Jeff Reuter, left, and Aaron Ingalls win their second Tennessee Mid-Amateur Four-Ball title on Sunday at Spring Hill's Towhee Club
photo by Tennessee Golf Association
Winning a golf tournament always brings about a sense of accomplishment. But Sunday’s victory at the 4th Tennessee Mid-Amateur Four-Ball Championship was even sweeter this time around for Jeff Reuter and Aaron Ingalls.
The Jackson Country Club duo managed to repeat their title after winning this tournament two years ago, shooting a 5-under 65 in the final round to close with a four-shot victory at 16-under 124. It was particularly satisfying given the fact of what transpired when the event was originally scheduled in early May.
After opening with a solid 10-under 60 in the first stop on the Tennessee Golf Association schedule, torrential rains at Spring Hill’s Towhee Club washed away the remainder of the tournament, forcing a four-month postponement until this weekend.
“There was only one team that was ticked off that day, and it was us,” said Ingalls, 38, a Gardendale, Ala. native who now lives in Jackson after playing football at Lambuth University.
But the delay in revisiting a golf course where they had enjoyed some success brought about a level of confidence for Humboldt resident Reuter in his return to Towhee.
“It makes it a little sweeter to win it after what happened in May,” said Reuter, 43, a native of Milwaukee who migrated to Tennessee to play golf at Union University. “After shooting 60 that first round, we had some good vibes heading into this tournament.”
After carding a blistering 11-under 59 in their opening round, Reuter and Ingalls entered Sunday’s play with a three-shot lead over playing partners Matt Mitchell of Burns and Ben Fisher of Germantown. While unable to replicate Saturday’s magical performance, Reuter and Ingalls saw their lead shrink to two shots for only a few moments.
“Matt (Mitchell) holed out from the fairway on 9 from about 60 yards for eagle, but Jeff made a clutch 12-footer for birdie right after that to keep a three-shot lead,” Ingalls said. “We felt like we could maintain that down the stretch and sort of treated it like match play the rest of the way.”
Both golfers birdied 16, and another birdie by Ingalls at 17 increased their cushion to four with only one hole remaining.
Mitchell and Fisher posted a 4-under 66 on Sunday, resulting in a final tally of 12-under 128 to tie for second. Equaling their finish at 12-under 128 were Todd Burgan of Powell and Nashville’s Travis Womble after they managed to birdie three of their final four holes.
Nashville’s Jake Fait and Scotty Hudson placed fourth with a two-day total of 9-under 131 after shooting a final round 66.
A strong finish by Nashville’s Trip Bare and Joe Montileone of Nolensville enabled the duo to move into a tie for fifth at 8-under 132. Led by seven birdies from Bare, they posted the day’s best score with a 10-under 60. Also finishing fifth were Cookeville’s Wes Korth and Lee Maxwell.
The bond between Reuter and Ingalls proved to be a winning formula thanks to their long-time friendship.
“We know each other’s games really well, and we’re not afraid to get after each other if we have to,” Reuter said. “We got along pretty well this weekend. The only disagreement came when we argued about what time we needed to get to the golf course.”
With this week’s Tennessee Mid-Amateur scheduled to start on Wednesday at their home course in Jackson where they are both competing, the win at Towhee served as a nice springboard for Ingalls. The 2018 Tennessee Amateur champion had not been pleased with his level of play of late.
“We have two kids that take up a lot of my time, so golf isn’t as big a priority as it used to be,” Ingalls said. “I hadn’t played great this summer, but I knew Jeff had been playing good all year so it freed me up this weekend to play well.”
After the conclusion of the State Mid-Amateur, Ingalls will head to Virginia for the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship scheduled for Sept. 21-26 at Kinloch Golf Club. It will be his third USGA event, having competed in the 2021 U.S. Mid-Amateur and teaming with Reuter at the 2022 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball where they earned a spot in match play via a playoff only to lose their opening match.
Reuter is hopeful to receive some good news that he will also be invited to the U.S. Mid-Amateur after he earned the first alternate position at the qualifier at Tennessee Grasslands three weeks ago.
For complete results, go to State Mid-Am Four-Ball results
Paul Payne can be emailed at paulpayne6249@gmail.com