Six Tennessee Golfers Competing This Week in U.S. Amateur

With storylines that are interwoven and career paths that overlap, six golfers from the state of Tennessee will compete in this week’s 124^th U.S. Amateur Championship staged at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn.

The grueling seven-day competition commences Monday with the first of two rounds of stroke play as the Volunteer State participants hope to repeat the magical week achieved by former University of Tennessee at Chattanooga golfer Steven Fox when he won this event in 2012.

Each of the participants have carved their own unique path into the field of 312 that represents 48 states and 37 countries, with only a few degrees of separation defining their connection to each other at the amateur level.

The six entrants and their ages are: Blades Brown, 17, from Nashville; Payne Denman, 32, from Murfreesboro but soon to be located in Knoxville; Jake Hall, 24, of Knoxville; Jackson Herrington, 18, from Dickson; Cameron Tankersley, 21, of Dickson and JJ Zimmer of Humboldt.

The connections between the golfers are uncanny and demonstrate the unique camaraderie they will enjoy when cheering each other on while at Hazeltine. Herrington and Tankersley played together at Dickson County High School, while Brown and Herrington teamed to finish runner-up in the 2024 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball earlier this year.

Denman was named this week as an assistant golf coach at the University of Tennessee, with Herrington as an incoming freshman and where Hall recently completed his career. Zimmer transferred to Middle Tennessee State University for his senior year, where Denman formerly served as an assistant. He and fellow Blue Raider Sheldon McKnight defeated Denman and former MTSU head coach and current Tennessee Golf Foundation President Whit Turnbow in the finals of the Tennessee Four-Ball championship two weeks ago.

A look at the six qualifiers and their path to the U.S. Amateur:

Blades Brown has already established himself as the next rising star not just in Tennessee golf, but nationally. He made the cut and finished tied for 26th in his PGA Tour debut at the Myrtle Beach Classic in May. Brown, a member of the U.S. National Junior Team, reached the finals of this year’s U.S. Amateur Four-Ball with Herrington as his partner. He won five times in 2023, including a 12-stroke victory at the Tennessee Junior Amateur and a win at The Elite Invitational. Brown reached the Round of 32 in the 2023 U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills Country Club after surpassing Bobby Jones as the youngest stroke-play co-medalist in the championship’s history. Last month, he earned medalist honors at the 2024 U.S. Junior Amateur. He was named the 2023 Tennessee Golf Association’s Player of the Year. He gained entry into this year’s U.S. Amateur by finishing runner-up at the Mid-Pines Inn and Golf Club qualifier in North Carolina.

Payne Denman became the first Tennessee State Amateur champion to benefit from the automatic exemption into the U.S. Amateur with his four-shot win at Tennessee National Golf Club. He competed in last year’s U.S. Amateur, and also was part of winning duos that captured both the 2023 State Four-Ball and the 2023 State Mid-Amateur Four-Ball titles. Denman also was part of the winning tandem at the 2014 State Four-Ball championship. After starting his collegiate career at the University of Florida, Denman finished his eligibility at MTSU playing for Turnbow and eventually became an assistant coach for the Blue Raiders the past two years. Earlier this week, he accepted a position on Tennessee’s staff where he’ll join Volunteer head coach Brennan Webb who was formerly in charge of MTSU’s program.

Jake Hall became the third straight UT golfer to win the Tennessee State Amateur last year when he shot a course-record 61 in the final round at Chattanooga Golf and Country Club to win by four shots. Hall gained an exemption by virtue being among the Top 100 points leaders in the World Amateur Golf Ranking as of June 26. He finished 9th in the recent Pacific Coast Amateur, preceded by three other Top 25 placements in other Elite Amateur Series events. Hall also placed 7th in the SEC Championship and was 4th in the Cabo Collegiate Invitational in March. Having completed his collegiate career, Hall is likely to turn professional following the U.S. Amateur.

Jackson Herrington has enjoyed a successful year prior to heading to Rocky Top for his collegiate career. In addition to becoming the first junior golfer to capture the Tennessee State Open last month, he also paired with Brown to finish second in the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball in Philadelphia, was runner-up in the Dustin Johnson World Junior and was third in the rain-shortened Tennessee Junior Amateur. A powerful left-hander with a deft touch, Herrington also finished 9^th at the Western Amateur Championship recently. He earned his spot in the U.S. Amateur by shooting 3-under at the Mid-Pines qualifier to finish in a tie for 7^th.

Cameron Tankersley shot 2-under to became one of four Ole Miss golfers to qualify for this year’s U.S. Amateur by claiming one of 13 spots awarded at Dallas qualifier played at Brook Hollow Golf Club in July. Entering his junior year with the Rebels, Tankersley has enjoyed six Top 10 finishes this year headlined by a runner-up placement at the Tennessee State Amateur. He also took 3rd in both the Northeast Amateur and the Mason Rudolph Championship, and was 6^th in the Mossy Oak Collegiate Championship as well as the Seminole Intercollegiate. Tankersley also managed to capture the 8^th spot at the NCAA West Regional.

JJ Zimmer started his collegiate golf career at Union University in Jackson, but will finish his eligibility at MTSU this season. He and teammate Sheldon McKnight won the Tennessee Four-Ball Championship two weeks ago at Bear Trace at Harrison Bay and he has been playing his best golf lately. Zimmer earned his invitation at the qualifier held in in Lake St. Louis, Mo. where he tied for 8^th by shooting 3-under 69 to earn one of a dozen berths.

The fact that Tankersley and Herrington both hail from Dickson has made the week ahead special for both golfers.

“It’s going to be really cool to have two guys who were teammates in high school competing at Hazeltine,” Tankersley said. “We’ve been keeping up with each other a little bit this summer and it’s been cool to see each other at tournaments. We never really talked about this but we knew we were both capable of competing on this stage one day.”

They had planned on getting in a couple of rounds together back home before departing for Minnesota, but Herrington had other duties to address.

“I actually just played with him earlier in the week and was going to play with him yesterday, but I had to go home and help shear hooves for sheep,” Herrington said in an interview on Thursday.

The lead up to the Amateur has been a blur for Denman after competing in the State Four-Ball finals two weeks ago then accepting his new gig with the Vols. But he feels his game is ready for the upcoming challenge.

“The last couple weeks have been an adjustment for sure,” Denman said. “I definitely didn’t get as much sleep as I normally would have. I’ve been trying to find that balance and you just have to figure it out as you go. It’s been stressful at times but I’m very excited to be here and to compete now.”

Zimmer spent the day Friday practicing at Hazeltine and was impressed with the settings surrounding the USGA event.

“After being at Hazeltine all day yesterday and practicing, it’s a totally different atmosphere than anything I’ve experienced,” Zimmer said. “I know I belong here and am excited to get things started. I’m definitely just super grateful to be here and have this opportunity.”

Herrington’s ability to overpower any golf course will need to be tempered by playing wisely to avoid trouble that lurks at Hazeltine. The 6-foot, 230-pound lefty is a start contrast physically to some of his other competitors, but he is confident is game is primed to succeed this week.

“Obviously you go into every tournament to win, no matter how big it is,” Herrington said. “If you don't want to win, you shouldn't be there. I've gotten to play against some of the best in the country this summer which I think has prepared me. I want to get as deep as I can in match play and if I get beat, I want to make sure I get beat and I don't give it away.”

Tankersley echoed Herrington’s approach as he competes in his first USGA event.

“A good week for me is a win,” Tankersley said. “I always have the mentality of coming into a tournament and winning it. I feel like if you come into a tournament thinking you’ll come in second or third, you don’t have the right mindset. I know I’m capable of winning this event so I just have to believe it.”

Both Zimmer and Denman have their sights on advancing past the first two days of stroke play qualifying to secure a spot among the top 64 who will progress to the match play bracket. But regardless of the final result, Denman is thrilled to again find himself in the U.S. Amateur field.

“I think making match play is what I would consider a successful week, but I’m just here to play the best I can and to just fully embrace the opportunity,” Denman said.

The 36-holes of stroke play qualifying take place Monday and Tuesday at the 7,599-yard par 72 Hazeltine as well as the neighboring 6,804 par 70 Chaska Town Course. The Round of 64 matches will occur on Wednesday, followed by the Round of 32 and Round of 16 matches on Thursday.

Friday will feature the Quarterfinal matches, while the Semifinals will be played on Saturday and the 36-hole championship match is staged on Sunday Aug. 18.

Paul Payne can be emailed at paulpayne6249@gmail.com