Jared Melson earned his second straight Tennessee Senior PGA Professional title
photo by Tennessee PGA
Jared Melson has learned a valuable lesson the past two years at the Tennessee Senior PGA Professional Championship: it matters not where he stands on the leaderboard after the first round. Trophies are only awarded to those in the lead at the conclusion of play.
Much like last year when the Bear Trace at Tims Ford professional rallied from a one-shot deficit after Round 1 to win the championship at Blackthorn Club, Melson’s resurgence on Tuesday at Franklin’s Westhaven Golf Club was even more impressive.
Entering play as one of five golfers staring at a three-shot deficit to Virgil Herring of Ensworth Golf Center, Melson completed a masterful round to repeat as champion. He carded a bogey-free 67 on Tuesday with five birdies, completing the tournament at 8-under 136 to win by three shots.
The Tullahoma resident made the turn in 34, recording birdies at holes 2 and 9. Another birdie at 11 elevated him into the lead he would not relinquish. All hope from Melson’s pursuers evaporated when he reeled off consecutive birdies at 14 and 15 before cruising home with three pars.
Henrik Simonsen of The Honors Course was runner-up at 5-under 139, accumulating six birdies on the day while shooting 2-under 70. Simonsen’s results are even more impressive considering he spent several days in Oregon at Bandon Dunes in preparation for The Honors Course hosting next year’s U.S. Women’s Amateur, then flew back on Sunday with little prep time.
Greg Wyatt of Golf Capital Learning Center, Mike Vance of Jackson National Golf Club and Paul Reid of Ladd’s Golf and Utility tied for 3rd at 4-under 140, joining Melson and Simonsen as qualifiers into the 2025 Senior PGA Professional Championship at Florida’s PGA Golf Club taking place Oct. 23-26.
Four others earned Alternate spots, including McCabe Golf Course’s Audie Johson and Belle Meade’s Oliver Peacock who tied for 6th at 3-under 141. Herring secured the 3rd Alternate spot after shooting 76 to close at 2-under 142 in the 8th position, while Kevin Snell of Tennessee’s Golf Trail at Henry Horton earned the final Alternate position after joining four others at 1-under 143 in good for 9th place
For complete results, go to TN Senior PGA Pro Championship.
Wolcott Cruises to Assistant PGA Pro Title
Golf can be a fickle proposition, with one day’s success often hard to replicate in the following round. It can be maddening at times – same golfer, same course but sometimes with exasperatingly different results after a night’s sleep.
But that wasn’t a problem for Dickson’s Ben Wolcott of GreyStone Golf Club. In fact, he didn’t miss a beat from one day to the next in capturing the Tennessee Assistant PGA Professional Championship.
After closing Monday’s play with four birdies over his final five holes to earn a share of the lead with The Honor Course’s Matthew Nuttall, Wolcott carried that momentum into Tuesday’s final round. He opened with four straight birdies on his way to shooting 5-under through his first six holes, eventually settling for a 6-under 66 to win by four shots at 11-under 133.
The numbers are staggering when you add together Wolcott’s hot streak: he played 11 holes over two days in an eye-popping 9-under par. Needless to say, no one was overtaking Wolcott unless he imploded down the stretch, which did not happen.
Nuttall was runner-up at 7-under 137 after carding a 70, while Towhee Club’s Chris Baker and Eric Ansett of Caddie Master Inc. had matching rounds of 71-69 to tie for 3rd at 4-under 140.
Finishing in a deadlock for 5th at 2-under 142 were Holston Hills Country Club’s Dylan Moncus, defending champion Brad Hawkins of Beaver Brook Golf & Country Club and Jordan Harre of Vanderbilt Legends Club.
McLemore Club’s Josh Wall and Griffin Hare of Council Fire Club landed in an 8th place tie at 1-under 143.
Those advancing to the Assistant PGA Professional Championship at PGA Golf Club on Nov. 13-16 based upon PGA qualifying criteria are Nuttall, Baker and Moncus, while Wall and Ethan Burger of Blackthorn Club are Alternates.
For complete results, go to TN Assistant PGA Pro Championship.
Paul Payne can be emailed at paulpayne6249@gmail.com
Ben Wolcott displays the hardware for winning the Tennessee Assistant PGA Professional Championship
photo by Tennessee PGA