Last week, Trent Mansfield shook hands with Henrik Simonsen, the director of golf at The Honors Course.
Simonsen half-joked that it was a pleasure to meet somebody so famous.
Mansfield had no clue.
"I knew it wasn't for anything with golf, because my summer stunk," Mansfield said. "I didn't know what he was talking about."
Mansfield is featured on a Tennessee Wesleyan College billboard posted alongside I-75 in Ooltewah. The final line of the ad reads, "Trent Mansfield, Class of 2019."
It could now be altered to, "Trent Mansfield, Brainerd Invitational Champion 2015."
Mansfield shot consecutive career-low 66s for a two-day total of 12-under 132 to win the Brainerd Invitational, which finished Sunday, by six strokes against a field featuring some of the Chattanooga area's best amateur golfers.
"I'm still in shock," said Mansfield, who graduated from Boyd-Buchanan in May and will join the Bulldogs golf team in a matter of days. "I can't believe that I played so much better this weekend than the rest of the summer."
Just five weeks ago, Mansfield shot a 91, then had an 82 in the first round of the Chattanooga Men's Metro at Canyon Ridge. He lost to Zac Bombassi in the opening round of the Chattanooga Classic at The Honors.
Then on Saturday, he broke his career scoring record by two strokes. Equally - perhaps even more - impressive is that he backed it up on Sunday with another 6-under round.
"To shoot your career round on back-to-back days is pretty good," Mansfield said after getting a kiss from his mom and congratulations from former teammates, Boyd-Buchanan coach Ed Clendenen and many others who watched his championship performance.
"In a month, I've improved quite a bit," Mansfield said. "I haven't taken any lessons. All I've changed is my pre-shot routine. I hold my practice swing."
The change worked out well. Mansfield impressed runner-up Chris Hall, who won this event last year, when he also reached the U.S. Senior Amateur Quarterfinals. He was using this year's Brainerd as a warm-up for a Senior Am qualifier.
Hall's 6-under 138 was a stroke ahead of Metro champion Sport Allmond.
The setup at Brainerd Golf Course challenged most of the field.
"Trent didn't hit any stupid shots, and he didn't try to steer any shots," Hall said. "You know the K.I.S.S. (keep it simple, stupid) method, that's what he played.
Mansfield owned a one-stroke lead over Hall starting the day. He inched it out to two strokes after his first nine on Sunday. Both birdied No. 11
Hall couldn't close the gap, but Mansfield couldn't pull away. Hall rolled in a nice birdie putt on the par-5 13th. Mansfield made it on top of him.
Two strokes separated them as they stood on the tee of No. 14, a par-3 hole that played about 155 yards. Other contenders like Allmond, Taylor Lewis, Richard Spangler and fourth-place finisher Jimmy White III were out of contention for the win.
But Hall wanted the trophy for a third time.
"I'm two back and Trent hadn't cracked all day, so I thought I'd better go at the pin tucked front left and just over the bunker," Hall said. "I hit it too hard."
He walked to the next tee while drawing two squares by his name and doubling Mansfield's lead to four shots with four holes to play.
"That gave me cushion," Mansfield said. "I didn't have the honor for a long time, because every time I made a birdie, he did too."
Mansfield closed with a bogey on No. 17 and a birdie on No. 18 to the applause of his friends and family.
The two Brainerd Invitational trophies are headed to Athens. Wesleyan coach Mike Poe won the senior division with a 3-under 141 after he beat Tom Baird in a sudden-death playoff that lasted three holes.
"I played pretty good both days," Poe said. "I'm a little more excited about the guy who won the regular division."
Contact David Uchiyama at duchiyama@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6484. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/UchiyamaCTFP