Whit Turnbow, left, and Payne Denman are first round co-leaders at the Tennessee Four-Ball Championship
photo by Tennessee Golf Association
Former UTC golfer John Houk is part of the co-leading team after the first round
photo by Tennessee Golf Association
Josh Loveday follows his shot at the Tennessee Four-Ball Championship
photo by Tennessee Golf Association
East Hamilton's Tucker Wick, along with teammate Griffin Law, is tied for third at Tennessee Four-Ball
photo by Tennessee Golf Association
During his days as a collegiate golfer at Middle Tennessee State University, Payne Denman competed under the watchful eye of his coach, Whit Turnbow. Now a decade later, the coach has become the student, witnessing Denman accomplishing lofty deeds on the golf course.
With Denman and Turnbow entering the 54th Tennessee Four-Ball Championship hosted by Bear Trace at Harrison Bay as defending champions, they made it clear on Tuesday their intentions to not relinquish their title. The tandem from Murfreesboro navigated through the rainy conditions to post an opening round of 11-under par 61, owning a share of the lead with John Houk and Josh Loveday.
Denman, now the assistant men’s golf coach at MTSU, was able to record eight birdies on his round including six on his final nine holes. He is headed to Minnesota next month for the U.S. Amateur Championship at Hazeltine National Golf Club by virtue of winning the Tennessee State Amateur earlier this summer.
Turnbow, now the president of the Tennessee Golf Foundation, managed four birdies of his own including the opening two holes to jumpstart their round.
Equaling the round of Denham and Turnbow was a pair of McMinn County golfers who were once teammates at Tennessee Wesleyan University. Loveday is entering his senior year with the Bulldogs, while Houk transferred to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga where he was instrumental in the resurgence of the Mocs program the past two years.
Houk accounted for eight birdies on his round – including five in a seven-hole stretch on the back nine – while Loveday posted six birdies of his own in producing their score of 11-under 61.
Lurking one shot behind the leaders are a pair of rising seniors at Chattanooga’s East Hamilton High School. Tucker Wick recorded seven birdies and an eagle on No. 2 as he and teammate Griffin Law finished with a round of 10-under 62 to sit alone in third place.
Three teams are tied for fourth place at 9-under 63. Nashville’s Tucker Jenkins and Franklin’s Bill Wellons shot 7-under on their final nine to seal their 63, while Hartsville’s Sidney Melvin and Ringgold, Ga. resident Bennett McNabb covered their opening nine in 30 strokes. The Nashville duo of Chris and John Tyminski each posted six birdies on their way to their round of 9-under.
The tightly-bunched leaderboard has five teams at 8-under 64, while a dozen pairings finished four shots off the lead at 7-under 65.
The field will be cut to the top 16 teams following Wednesday’s stroke play round. The match play Round of 16 and quarterfinals will be on Thursday, followed by the semifinals and championship match on Friday.
For complete results, go to State Four-Ball Results.
-----
Paul Payne can be emailed at paulpayne6249@gmail.com