Tennessee Mid-Amateur: Taylor Mottern records the biggest win of his career
Taylor Mottern (Tennessee Golf Association Photo)
Taylor Mottern of Sewanee has had a solid golf career, but he took a giant step forward on Friday afternoon at The Country Club, Inc. at the 36th Tennessee Mid-Amateur Championship.
Mottern won the Tennessee Mid-Am by three shots after finishing 9-under. Mottern was the only golfer to shoot all three rounds under par, shooting 70-69-68 to close it out.
“I’ve never won a tournament of this magnitude,” Mottern told Paul Payne of the Chattanoogan. “I never won a high school tournament, and I didn’t win one in college either. So, this is a little surreal. Knowing I could do it and actually doing it is a completely different feeling. I’m super happy right now.”
Mottern shot a final round 4-under 68 for his best round of the tournament in the final round to hold off Winburne Hughes of Memphis and Craig Reasor of Knoxville, who both finished at 6-under and T2.
There was a large gap between the top three golfers and the rest of the field, with Todd Burgan of Powell, Grant Milling of Nashville, and Tucker Jenkins of Nashville all finishing T4 at 2-under.
Mottern did not make it easy on himself, shooting 1-over through the first three holes. However, from there, he made five birdies and no bogeys to shoot the 68. Mottern and Reasor were tied, making the turn at 5-under, but four birdies and a back nine 32 propelled Mottern to victory.
“For some reason, I got nervous after the birdie on No. 1, and I missed some putts I had been making all week,” Mottern told Payne “I was able to put that behind me, though, and refocus my attention.”
After a front nine 36, Mottern opened with a pair of birdies on his homeward nine to regain the lead. Seeing his name back atop the leaderboard allowed him to relax down the stretch.
“I was feeling confident, and I let my mind start to wander about winning,” Mottern told Payne “I allowed myself to dream about this becoming a reality and was relaxed over the final holes.”
Mottern added two more birdies on Nos. 15 and 16 to increase his lead, parring the final two holes to secure the victory.
Mottern hopes this win will help motivate the team he coaches.
“This means a lot to me and to our golf team,” Mottern told Payne. “They’ve been texting me their support throughout the week, and I look forward to getting back to Sewanee and celebrating with them. They’re an awesome group of ladies and such nice people that I’m proud to coach.”
View results for Tennessee Mid-Amateur
ABOUT THE Tennessee Mid-Amateur
Open to amateurs age 25 and older who are
members
of a TGA Club. Qualifying is required for those
who
do
not meet the exemption criteria. Format consists
of
54
holes of stroke play with a cut following the second
round.
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