Payne Denman hoists the Martin Condon Trophy after winning his second straight Tennessee State Amateur on Friday
photo by Tennessee Golf Association
Entering Friday’s final round of the 110th Tennessee State Amateur Championship, it would be easy to look back at Payne Denman’s third round collapse as the reason he fell short in his defense of last year’s title.
His five-shot lead after 36 holes had vanished, and Denman was now staring at a three-stroke deficit while trying to regroup following Thursday’s challenging round at Holston Hills Country Club.
But instead of Thursday’s disappointing 76 costing Denman the tournament, it served as fuel to write a different narrative on Friday. It provided an opportunity to prove to all doubters – as well as himself – that his third round was merely a needed test to learn about himself and dealing with adversity.
The Knoxville resident used that motivation on Friday to stage a remarkable comeback for the ages. Trailing by two shots with five holes remaining, Denman recorded four birdies over that final stretch including an 18-inch putt for birdie to seal the championship on the final hole, compiling a four-day total of 13-under 271 to win by one shot over Clarksville’s Patton Samuels.
In doing so, Denman became the first back-to-back champion in this event since George Creagh accomplished the feat in 1976-77. Only six golfers have repeated as champions, led by the four straight won by Cary Middlecoff from 1940-43. Polly Boyd captured three in a row from 1920-22, while Lew Oehmig and Emmett Spicer Jr. both won two straight on two separate occasions.
“This one's a lot sweeter,” Denman said when asked to compare his State Amateur wins. “I can't lie - after going through the struggle of yesterday and starting off as poorly as I did today, I never had to deal with that last year. I felt in my mind I choked away the tournament. But I was able to get back into it, just trying to hit good shots while still believing that it can turn around, and it happened. At the end of the day, that's what makes it so much sweeter.”
The win now gives Denman five Tennessee Golf Association titles to his name, with his pair of State Amateur wins joined by two Tennessee Four-Ball victories in 2014 and 2023 and a Tennessee Mid-Amateur Four-Ball trophy in 2023.
Samuels clung to a one-shot lead approaching No. 18 thanks to matching Denman’s birdies at 15 and 16 and both golfers parred 17. The challenging 541-yard par-5 closing hole at Holston Hills would ultimately serve as the final backdrop for Denman’s miraculous comeback.
Samuels’ tee shot on 18 clipped a tree, and his second shot found the thick native grass left of the green. With Denman in the fairway after his drive left him 200 yards out, he began to grasp the opportunity before him.
“All of a sudden it hit me that I had a chance,” Denman said. “I had been down all day, and had never seen a glimmer of hope. This was the only time where I felt like this is not out of the question, that there was maybe some light at the end of the tunnel.”
Denman’s approach shot settled just short of the green precariously close to rolling back down the false front, and he chipped to close range for his birdie. Meanwhile, Samuels misfired on a 20-footer to save par which would have forced a playoff.
The outcome was ultimately decided by Denman’s expertise in navigating the final five holes in 4-under-par, a stark contrast to the previous day when he played those same holes in 5-over. Birdies at 14, 15 and 16 brought him within one of Samuels, and the two-shot swing on the final hole earned Denman a spot in the record books.
Entering the day tied with Samuels three shots behind Ethan Whitaker, bogeys on two of his first three holes dropped Denman four off the lead. But birdies at 4 and 7 coupled with draining a 30-foot putt for eagle at the 574-yard par-5 5th suddenly squared him with Samuels and one behind Whitaker.
“That’s just one of those you're not going to make very often,” Denman said. “Once that went in, I knew I was still in it even though I did not feel like I had my best stuff. But momentum putts like that get you back on track.”
Whitaker, a Powell resident who is entering his sophomore season at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, managed to birdie No. 8 to increase his advantage to two over his playing partners at the turn. However, four bogeys over his first five holes on the back nine opened the door for Samuels and Denman, and there was a three-way tie at 10-under through 11 holes.
Samuels, who was named ASUN Golfer of the Year last spring and is entering his senior year at Austin Peay after previously competing at Ole Miss, seized the outright lead with a birdie at 12. A bogey by Denman at 12 coupled with Whitaker’s bogey woes gave Samuels a two-shot cushion headed to No. 14.
But that’s where the 34-year-old Denman dug deep and refused to lose. Samuels held his ground in the shootout over the final holes, maintaining the advantage until his untimely bogey on the last hole that was magnified by Denman’s birdie.
“To be honest with you, I think I learned a lot about myself this week,” Denman said. “I think that I paid way too much attention to social media and everything. I think that I was a little too consumed with it, and it emotionally kind of wore me down a little bit. Golf is a game of fighting demons, and I was in a very bad place mentally after the third round that makes today even sweeter.”
Denman was also accompanied by a long-time golfing pal from Murfreesboro, Chris Lanning, who served as his caddie. It was the only round where Denman used a caddie, and Lanning’s presence was instrumental in helping sort through his thoughts on the golf course.
“Yesterday I felt like I really struggled mentally and I never could make a decision,” Denman said. “I think having a buddy there to be able to talk things out was helpful. He made a bunch of good calls today where I was nervous and not thinking straight and you just need to hear some validation.”
Denman, who is entering his second season as an assistant golf coach at Tennessee after previously serving at MTSU, posted a 66 on Friday, including 32 over his final nine holes.
Samuels closed with a final round of 67 for a final score of 12-under 272. His runner-up finish was the third straight top 10 in this event after a 6th place tie last year and solo 4th in 2023.
Whitaker completed his round with a 73, resulting in a 3rd place tie at 9-under 275 with Nashville’s Toby Wilt, who recorded back-to-back rounds of 67 highlighted by an eagle on his final hole.
Chattanooga’s Griffin Law, Bennett McNabb of Ringgold, Ga. and Lucas Armstrong of Church Hill tied for 5th at 7-under 277. Those finishing in 8th place at 4-under 280 included Brentwood’s Michael Shivers and Ryan Terry along with Nick Daugherty of Andersonville.
For complete results, go to Tennessee State Amateur.
Paul Payne can be emailed at paulpayne6249@gmail.com