Knoxville's Jack Smith is seeking his third title at this week's Tennessee Four-Ball Championship
photo by Tennessee Golf Association
The 55th Tennessee Four-Ball Championship will be held this week at The Country Club, making its fourth appearance at the Morristown layout.
Thirty-six teams will be competing in 18 holes of stroke play qualifying on Monday and Tuesday, with 16 advancing into match play the final two days. Wednesday will feature the Round of 16 and Quarterfinals, while the Semifinals and Championship Match will take place on Thursday.
Last year’s final consisted of a showdown of teams with MTSU connections. Blue Raider golfers J.J. Zimmer and Sheldon McKnight defeated former MTSU golf coaches Whit Turnbow and Payne Denman to win the title by a 3 & 2 score.
Past champions competing in this year’s field include the father-son pairing of Clay and Jack Uselton of Tullahoma. Clay picked up a pair of wins in 1999 and 2003 with teammate James McCord, while Jack won in 2019 with Will Brooks.
Also competing is two-time champion Jack Smith of Knoxville, who joined Ryan Greer to win titles in 2016 and 2021. Smith will be paired with Chas Narramore this week.
U.S. Mid-Amateur Qualifiers on Monday
Qualifiers for both the U.S. Mid-Amateur and U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur will take place on Monday at Chickasaw Country Club in Memphis.
Three qualifying places and two alternate positions will be awarded among the 73 slated to compete in the men’s event with hopes of advancing to the U.S. Mid-Amateur on Sept. 13-18 at Troon Country Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Hunter Richardson of Clarksville is already qualified by virtue of winning medalist honors at the Bowling Green, Ky. qualifier, as is Nashville’s Grant Milling for finishing third at the Bloomington, Ind. qualifier.
The women’s competition is to earn the right to play in the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur at Monterey Peninsula Country Club in Pebble Beach, Calif. to be held Oct. 4-9.
Bunch Lone Tennessee Entrant at U.S. Senior Women’s Open
Morristown’s Ashli Bunch is the lone Tennessee resident slated to compete in the U.S. Senior Women’s Open at San Diego Country Club.
The 72-hole tournament runs Thursday through Sunday.
Paul Payne can be emailed at paulpayne6249@gmail.com