Jackson Herrington celebrates clinching putt to advance to U.S. Amateur finals
photo by USGA/Chris Keane
Hunter Wolcott, right, with his brother Ben at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship
photo by Contributed
Poppy Pewitt celebrates her Tennessee Girls’ Junior Amateur title with friends
photo by Tennessee Golf Association
Buzz Fly fist pumps as he drains a final putt to claim his fifth straight Tennessee Super Senior Amateur title
photo by Tennessee Golf Association
Payne Denman poses with Martin Condon Trophy after winning his second straight Tennessee State Amateur crown
photo by Tennessee Golf Association
Legendary Betty Probasco poses as captain of the 1982 U.S. Curtis Cup squad
photo by Contributed
Hanley Long follows a shot in the finals of the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur
photo by USGA/Eakin Howard
Jordan Thomas became the first double-amputee to compete in the Tennessee State Amateur
photo by Contributed
Isabella Johnson captured the Tennessee Women’s Amateur at Chattanooga Golf and Country Club
photo by Tennessee Golf Association
Steven Mann measures his shot distance at the U.S. Senior Amateur
photo by USGA
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While reminiscing over the notable stories during 2025 within Tennessee golf, there was a common thread that connected many of these accomplishments – they all shared a bond of the Nashville suburb of Dickson.
With a population of just over 16,000 residents, Dickson has emerged as a factory of aspiring stars as evidenced by the success of a handful of golfers during 2025 that are products of Dickson County High School.
Most notable on that list was Jackson Herrington. The University of Tennessee sophomore captured national attention by advancing to the championship match of the U.S. Amateur played at San Francisco’s Olympic Club before losing in the finals. The powerful lefty known as “The Fridge” continued his success from the previous year where he became the youngest champion at the Tennessee State Open.
This year also provided some significant accomplishments for another Dickson native, Hunter Wolcott. The son of legendary Tennessee Golf Hall of Famer Bob Wolcott, Hunter picked up his first PGA Tour Americas win by claiming the Diners Club Peru Open in May. The former All-SEC performer at Tennessee later navigated through a local qualifier to secure a spot in the Butterfield Bermuda Championship in November, making the cut in his PGA Tour debut, before competing in the Final Stage of PGA Tour Q-School in December.
Another member of the Wolcott family also earned accolades this year when Hunter’s older brother, Ben, was named Assistant Player of the Year by the Tennessee PGA Section.
Two other Dickson locals also shone brightly in 2025. Poppy Pewitt, just a high school sophomore, had a memorable two-week stretch this summer that saw her capture the Tennessee Junior PGA Championship followed by the Tennessee Girls’ Junior Championship on her way to being named the Tennessee Golf Association’s Girls’ Junior Player of the Year.
Cameron Tankersley, a senior at Ole Miss, also was the source of additional hardware won by Dickson products. Tankersley competed in the U.S. Open at Oakmont during the summer and later advanced to the Round of 32 at the U.S. Amateur. He then won his first individual college title by earning co-medalist honors at the prestigious Invitational at The Honors Course in September while leading the Rebels to the team title.
Buzz Fly Joins Elite Company with Five Straight Wins
Since the Tennessee Golf Association was founded in 1914, only two golfers in the state’s illustrious golf history had won the same tournament five consecutive years.
There are now three names in that elite company.
Buzz Fly of Memphis picked up his fifth straight title at Tennessee Super Senior Amateur Championship at historic Belle Meade Country Club, adding to the Super Senior Match Play won earlier in the summer. Fly joined Tennessee Golf Hall of Fame members Lew Oehmig and Judy Eller Street as the only golfers with five straight wins in the same tournament.
Farewell to Legendary Betty Probasco
Betty Probasco, an icon of women’s golf whose influence spread well beyond the borders of Tennessee, died at the age of 95 in June.
The Lookout Mountain resident captured a record eight Tennessee Women’s Amateur titles covering 32 years to go with four Kentucky Women’s Amateur crowns won over a five-year span during her earlier years in the Bluegrass State.
Her 13 state titles – she won a lone Tennessee Women’s Senior championship in 1980 – spanned five different decades. The first took place in Kentucky in 1949 when she was 19, and her final one in Tennessee came in 1986 at the age of 56.
She was named to the 1956 Curtis Cup squad but was unable to compete due to pregnancy, later serving as captain of the victorious U.S. effort in the 1982 Curtis Cup.
Probasco also claimed the 1950 National Collegiate Championship individual crown while competing for Rollins College in Florida.
Deemed “The Queen of Seminole” where she became friends with icons like Ben Hogan and Jack Nicklaus, Probasco also won 11 straight women’s club championships at Florida’s revered Seminole Golf Club.
Denman Repeats as State Amateur Champion
Trailing by two shots with five holes remaining at the 110th Tennessee State Amateur Championship at Knoxville’s Holston Hills Country Club, Payne Denman rallied to become only the sixth golfer in TGA history to repeat as champion.
Denman played his final five holes in 4-under par to become the first back-to-back winner since George Creagh accomplished the feat in 1976-77. The former Middle Tennessee State star and South Florida assistant golf coach now has five TGA wins to his credit.
Long Falls in Finals of U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur
Clarksville native Hanley Long headlined a strong showing of Tennessee golfers at Monterey Peninsula Country Club in October, finishing as runner-up after falling in an epic 23-hole championship match.
Long was seeking to become the third Tennessee golfer to earn a title in the event, joining three-time champion Sarah LeBrun Ingram of Nashville and Chattanooga’s Blakesly Brock.
Brock, the 2021 champion who was returning to competitive play after battling chronic injuries for two years, was ousted in the Round of 32 by a 2 and 1 count by eventual champion Ina Kim-Schaad. Ooltewah resident and University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s golf coach Katie Woodruff and Nashville’s Jacqueline Setas also advanced to the Round of 32.
The U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur also had another Tennessee connection in tournament chairwoman Jennifer Noonan, a MPCC member who moved to Chattanooga in 2024 and is a member of The Honors Course with her husband, Ken.
Sweetens Cove’s Adamski Wins National Award
Matt Adamski had what many deemed a dream job as Director of Golf at NCR Country Club in Kettering, Ohio, before visiting Sweetens Cove Golf Club in 2019.
It was then that Adamski discovered there was something burning inside of him to break free from the traditional path he saw for his future, and Sweetens Cove offered the perfect respite for his non-conformist dreams and a place where he could promote the game of golf in its purest essence with few rules.
That vision that Adamski imagined came to fruition when the Sweetens Cove PGA professional and General Manager was named the recipient of the 2025 PGA of America Merchandiser of the Year Award – Public Category. The award recognizes PGA of America Golf Professionals who have excelled in business and merchandising in the promotion of golf.
Adamski has operated from a prefabricated shed that stills stands as Sweetens Cove’s iconic “clubhouse”. In offering highly sought branding through the “Shop the Shed” website, Adamski oversaw exponential growth in demand across the globe that saw gross revenue at the nine-hole golf playground swell from $795,000 when he arrived to over $3.3 million without offering food and beverage.
Blades Brown Makes Professional Debut
After making the decision last December to turn professional at the age of 17, Nashville’s Blades Brown had a strong rookie season by earning full status for 2026 on the Korn Ferry Tour.
Brown made his debut on a sponsor’s exemption at the American Express at PGA West in California, carding a scintillating 8-under 64 in his second round which was the lowest score in a PGA Tour round by a player under the age of 18 in the last 40 years.
Brown made the cut in three of eight PGA Tour starts and finished 68th on the Korn Ferry rankings with two top 10s that included a runner-up finish in April to earn $218,671 across both tours.
Double-Amputee Thomas Competes in State Amateur
Competitive golf was nothing new for 36-year-old Jordan Thomas, having won the 2022 U.S. Adaptive Open Multiple Limb championship in 2022 and finishing runner-up in 2024 and 2025.
But the Brentwood resident achieved new heights since losing both of his legs below the knees in a 2005 boating accident while on a Florida family vacation. While playing on prosthetic legs, Thomas became the first double-amputee to qualify for the Tennessee State Amateur this summer.
Thomas embraced his accident as a precious opportunity, impacted by the number of fellow amputees whose families were unable to afford the necessary prosthetics that would allow them to enjoy active lifestyles.
Thus, at the age of 16, he started The Jordan Thomas Foundation. The non-profit supports families who otherwise cannot afford necessary prosthetics to allow kids to live out their dreams. The organization has served more than 200 families, raising more than $10 million to provide ongoing adaptive prosthetics as children progress into adulthood.
Sewanee’s Golfer Aces Same Hole Twice in One Day
When Sewanee’s Niel Phillips began the first of two rounds scheduled for last Monday, he never dreamed that his day would result in national notoriety.
Sewanee was playing in the Chick-Fil-A Invitational at Stonebridge Country Club in Rome, Ga., and Phillips was slated to open both of his rounds on the par-3 eighth hole, not the easiest of starting holes.
Playing at a distance of 182 yards, No. 8 at Stonebridge will forever be among Phillips’ favorite holes. The sophomore from New Orleans started both rounds with holes-in-one on the same hole, accomplishing an astronomically rare feat that will likely never be duplicated.
With chilly temperatures and damp conditions, Phillips recorded his first ace with a 6-iron. Warmer afternoon temperatures prompted Phillips to choose a 7-iron, making his second ace in 19 holes played.
Lee’s Zielinski First Active D-II Golfer to Earn PGA Tour Start
Lee University’s Drew Zielinski became the first active NCAA Division II golfer to participate in a PGA Tour event when he played in the Butterfield Bermuda Championship in November.
Zielinski earned the right to make his PGA Tour debut on a sponsor exemption by winning medalist honors at the Fripp Island to Bermuda Invite in October hosted by Golfweek at South Carolina’s Ocean Point Golf Course. While Lee was cruising to the team title by an 18-shot margin, Zielinski birdied his final three holes to win by one shot over teammate Bennett McNabb, who served as his caddie in Bermuda.
Johnson, Cottam Also Make PGA Tour Debuts
In addition to Hunter Wolcott, Blades Brown and Drew Zielinski, two other Tennessee golfers made it through challenging local qualifying to earn their initial appearance in PGA Tour events in 2025.
Carson Johnson, a recent Chattanooga graduate, made it through two levels of qualifying to claim a spot in the ISCO Championship in Louisville in July before leading his alma mater, Signal Mountain High School, to the TSSAA Class A Boys’ state championship this fall.
Also, Knoxville native Kyle Cottam punched his ticket into the final event of the fall season by earning one of four spots into the RSM Classic. The 26-year-old Clemson product was co-medalist at the local qualifier after making four cuts in nine tries on the Korn Ferry Tour this year with one top 25 finish.
Trio Advances to 2026 Drive, Chip and Putt Finals
A trio of junior golfers who hail from Tennessee earned the chance to compete at Augusta National next spring after earning a spot in the 2026 Drive, Chip and Putt Finals to be contested on the Sunday leading into Masters week.
Andie Deck of Chattanooga (Girls 10-11), Cade Reel of Dayton (Boys 10-11), and Franklin’s Ace Pizzuti (Boys 7-9) punched their tickets by winning their age group at the regional qualifier held at North Carolina’s Pinehurst Resort.
Golf Club of Tennessee Joins Future USGA Host Sites
The USGA announced in September that The Golf Club of Tennessee as host site for a pair of future events, adding to the menu of national championships being staged in Tennessee in the upcoming years.
The 2029 U.S. Mid-Amateur and the 2034 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur will become the first USGA championship hosted at The Golf Club of Tennessee since the 2018 U.S. Women’s Amateur was held there.
The announcement brings the total to six future USGA events coming to the Volunteer State. The U.S. Women’s Amateur comes to The Honors Course in 2026 along with the 2031 U.S. Amateur. Belle Meade Country Club was previously chosen to host the 2028 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur along with the 2036 U.S. Senior Amateur.
Mann Makes Deep Run at U.S. Senior Amateur
One year after making it into match play in his first U.S. Senior Amateur at The Honors Course, Franklin’s Steven Mann had a strong showing in the 2025 event held at Oak Hills Country Club in San Antonio.
Mann finished tied for sixth in stroke play, then handily won his first two matches before being eliminated in the Round of 16. Mann also was among a three-way playoff at the Tennessee Senior Amateur won by Bradford Kuester.
Terry Caps Strong Year with First POY Honor
Although he didn’t win a TGA event this year, Ryan Terry compiled an overall body of work worthy of accolades. The 33-year-old Brentwood resident had top 11 finishes as the Tennessee State Open, the State Amateur and the State Mid-Amateur to earn the nod as TGA Men’s Player of the Year as well as the inaugural Men’s Mid-Amateur Player of the Year.
Terry didn’t come up empty-handed inside the Volunteer State, winning his fourth straight James H. Fyke Municipal Amateur in Nashville. But he played some of his best golf away from his home state.
In addition to qualifying for the U.S. Amateur at Olympic Club, Terry picked up a win at Birmingham National Invitational by seven shots and just won the Mexico Mid-Amateur.
Terry also finished sixth in the Canadian Mid-Amateur, was the top-rated U.S. player with a tie for seventh in the European Mid-Amateur in Portugal, and finished runner-up in the Trans-Mississippi Mid-Amateur at Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.
Women’s Amateur Crown Highlights Johnson’s Year
Murfreesboro’s Isabella Johnson was the lone golfer to record multiple rounds under par in winning the Tennessee Women’s Amateur title at Chattanooga Golf and Country Club, leading to her selection as Tennessee Women’s Player of the Year.
The MTSU sophomore who hails from Murfreesboro won Tennessee Girls’ Junior Player of the Year in 2024. She also finished sixth at the Tennessee Women’s Open and qualified to compete at the U.S. Women’s Amateur at Bandon Dunes.
Paul Payne can be emailed at paulpayne6249@gmail.com
