Provow Caps Improbable Week With 2nd Tennessee Match Play Title

The moment was overwhelmingly surreal for Spencer Provow, something he could not have imagined three days ago.

After losing his opening contest in Tuesday’s pool play, Provow rallied to win his final six matches, while surviving a sudden death playoff to emerge from his pool, to capture the 25^th Tennessee Match Play Championship on Friday at Gallatin’s Tennessee Grasslands Golf & Country Club.

In doing so, the Murfreesboro native hearkened back to 2007 when he last won this event. He was 23 at the time and a recent graduate of Middle Tennessee State University, full of lofty expectations.

Now married and a father of three, the 40-year-old has a greater appreciation for what it means to once again earn a Tennessee Golf Association state championship. He beamed in near disbelief as he clutched the Jackson Cup, named in honor of Tim Jackson, who has amassed a record 27 TGA wins and who Provow defeated in the finals back in 2007.

On Friday Provow outlasted Jake Eickhoff, a 16-year-old prodigy from Arrington, by a score of 2 and 1 in the finals with a decisive birdie putt to clinch the win.

“After I lost that first match, I was eating lunch and was kind of like, ‘Well, my week's over. I need a lot of luck,’ Provow said. “I had some breaks in my in my direction just to be able to keep on playing and survive. It was like the stars aligned for me this week.”

The win was the fourth TGA title for Provow, having won the 2011 State Four-Ball and teaming with his father, Tom, to claim the 2001 Parent-Child Championship.

Provow’s victory comes after recently returning to competitive golf following a sabbatical of several years upon the birth of his three-year-old son, Charlie. It was his son’s fascination with golf and desire to learn the game at an early age that prompted Provow to play in a few tournaments.

“I wouldn't trade my decision for anything,” Provow said. “I've got an amazing wife and three amazing kids, and at the end of the day that's most important. Having some success on the golf course is just kind of icing on top of the cake, but it's not the cake.”

In the championship match which began on hole 10, Provow broke a deadlock to go 2 up by winning at the par-4 14^th with a birdie and on the par-5 15^th with a bogey. Eickhoff responded by capturing 16 with a birdie, but Provow again extended his lead to two with another birdie on 18.

Showing maturity beyond his age, Eickhoff again trimmed his deficit to one by winning with a par on 3. But Provow was undeterred, responding with a birdie on the next hole to double his advantage.

Determined not to go down without a fight, Eickhoff drew within one again with two holes remaining after a birdie on No. 7. But Provow closed the match and claimed the title by draining a five-foot birdie putt on No. 8 to win, 2 and 1.

“When I tell you my hands were a little shaky over that putt, that's an understatement,” Provow said. “I really hadn't had any nerves all week, but I had to take deep breaths because all of a sudden, I realized the magnitude of the putt. When I saw it go in, there was a major sigh of relief.”

Eickhoff and Provow both work with instructor Jude Lenahan at The Grove, and Provow was impressed with what he saw from his youthful playing partner.

“Jake’s wedge game is beyond anything I've ever personally seen by a wide margin,” Provow said. “He's only 16, so you give him a couple years to add 30 pounds of muscle and he’ll be hitting it 40 yards past me. He has the makings to be that next generation of great golfers from Tennessee in a few years’ time.

“I feel the same way today as I did when I was able win in 2007. I feel like the better person did not win. What lifelong Tennessee golfers don't look up to Tim Jackson, one of the greatest amateurs ever? I was fortunate to get the better of him, and the same is true with Jake today. I think he'll go on to do some really special things in this game.”

Playing alongside Eickhoff had Provow doing some numerical calculations in his head other than figuring out yardages as well.

“I was thinking about Charlie while I was out there playing,” Provow said. “I did the math and thought he’s around 13 years away from Jake’s age. He’s got some work to do to get there, but it gave me a vision of what could happen.”

Provow will return to Tennessee Grasslands in a couple of weeks for a qualifier for the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship, in which he last participated in 2011. He also competed in the 2004 U.S. Amateur at Winged Foot Golf Club, and was able to return to the iconic New York course last week for the first time in 20 years.

In their earlier semifinal match on Friday, Provow eliminated Ooltewah’s Keoni Vidrine, 2 and 1, while Eickhoff stopped Maryville’s Reece Britt from advancing to his second straight finals with a 2-up decision.

Provow took an early 2 up lead thru three holes only to have Vidrine square the match after No. 8. Provow regained the lead with a par on No. 9, then surged to a 3-up lead with a birdie at 13 and par at 14. Vidrine cut the margin to two after 16, but Provow closed the match after both players birdied 17.

Britt was able to draw first blood with a birdie on No. 5, but Eickhoff leveled their match with a par on the 9^th hole. The competitors were all-square until Eickhoff birdied No. 14, and he sealed his victory when Britt conceded the final hole after losing two balls in his comeback effort.

Provow’s Path to the Title

Pool Play

Lost to Trace Robinson (Jackson), 5 & 3

Defeated Ian Taggart (Harrogate), 3 &2

Defeated Ryan Greer (Knoxville), 2 up

Advanced from pool play by beating Robinson on second playoff hole

Round of 16

Defeated Jack Smith (Knoxville), 19 holes

Quarterfinals

Defeated Caleb Tipton (Elizabethton), 5 & 4

Semifinals

Defeated Keoni Vidrine (Ooltewah), 2 &1

Finals

Defeated Jake Eickhoff (Arrington), 2 & 1

Paul Payne can be emailed at paulpayne6249@gmail.com