Toby Wilt is shown with the champion's trophy for winning the Texas State Amateur
photo by Texas Golf Association
Imagine a young man who was a star athlete across multiple sports in high school, who earned his roster spot on his college golf team as a walk-on, then winning the state amateur title in one of the nation’s most prestigious hotbeds of golf to claim the right to compete in the 125th U.S. Amateur championship.
Such is the incredible feel-good story of Toby Wilt, one of nine golfers with Tennessee connections who will be competing at The Olympic Club in San Francisco starting Monday morning.
Wilt forged his path into the U.S. Amateur by winning the 116th Texas State Amateur in June, recording a final score of 12-under par to win by two shots over a trio of golfers that included his younger brother, Hudson. The brothers competed in the tournament by virtue of being members of the Texas Christian University golf team.
Wilt’s journey represents a refreshing paradox in this era where aspiring phenoms are groomed from an early age in their quest for golfing greatness. His is almost an accidental intersection of untapped talent converging with unexpected opportunity, producing results that have exceeded his own expectations.
Make no mistake – it’s not as if Wilt emerged from complete obscurity to burst onto the national stage. He is in the lineage of Tennessee golf royalty, having access to privilege and prominence that makes his pathway more understandable. But the manner in which he carved his route makes his story all the more remarkable.
Wilt’s grandfather with whom he shares a name, Toby Wilt, is a legendary figure in Tennessee golf history. He is a member of the Tennessee Golf Hall of Fame along with induction into both the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame and the Vanderbilt Athletics Hall of Fame.
After playing three seasons at running back at Vanderbilt, he joined the Commodore golf team his senior year. The elder Wilt became a successful businessman in the Nashville area, being a principal founder with the late Bronson Ingram of The Golf Club of Tennessee, serving as the Independent Director of the Tennessee Golf Foundation for its first 19 years, and creating an endowed athletic scholarship at Vanderbilt.
Wilt also joined fellow Vanderbilt alum and PGA member Brandt Snedeker – a Wilt Scholarship recipient – to win the 2013 Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, and had the unique distinction of serving as an official starter on the first tee of the Masters Tournament for many years.
Given the fact that the younger Wilt came from such a prominent pedigree, it would make sense that he has enjoyed his current level of success. While grateful for the opportunities afforded him, young Toby wanted to blaze his own trail that was outside the norms after attending The Ensworth School.
Wilt immersed himself into a litany of sports in high school, competing in football, basketball and track in addition to golf. Rather than spending his spare time honing his golf skills at the practice range, he thrived in the realm of team sports.
“I loved golf, but also loved the competition aspect of team sports,” Wilt said. “I wasn’t going to give that up in high school. I grew up playing football and basketball, and I loved to run track. I just did everything in high school. So, the bigger schools kind of passed on me and my brother because they wanted strictly golfers, and we were just having fun competing.”
Also, some of the larger schools assumed that the brothers would eventually land at Vanderbilt given their grandfather’s connections, so they backed away from actively recruiting them.
“Vandy is obviously a great program, and they had some real studs like Gordon Sargent and were winning the SEC every year,” Wilt said. “Quite honestly, Hudson and I weren't exceptional golfers at that point, so I understood them not taking two kids just because of their name. Plus, I wanted to make a name for myself out there and not be in the shadow of somebody.”
Despite finishing tied for 2nd to Brentwood Academy’s Blades Brown in the 2021 TSSAA Division II-AA state golf tournament, Wilt had no solid plans to play golf in college. He decided to attend TCU and join a cousin in Fort Worth who had walked-on the Horned Frogs’ football team.
Around that same time, TCU had hired a new golf coach, Bill Alcorn, and Wilt was given an opportunity to earn a roster spot two years ago as a walk-on.
“I had to play ten qualifying rounds with the team my freshman year before I was even on the team,” Wilt said. “I think I was 2nd on the team for the full qualifier, and coach was like, ‘We’ve got to take this kid.’ I earned a spot in the first tournament, and I was pretty much in the starting five the whole year.”
Hudson joined his older brother with the Horned Frogs last fall as a freshman, and the pair looks forward to completing their college careers together over the next two seasons as Toby has two years of eligibility remaining.
“I give all my credit to Coach Bill,” Wilt said. “Honestly, just because he gave a chance to a kid who probably didn't deserve one. Hudson and I have been working our tails off to prove to him that we're worthy and will be some of the best amateurs in the country at some point.”
That determination was on full display back in June at Waco’s Ridgewood Country Club in the Texas Amateur, although Wilt found himself looking for answers entering the tournament. He had missed the cut the previous week in the Dogwood Invitational after finishing near the bottom.
“I was confused, and my game kind of felt lost,” Wilt said. “I was pretty down on myself after that performance and I really didn’t want to play in the Texas State Am. I felt like I needed to have a week off to practice. But my family and my girlfriend convinced me I needed to go play, that it would be a good experience.”
It proved to be the right decision.
Toby was four shots off the lead after two rounds – and one behind Hudson – before vaulting to the top of the leaderboard with a 64 to hold a one-shot cushion heading into the final round.
“I hadn't won a solo golf tournament in like six or seven years, so it wasn’t easy to sleep that night,” Wilt said. “I hadn’t had that feeling in a while. I just remember telling myself on the first tee, ‘Whatever happens today is going to happen. I have no control over how my opponents play. I want them to play their best so that I can get better from today.’”
Wilt built a six-shot lead through 13 holes before encountering a two-hour rain delay, eventually hanging on to win by two over his little brother and two others.
“Down the stretch I had to calm myself down and just realize how special this is,” Wilt said. “It felt super surreal. It’s awesome to finally get my name put on a trophy like that.”
With his U.S. Amateur exemption now in hand, decided to go ahead and play in the Tennessee State Amateur two weeks later at Holston Hills Country Club. He continued his recent success by finishing tied for 3rd, four shots behind champion Payne Denman.
“I was actually going to see my grandmother in Cashiers North Carolina right after that so it was convenient to stop off in Knoxville and play on the way,” Wilt said.
As he embarks on playing in his first USGA event at this week’s U.S. Amateur with Hudson serving as his caddie, Wilt is grateful for the journey that has led him to this juncture.
“It's not really about the wins for me,” Wilt said. “It's about getting better each day. I know I was kind of late to the game of competitive golf, but I have full trust in my process and the faith that my time is coming. Whether that's in a month, whether that's in five years, or whether that's 10 years, I know my best is yet to come.”
A Look at the Other Tennessee U.S. Am Participants
There are eight others with Tennessee Golf Association connections who will be among the 312 qualifiers headed to the Olympic Club, which is hosting its fourth U.S. Amateur in addition to five U.S Open Championships.
Payne Denman: The Knoxville resident who is an assistant golf coach at Tennessee will be making his second straight appearance after repeating as Tennessee Amateur champion. He missed the cut last year at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Minnesota by three strokes after posting 3-over 145 in stroke play. Denman will find himself competing against two of his Volunteer players, Lance Simpson and Jackson Herrington, as well as Tennessee commit Tyler Watts, an Alabama high school standout.
Cameron Tankersley: The Ole Miss senior who hails from Dickson is making a return after missing last year’s stroke play qualifying by one shot at 1-over 143. Tankersley is exempt thanks to his Top 100 standing among the World Amateur Golf Rankings and participated in the U.S. Open at Oakmont earlier this summer.
Jackson Herrington: The Tennessee sophomore punched his ticket by winning medalist honors at a Wilmington, N.C. final qualifier. He shot 2-under last year at Hazeltine to tie for 22nd place in Stroke Play Qualifying. The Dickson native’s Round of 64 win was punctuated by a hole-in-one on his way to a 4 & 3 win before losing 1-down in his Round of 32 match.
Lance Simpson: The Knoxville native and Tennessee senior qualified by his Top 100 WAGR ranking as well as by winning the prestigious Trans-Mississippi Amateur earlier this summer. The 2002 Tennessee Amateur champion also competed in the U.S. Open this year.
Bennett McNabb: Although he technically lives in Ringgold, Ga. where WindStone Golf Club straddles the Tennessee state line, McNabb has had a successful summer entering his final year at Lee University. He secured his U.S. Amateur berth by winning co-medalist honors at the Final Qualifier at Johns Creek, Ga.
Kaleb Wilson: The Knoxville native is entering his senior year at West Virginia after competing at Christian Academy of Knoxville in high school, winning 2020 TGA Junior Player of the Year. His path to the U.S. Amateur was earned by finishing tied for 3rd at the Houston Final Qualifier.
Winburne Hughes: The Memphis native nailed down a spot at the Final Qualifier in Johns Creek, Ga. in a playoff. He also competed in the 2023 U.S. Mid-Amateur.
Ryan Terry: The Nashville resident advanced to his first U.S. Amateur by finishing tied for 2nd at the Final Qualifier in Sarasota, Fla.
Two days of stroke play qualifying will be staged on the 7,214-yard, par 70 Lake Course as well as the stroke play co-host Ocean Course playing at 6,787-yards at par 70. The low 64 scores will advance to Match Play on Wednesday. Thursday will feature the Round of 32 and Round of 16 matches, followed by the Quarterfinal matches on Friday, the Semifinals on Saturday and the 36-hole championship match on Sunday.
Paul Payne can be emailed at paulpayne6249@gmail.com
Toby Wilt, right, will be joined at the U.S. Amateur by his younger brother and TCU teammate, Hudson
photo by Contributed