by David Uchiyama, Chattanooga Times Free Press

OOLTEWAH, TN (May 25, 2009)--Tim Jackson added to his incredible list of amateur golf accomplishments on Sunday by winning the Lupton Invitational mid-amateur division at The Honors Course.

Jackson will be inducted by the TGF into the Tennessee Golf Hall of Fame in November.

Playing on two Walker Cup teams and winning two U.S. Mid-Amateur championships bolstered his selection.

Winning the Lupton Invitational against some of the best mid-amateurs in the country helps confirm it.

Jackson shot a bogey-free final round of 3-under 69. He made only one bogey in his final 36 holes and shot 10-under-par 210 for the tournament.

“You can’t make mistakes and think you can beat Tim,” said Michael Morrison, who finished second with a total score of 212. “I’ve played with Tim quite a bit and you have to go catch him because he’s not coming back to you.”

Morrison made 15 birdies and an eagle in three rounds, but still couldn’t overcome Jackson’s consistent execution due to, what Morrison called, “bonehead mistakes.”

“It was a great tournament for me,” Morrison said. “It was just laden with mistakes.”

Jackson missed one fairway on Sunday and still made par. His missed a couple of greens, but chipped up and in like he did on No. 18. Jackson made a couple of putts, and those that didn’t drop, required little effort to tap in.

“That’s just me being me, and that’s how I play,” said Jackson, who turned 50 in February. “At my age, you don’t expect to get better. But I’m not that old, I don’t have back problems and I’m healthy.”

Paul Simson’s game is healthy as well.

Simson won his third straight senior division title Sunday by earning 116 points on the Stableford system including 41 on Sunday — the stroke-play equivalent of 5 under par.

Simson birdied his first four holes and six of his first seven. He splashed his approach on No. 9 but stuck his pitch to tap-in distance and saved par. His back nine was ho-hum in comparison — two birdies and two bogeys. And he’s got plans for the summer.

“I will defend my British Senior Am title and I think I’ll try for the U.S. Amateur,” Simson said before heading home to North Carolina.

One year, and one day ago, The Honors Course executives inducted Jackson into the exclusive The Honors Circle which places him in the company of legends: Lew Oehmig, Betty Probasco, Cary Middlecoff and A. Pollack “Polly” Boyd.

An Honors green jacket and membership to the club came with the exclusive distinction.

“Awful nice of them,” said Jackson, a resident in Germantown, Tenn. “It’s a special place. I plan to come back in the next couple of weeks and bring my son to do a little playing and some practice.”

Winning on Sunday felt like a relief to Jackson who has gone nearly a year without winning a prestigious event. He won the Birmingham Invitational on June 1 last year, but nothing since.

“It really came together this week,” Jackson said. “I feel like I got a monkey off my back.”

He entered the final round down by a stroke to Mike McCoy, who reached the semifinals of the 2005 U.S. Mid-Amateur played at The Honors Course.

McCoy built a two-shot lead on Jackson and Morrison after a birdie on No. 4. But his approach shot on No. 7 splashed in the water. McCoy shot 2 over the rest of the day.

“I got off to a good start, but I hit a bad shot on No. 7 and I never got it on track again,” McCoy said. “I couldn’t get any momentum and Tim didn’t make any mistakes.”

Morrison did. His tee shot on No. 8 found the water and it disrupted his round.

“That shot into the water took the wind out of my sails,” Morrison said. “I played well but made a ton of mistakes.”

Jackson hardly made any and that’s why he took home the trophy.

Top finishers at the Lupton Invitational, played May 22-24, 2009 at The Honors Course in Ooltewah, TN:

Mid-Amateur Division

Place		Player	Scores
1		Tim Jackson, Germantown, TN	70-71-69--210
2		Michael Morrison, Roswell, GA	69-73-70--212
3		Mike McCoy, W. Des Moines, IA	70-70-74--214
T4		Brad Wilder, Florence, KY	71-71-74--217
T4		Michael Barbosa, St. Petersburg, FL	74-71-72--217
6		Kris Mikkelsen, Woodstock, GA	72-73-74--219
7		Dan Sullivan, Pasadena, CA	75-72-73--220
8		Donny Phillips, Suwanee, GA	72-71-78--221
T9		Aon Miller, Chattanooga, TN	72-74-76--222
T9		Doug Hanzel, Savannah, GA	74-72-76--222
T11		David Noll, Jr., Dalton, GA	75-73-75--223
T11		Parker Smith, Morristown, TN	74-76-73--223
T11		Christian Raynor, Kennesaw, GA	78-72-73--223
T14		Mark Knecht, Paducah, KY	75-72-77--224
T14		Scott Smith, Knoxville, TN	72-76-76--224

Senior Division

Place		Player	Scores
1		Paul Simson, Raleigh, NC	36-39-41--116
T2		Larry Clark, Kingston, GA	38-31-35--104
T2		Bill Ploeger, Columbus, GA	31-35-38--104
T4		Michael Bell, Indianapolis, IN	33-35-31--99
T4		Steve J. Johnson, Mequon, WI	32-32-35--99
6		Don Russell, Atlanta, GA	36-33-29--98
T7		Jim Brown, Loudon, TN	35-31-31--97
T7		Ronnie Tumlin, St. Augustine, FL	32-33-32--97
9		Greg Scurlock, Augusta, GA	33-33-30--96
T10		Gary Shimmin, Okatie, SC	29-37-29--95
T10		Fred Silver, Lewiston, NY	33-32-30--95
T10		John Darr, Gainesville, FL	33-28-34--95
T13		John Long, Centreville, VA	32-35-27--94
T13		James Castagna, Sandy Spring, MD	37-29-28--94
T13		Jerry Greenbaum, Atlanta, GA	31-32-31--94
T16		Larry McGill, Chattanooga, TN	34-27-32--93
T16		Steve Melnyk, Jacksonville, FL	32-26-35--93
T18		David Carroll, Napa, CA	31-36-25--92
T18		Skip Snow, Dayton, OH	32-30-30--92
T18		Rich Morrison, Marana, AZ	33-28-31--92
T18		A.B. Sisco, Pensacola, FL	25-34-33--92
T22		Mike Nixon, Nashville, TN	32-32-27--91
T22		Larry Woods, Louisville, KY	26-34-31--91
T24		Dick Van Leuvan, Roswell, GA	28-32-30--90
T24		John Dennis, Greenville, SC	29-30-31--90
T24		Mike Jenkins, Chattanooga, TN	29-30-31--90
T24		Bruce Walters, Pikeville, KY	25-34-31--90
T28		Alex Tarumianz, Lookout, TN	35-25-29--89
T28		Neil Spitalny, Chattanooga, TN	32-28-29--89
30		Chuck Jabaley, Cleveland, TN	28-32-28--88

ENTRIES OPEN: Entries are now open for 2024 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship

Neal Shipley's amazing week at the 88th Masters Tournament

ENTRIES OPEN: Entries are now open for the U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur

Meet the five amateurs teeing it up at The 2024 Masters

15-year-old Miles Russell shoots 3-under 68 on Korn Ferry Tour