total thru 14. But a bogey at 15 and a double-bogey at 16, dropped him to 2-over and ultimately the second alternate position.
For complete results, go to US Senior Amateur qualifier.
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Paul Payne can be emailed at paulpayne6249@gmail.com