The next event on the Tennessee Golf Association schedule begins Tuesday as the 2024 Tennessee Match Play Championship will make its first appearance at Gallatin’s Tennessee Grasslands Golf & Country Club. The 64-participant championship will be played on the 7116-yard, par-72 Fairvue course designed by Bill Bergin with a rating of 74.1 from the tips.
The unique format features the golfers assigned to 16 four-man pools to compete in three rounds of match play over Tuesday and Wednesday. The winner of each pool is based points earned for matches won, and will advance to Thursday morning’s Round of 16 followed by the quarterfinals that afternoon.
The semifinal and championship matches are slated for Friday.
The participants and their pool assignments are:
Pool 1: Cooper Hayes (Strawberry Plains) is defending champion after winning last year at the Links at Kahite; Michael Hake (Brentwood); Ben Blackburn (Franklin); Jonas Reynolds (Gallatin)
Pool 2: Matt Mitchell (Burns); Keoni Vidrine (Ooltewah); Hunter Stoneman (Crossville); Jeb Blackburn (Franklin)
Pool 3: Jeff Reuter (Humboldt) made it to the semifinals match of the match play championship in 2023. He’s looking to claim his second TGA title in addition to his 2022 Four-Ball Championship win with partner Aaron Ingalls; Brad Burling (Knoxville); Scotty Hudson (Nashville); Tripp Hall (Charleston)
Pool 4: Jacob Garland (Nashville) is a collegiate golfer for the Dayton Flyers, and won the 2021 and 2023 Parent-Child Championship playing with his father, Rob; Luke Beadles (Nolensville); Micah Stangebye (Brentwood); Antonio Farinella (Knoxville)
Pool 5: Ryan Greer (Knoxville) is a multi-time TGA champion who advanced to the round of 16 at the 2022 U.S. Mid-Amateur championship; Spencer Provow (Murfreesboro); Trace Robinson (Jackson); Ian Taggart (Harrogate)
Pool 6: Jack Smith (Knoxville) is a three-time TGA Champion, with his most recent win coming in 2021 at the Four-Ball championship with partner Ryan Greer; Jackson Bechtol (Nashville); J.G. Wilson (Bolivar); Andrew Weathers (Chattanooga) who recently won the Chattanooga Men’s Metro for the second time
Pool 7: Travis Womble (Nashville) was crowned champion of the 2021 Tennessee Match Play Championship at Colonial Country Club; Grant Clark (College Grove); Gavin Clements (Franklin); Wilson Borders (Nashville)
Pool 8: Nick Daugherty (Andersonville) was a quarterfinalist at the 2023 Match Play Championship; John Thomas McKenzie (Cleveland); Michael Wakefield (Lookout Mountain); Caleb Tipton (Elizabethton)
Pool 9: Taylor Mottern (Sewanee) fired a 9-under-par 207 to earn the top spot as champion of the 2023 TGA Mid-Amateur Championship. A graduate of Sewanee, he now serves as the Women’s Golf Coach at his alma mater; Colby Johnson (Kingston); Lucas Herring (Nashville); Bill Wellons (Franklin)
Pool 10: Tanner Davis (Knoxville) was a member of the Challenge Cup team in 2023 and won the Greater Knoxville Amateur earlier this season; Jaron Leasure (Nashville); Patton Samuels (Clarksville); Jake Eickhoff (Arrington)
Pool 11: Aaron Ingalls (Jackson)was the winner of the 2018 Tennessee State Amateur at Spring Creek Ranch and also won the 2022 Mid-Am Four-Ball with partner Jeff Reuter; Paul Banish (Brentwood); Coleman Jones (Franklin); Rosario Falzone (Nashville)
Pool 12: Grant Milling (Nashville) was a 2022 Tennessee Match Play semifinalist; Will Demersseman (Chattanooga); Trey Melvin (Hartsville); Lee Maxwell (Cookeville)
Pool 13: Reece Britt (Maryville) finished runner up at the 2023 Match Play Championship; Kaiser Godinez (Collierville); William Moser (Hermitage); Cody Skipper (Cleveland)
Pool 14: Jacob Wilson (College Grove) reached the quarterfinals of the Match Play championship in 2023; Parker Elkins (Clarksville); Darrin Wilson (Gallatin); Chris Barron (Hendersonville)
Pool 15: Steven Haremski (Knoxville); Ethan Rimmer (Knoxville); Winston Margaritis (Germantown); Alexander Broyles (Greeneville)
Pool 16: Lucas Armstrong (Church Hill) won his first TGA title in 2023 at the Mid-Amateur Four-Ball with partner Payne Denman. Armstrong was also crowned champion of the 10th Player’s Championship hosted by the Tennessee Section of the PGA; Josh Loveday (Englewood); Kevin Stallings (Brentwood); Elliot Macgregor (Jefferson City)
For live scoring go to Tennessee Match Play.