Jim Sievers, who founded the season-ending junior tournament at The Honors Course that now bears his name
photo by Contributed
Jim Sievers was given a very short leash to make his case for the viability of a season-ending junior golf showcase at The Honors Course. Now, 40 years later, he has proven his point not only through the longevity of the event but also the countless lives impacted along the way.
Sievers was serving as president of the Chattanooga District Golf Association at the time, and had an epiphany while watching the Ryder Cup competition in 1983 just months after The Honors Course opened.
“Part of the duties of CDGA president is to help oversee junior golf in the area,” Sievers said. “I just thought we could develop a Ryder Cup-type situation for junior golf, keeping up with points from the various junior tournaments over the summer and let the top finishers in each boys and girls age group play an end of the year tournament.”
Sievers was an original member of The Honors Course, and he approached founder Jack Lupton in 1984 to gauge his interest in having the Ooltewah course host the inaugural event the following summer.
“I went to Jack and told him my idea, explaining to him that junior golf would explode in Chattanooga if he agreed to do this,” Sievers said. “There had never been an outside tournament played at The Honors yet, and I was asking him if he would allow the first tournament to be for juniors.
“He didn’t answer for a good while, and I was getting nervous. Finally, he said ‘We’ll try it for one year.’ It was called the Chattanooga Junior Classic, and this year we’ll celebrate the 40th anniversary since we started the tournament.”
However, there is one notable change that will take place at this year’s milestone event that will be held on Tuesday and Wednesday at The Honor Course. During the Greater Chattanooga Sports Hall of Fame ceremony in March where Sievers was given the Walt Lauter Lifetime Achievement Award, it was revealed that the tournament will forever be known as The Jim Sievers Junior Classic as a tribute to Sievers’ lifelong contributions to junior golf.
“That was pretty darn emotional,” Sievers said. “I started crying on stage, and I couldn't help it. I'm 84 years old, and for these things to happen just hits at a good time in my life. It made all the time and effort seem worthwhile.”
Sievers’ involvement with golf eventually expanded beyond the Chattanooga region, as he later served as vice president of the Tennessee Golf Association as well as representing the USGA leadership in the Southeast Region.
But the legacy created by the junior tournament that now bears his name is something that Sievers cherishes most. It also became an annual hallmark event once Lupton witnessed how things unfolded that first year.
“Two weeks before the first tournament, Jack Lupton called me and said, ‘I like what you're doing. I see it on television and in the newspaper, and I would like to pay for each of the juniors to have their own caddie for the two days.’ I was in shock, but I knew that would make it even better. And then the next year he called me and said he wanted to pay for the luncheon. All of a sudden, it became a very big deal.”
The boys who qualified for the tournament were required to wear a coat and tie to the luncheon, and the girls attended in dresses, a tradition that still continues. Each participant is furnished with a personalized locker, and their names are announced on the first tee.
In addition to hosting the tournament, Lupton continued to pay for the caddies and the luncheon until his death in 2010. His wife, Alice, maintained that commitment until she died in 2017, and the leadership of The Honors Course has chosen to carry on this tradition ever since.
Sievers moved to Fort Myers, Fla. 26 years ago, and WindStone Golf Club’s head professional Jeff Craig has served as the tour director for junior golf since then.
“I think it's what makes our tour so great,” Craig said. “To be able to say we've got The Honors at the end of the season as our championship, that's something nobody else can say. I think it really gets the kids motivated to participate. Once they qualify the first time, they always want to get back there. We hear about parents scheduling their vacations around our tournaments so that their kids can qualify for The Honors.”
With events being held this summer at Moccasin Bend, Nob North, Creeks Bend, WindStone and Lookout Mountain Club, the top four points leaders in three boys age groups and two girls divisions are invited. The festivities will open with the luncheon on Tuesday followed by match play semifinals in each age bracket, with Wednesday featuring the five championship matches.
Those who have qualified in the Girls 12-14 along with their seeding are Lyla Silecchia (1), Vallie Reeves (2), Harper Wakefield (3) and Riley Hiett (4). Entrants in the Girls 15-18 division are Alli Troxell (1), Meredith Gailey (2), Haley Talley (3) and Katie Tudor (4).
In the Boys 12-13 division, Andrew Granillo is the No. 1 seed followed by J.C. Ellis (2), Owen Morrow (3) and Fletcher Wakefield (4). The Boys 14-15 entrants are Mason Bankston (1), Jaxon Swafford (2), Henry Beasley (3) and Steven Guild (4). The Boys 16-18 age group is comprised of Nate Coffman (1), Hampton Starks (2), Dalton Franklin (3) and Carson McHarge (4).
Sievers reflected on the impact his fleeting idea from more than four decades ago has had on countless junior golfers, but on his life as well.
“I just loved working with the juniors in helping them develop their ability to learn the game and to play under pressure,” Sievers said. “You can never imagine how much golf can help you in your future life and how the lessons of life can be applied to golf. I received a letter last year from a young man who won his age group in 1985 thanking me for starting the tournament. He’s 54 years old now, and that helped me gain perspective on how thankful I am for having this opportunity.”
Tennessee Golfers Headed To Junior PGA Championships This Week
Five junior golfers from the Volunteer State will be competing this week in the 49th Boys and Girls Junior PGA Championships at Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex in West Lafayette, Ind.
Tennessee Junior PGA champion Brayden Bennett of Nashville will be joined by runner-up Ben Blackburn of Franklin. Also attending will be Andrew Sciortino of Brentwood who was chosen as an alternate, having advanced to match play in last week’s U.S. Junior Amateur before falling in his Round of 64 match.
Dickson’s 15-year-old Poppy Pewitt won the Tennessee Girls’ Junior PGA to punch her ticket, accompanied by runner-up Carlee Rogers of Hixson who is entering her senior year at Baylor School.
The 72-hole stroke play tournament that runs Tuesday through Friday will feature a first cut after 36 holes of the top 60 plus ties, followed by a second cut after 54 holes to top 30 plus ties with 156 girls and boys competing in their respective divisions.
Chattanooga Wins Team Title at Magnolia Amateur
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga won the team championship at last week’s Magnolia Amateur in Hattiesburg, Miss., with a score of 14-under-par, two shots clear of 2nd place finishers Houston and Sam Houston.
Led by the matching scores of 7-under 206 posted by junior Dalton Burts of Peachtree Corners, Ga. and junior Ward Harris of Birmingham, Ala., the Mocs’ duo tied for 9th overall among individuals.
Founded in 2012, the Magnolia Amateur has quickly become one of the premier summer events in amateur golf. The field features elite individuals and college duos competing in a team format. Past champions include standout amateurs from schools like LSU, Mississippi State, and Vanderbilt—many of whom have gone on to compete at the highest levels.
Vanderbilt incoming freshman Jon Ed Steed of Enterprise, Ala. capped off a stellar week at Hattiesburg Country Club with a final-round 65 to win by one shot with a 54-hole total of 14-under-par 199.
Paul Payne can be emailed at paulpayne6249@gmail.com
Paul Payne
photo by Contributed