It has been a whirlwind at our office in the last month and a half. Carter and I have crisscrossed the state as we have put on three Championship Series events and two championships. With the conclusion of the TGA Mid-Amateur Championship presented by Gentleman Jack on Thursday, the 2009 TGA tournament season official came to a close. And it could not have ended in better fashion. 
Play began on Tuesday, as 117 players descended on historic Holston Hills Country Club. Holston Hills is a Donald Ross gem that has hosted USGA and NCAA championships and sits near the Tennessee River. As play got underway, players were determined to conquer this classic layout and the scores from the first day let the players believe they could accomplish that task. Rob Garland led a group of nine players that broke par on the first day, highlighted by his round of 5 under par 67 that featured a front nine of 6 under par 31.
While players may have believed they had the right plan of attack to win the championship, the weather and course fought back on Wednesday. With the sky opening up and rain falling for most of the morning, low scores were much harder to come by. Jay Wise was able to play consistently in the rain and fired an even par round to become the overnight leader at 3 under par. Justin Emil tied for the low round of the day and gained valuable spots on the field as he shot a round of 2 under par 70 in the steady rain to move into a tie for second with Jeff Golliher and Todd Burgan. When the players arrived at the course for the start of the third day, rain was falling again. After a weather delay, play in the final round began and one Holston Hills member had his sights set on claiming the championship. Jeff Golliher was able to play well enough on the outward nine to seize the lead at the turn. As Golliher was was making the turn, Buzz Fly was putting the finishing touches on the round of the championship. Fly shot an astounding 8 under par 64 to shoot himself up the leaderboard and become the leader in the clubhouse. Fly's round wrapped up what had to be a magical summer as he became what is believed to be the first person to sweep all the Memphis Golf Association tournaments.
If word had reached Golliher on the course he did not let it affect him as he played his inward nine. He was able to offset bogeys at 11 and 18 with three birdies as he came in with a third round 3 under par 69 to finish the tournament at 4 under par 212. The TGA Mid-Amateur Championship was Jeff's first individual title and could not have possibly been sweeter as he clinched it on his home course. Jeff's win also added a little bit of history as he joins his brother Steve, the 1996 TGA Mid-Amateur Champion, as the only two brothers to have their names engraved on the John Atkins Mid-Amateur Trophy.It is always sad to see another tournament season come and go. This year was a great year for me, as this was my first year being involved completely with the Tennessee Golf Association. We had great turnouts for our championships, highlighted by Peter Malnati's Amateur Championship triumph at The Honors Course. And the highlights were not restricted to our own events. I know that I will not forget watching Tim Jackson take the 36 hole lead at this year's U.S. Senior Open Championship or becoming the oldest medalist at the U.S. Amateur. We had nine golfers represent us in the U.S. Mid-Amateur, eight at the U.S. Amateur, and Todd Burgan was a quarterfinalist at the U.S. Mid-Amateur. The golf is good in the state of Tennessee and I am proud to be apart of it.
