Todd White (USGA Photo)

Todd White has previously visited Chattanooga with a national championship hanging in the balance, but he returned to his South Carolina home disappointed with the outcome. Almost 23 years later, White is hoping for a happier result this time around.

The reigning U.S. Senior Amateur recounted his previous venture to the Scenic City over lunch at The Honors Course on Thursday, where he hopes to defend last year’s title starting Saturday with the first of two rounds of stroke play.

In December 2001, White drove from Spartanburg to cheer on his beloved Furman University, who was facing Montana in the 2001 NCAA Division I-AA football title game during the year’s Finley Stadium hosted the finals. Unfortunately, the Paladins lost 13-6 on a frigid evening in Chattanooga.

“That’s the last time I was here in Chattanooga,” White said. “Unfortunately, it was not a great day for Furman, but I still remain a proud Paladin today.”

This will be White’s first visit to The Honors Course, the challenging Pete Dye layout which is hosting its sixth USGA event that runs Aug. 24-29. Although he had yet to play the course when we visited, he has an excellent resource on hand to help guide him around the golf course.

Rick Cloninger, a close friend of White’s from South Carolina, is among the 156-member field and has plenty of experience at The Honors. The Rock Hill resident is a regular participant in the John T. Lupton Memorial, having won the event in 2018.

“Today's practice round will be the first time that I will play the golf course,” White said. “Rick has given me rave reviews about The Honors, and there's an excitement for me in being in a new place, especially after hearing so many great things to be able to experience. I’m hoping he can teach me a few things about the course these next couple of days.”

The past year has been a memorable run for White, who is a history and government teacher at Spartanburg High School. It started by winning the South Carolina Amateur for the first time since 1990 when he was still at Furman, then he followed that by being medalist and champion in the U.S. Senior
Amateur held at Martis Camp Club in Truckee, Cal.

In his first year of eligibility after turning 55, White defeated Ireland’s Jody Fanagan, 4 and 3, in the 18-hole final.

White’s continued success extended into this year when he won the British Senior Amateur Championship, becoming only the eighth golfer to have won both national championships. His success has allowed him to gain a measure of satisfaction from the work he has invested, but it’s also given him a greater platform for his first love of education.

“You always imagine or dream of things like that happening,” White said. “I know the time that I invest in the game to try to compete and to see all of that hard work come to fruition. It's very validating and satisfying. It's a dream come true.

“But most of my students really are not well-versed in golf. Over 70% of those students come from poverty level homes, so golf is the furthest thing from their mind. Personally, I think a lot of the experiences that golf teaches in terms of self-discipline and accountability I try to translate into classroom lessons. These are things that the kids can take with them later in life, far beyond the scope of anything that's in a curriculum for a U.S. Government class.”

Having previously won a USGA event in 2015 when he and four-time U.S. Mid-Amateur champion Nathan Smith teamed to capture the inaugural U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship at The Olympic Club's Lake Course in San Francisco, White credits many of his supporters and fellow educators back home in Spartanburg for allowing him to chase his dream.

“I grew up in Spartanburg and actually attended the rival high school where I teach,” White said. “Spartanburg High School is a wonderful place. I miss my friends and the students there when I'm in tournaments like this, but I can't say enough about the administration there and how accommodating and supportive they've been for all of my golf experiences.”

When asked about his thoughts entering this week’s 69th U.S. Senior Amateur at The Honors Course as defending champion, White said his approach would be no different than last year.

“I tell the players on the golf teams at my school that if you ever win a championship, it's just an incredible accomplishment,” White said. “The next year people are going to say that you're defending your title. But in reality, you’re not. We're at a different golf course. We have different people in the field. So, I'm not looking at this as defending a title. I'm looking at it as having an opportunity to pursue another one.”

Ever the educator, the soft-spoken White has a warmth in his demeanor that belies his gritty determination on the golf course. But he recognizes that his years of perseverance and drive have ultimately reaped dividends, something he hopes his students will learn from his success.

“Hopefully what I did at Martis Camp can serve as an example for the students in the class, to show them that hard work does pay off,” White said. “It may not happen right away, and it may come farther down the road. But for me, it happened at 55 years old before I won my second USGA championship. Again, it's just a lesson for the kids to stick with something and hard work eventually will pay off.”

White is scheduled to begin his quest Saturday at 1 p.m. off the first tee, and will go off No. 10 on Sunday at 8 a.m.

Former Champions in the Field: In addition to White, other former champions who will be competing are Rusty Strawn of McDonough, Ga. (2022), Gene Elliot of Norwalk, Iowa (2021), Bob Royak of Alpharetta, Ga. (2019), Jeff Wilson of Fairfield, Cal. (2018), Sean Knapp of Oakmont, Pa. (2017), Dave Ryan of Taylorville, Ill. (2016), Chip Lutz of Jupiter, Fla. (2015), Doug Hanzel of Savannah, Ga. (2013) and Paul Simson of Raleigh, N.C. (2010, 2012).