Aon Miller cut straight to the chase as he pulled away from a green at Signal Mountain Golf and Country Club.
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Staff photo by Matt Fields-Johnson/Chattanooga Times Free Press UTC sophomore Stephan Jaeger works on getting out of a sand trap at the UTC practice facility on Hickory Valley road Wednesday afternoon.
“The group worth watching is playing right behind us,” Miller said during the first round of the 74th Signal Mountain Invitational. “They’re driving greens and making buckets of birdies.”
The foursome playing behind Miller included five-time champion Michael Morrison, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga golfers Stephan Jaeger and Fredrik Qvicker and future Georgia golfer Keith Mitchell. The group combined to make 21 birdies and shot 13 under par.
Jaeger had the best score of the 124-man field. The UTC sophomore shot a 6-under 65. His round included six birdies and no bogeys. He leads Qvicker and UTC assistant coach Ben Rickett by one shot.
“It was the most fun I’ve had in a while, particularly because I played good,” Jaeger said. “The other reason is that I had a good group, people were watching and it was fun.”
But Mitchell may have benefited the most from the day, playing with a former Baylor School teammate in Jaeger and a golf mentor in Morrison, another Baylor alumnus.
Mitchell, who is three months away from moving to Athens, Ga., lost a dear friend, Shipley Buckner, in an auto accident last weekend. He pulled out of a U.S. Open qualifier, became ill Wednesday (and still sounded sick Friday) and called Signal Mountain to withdraw before Morrison sent a text encouraging him to play.
“You’re sitting out there and you’re battling yourself, and it’s just you,” said Morrison, who has known Mitchell since the latter was 8 years old. “If you really focus in on your round and block out everything else in your world, playing golf is a refuge.”
Golf and friends provided Mitchell with a remedy for all that ailed him Friday. He spent part of the morning giving his senior speech, then traveled up the mountain with friend and cart-caddie Chuck Hudson in time to hit a couple of balls and roll four putts.
“I’m feeling 75 percent better just by getting out and playing,” said Mitchell, who shot a 1-over 72. “It did more good than bad considering my illness. I feel better on the inside and it was nice just having a good time.
“This week has been unlike anything else. (Morrison) sent that text of encouragement, so I said I’d stick this one out.”
Baylor freshman Blake Maum is in fourth place after a 3-under 68. Morrison, Brendon Wilson and UTC freshman are tied for fifth after shooting 69s. Richard Spangler, Daniel Triplett, Andy White, Player Pierce and Tom Schreiner each shot par.
“I was kind of scared,” Maum said. “I thought I would mess up a good round.”
First-round scores Friday
Championship flight: 65—Stephan Jaeger. 66—Fredrik Qvicker, Ben Rickett. 68—Blake Maum. 69—Steven Fox, Michael Morrison, Brendon Wilson. 71—Richard Spangler, Daniel Triplett, Andy White, Player Pierce, Tom Schreiner. 72—Ryan Thornton, Grag Bankston, Patrick Clossin, Keith Mitchell. 73—Josh Bain, Tim Burns, Spencer Honey, Andrew Weathers. 74—J.T. Clendenin, Mike Jenkins, David McKenna, Walt Moffitt. 75—Adam Stephens, Brad Buff, Phillip Guess, Ronnie Law, Scott Patton, Jay Potter, Caleb Roberson. 76—Jake Hamilston, Tim Kane, Aon Miller. 77—Wes Gilliland, Jeff Greeson, Jeff Howard. 78—Tim Crawford, John Gurley. 79—Richard Smith, Wayne Woolfall, Sam Bedwell. 80—Jimmy Watkins, Joel LaValley, Jeff Sherrill. 82—John Lambert. 83—Mike Borkowski. 84—Mike Feher. 85—Scott Stevens. 87—Brad Beck. 89—Jimmy White III, Antonio Rodriguez.
First flight: 72—Craig Glass, Dean Hale. 73—Kyle Wittler. 75—Brooks Thomas. 76—Ryan Maum, Chuck Schmidt. 77—Rob Shaw. 78—Wayne Crisp, John Kidwell, Julian Saul, Mikey Feher. 79—David Lambeck, Michael Palmer. 80—Case White. 81—Ashish Chuadahari, Tom Connor, Mike Craig, Jason Hogue, Stephen Austin. 82—Gil Milton. 83—David Camadine, Matt Cooper, Jared Willerson. 84—Wayne Brantley, Mike Ryan, Steve Walker, Justin White. 86—Ron Johnson, Rick Mincy, Chris Schreiner. 87—Wayne Blake. 88—Jay Mullin. 89—Austin Adkins, Tom Myers. 90—Cole Ulen. 94—Kevin Steere. 96—Charlie Haney.
Stableford Division A: 28—Rick Morrison. 27—John Friedl, Bruce Russell. 26—Chris Bursch, Jeff Caplenor. 23—Chip Muller, Joe White. 22—Bobby Schubert. 21—David Conner, McClain Hedges, Joe Honey. 19—Al Adcock.
Stableford Division B: 31—Abbie Keyes. 26—David O’Neal. 25—Shaun Reynolds. 22—Larry Hopkins. 21—Lou Devin, Bill Trumpeter. 20—Doug Conner, Martin Long, Jeff Ott. 19—Woody Hamilton. 18—Mac Hedges. 17—Doug Fisher, Wayne Palmer. 16—Jeff Billings. 15—Bobby Morrison III, Pat Patterson. 12—Bruce Chambers. 11— Jim Miller.
Today’s tee times available at the Signal Mountain Golf & Country Club website.
David Uchiyama is a sports writer at the Chattanooga Times Free Press who began his tenure here in May 2001. His primary beats are UTC athletics — specifically men’s basketball and athletic department administration — and golf, which includes coverage from the PGA Tour to youth events. He also covers other high school sports, outdoor adventures, and contributes to other sections of the newspaper when necessary. David grew up in Salinas, Calif., and began working ...
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