Nothing like a little home-course advantage, Harry Hill and Ben Rebne may say.
Both Hill, Saturday's senior-division winner in the 2016 Chattanooga Men's Metro golf tournament, and Rebne, the overall leader heading into today's final round, have ties to Council Fire Golf Club where the competition is being held.
Club member Hill shot a 3-under-par 69 for a two-day total of 141 and a three-stroke win in his division. Rebne, the son of Council Fire head professional Richard Rebne, shot an even-par round Saturday but at 134 still owns a three-shot lead with 18 holes remaining in the open division, thanks to shooting a personal-best 62 on Friday.
Twenty-seven golfers remain in the hunt for the open title. Today's first tee times are at 11 a.m. Rebne is in the final threesome, scheduled to tee off at 12:20 p.m.
Hill instructs children in the First Tee program, and one message he said he stresses to them is to not think too hard before they hit their golf shots. He applied that philosophy Saturday, and it proved to be a key factor in his championship run.
Hill's second round was the only one under par in the senior division and left him as the only senior golfer to finish under par for the tournament.
"I only missed one fairway, and that was my only bogey today," Hill said of his 5 on No. 9. "Just fairways and greens. It turned out to be enough."
Eight senior golfers entered final-round play at even par or better, led by Jim Brett and last year's champion Mitch Hufstetler at 1-under 71. But Brett and Hufstetler fell back Saturday, and the best any of the five tied at 72 with Hill could do was Bob Rice and Richard Keene matching their Friday rounds. Rice ended up second in a scorecard playoff.
"The key stretch for me was coming back from the bogey on 9," Hill said. "I hit all my bad shots on that one hole, it seemed like.
"I made a couple of birdies down the stretch and stayed out of trouble."
John Lambert and Tom Baird each shot a 73 on Saturday and tied at 145. Lambert won the scorecard playoff for fourth.
Rebne's Saturday round included a 39 on the front side, followed by a 33 on the back. He birdied two of the three par 5s coming in, but perhaps his biggest putt was a par-saver on the par-4 No. 16.
After hitting a solid drive, Rebne hit his approach shot into a greenside bunker. After blasting out he had a lengthy sidehill putt with a big break in it.
"I had a bad lie in the bunker," Rebne said. "I did all I could do with that. To make that putt was just a plus. I was definitely not expecting to make it."
Rebne's playing partners, Taylor Lewis and Mark Harrell, had shot 66 and 67 on Friday. But they saw their scores balloon with a 77 and 75, respectively, on Saturday.
Steve Johnson backed his opening-day 71 with a 66 and is in second place. Four players shot 68 in the opening round with Cres Dodd and Davis Watts adding 70s to their scores, leaving them tied for third. Rounds of 71 by Lake Johnson and P.J. Shields have them tied for fifth.
Rebne said his mindset the first day was to try to get a favorable position, then the second day it became to try and keep that position. He said he's not looking for a particular score in the final round.
"All in all, I don't have any regrets today," Rebne said. "Even par made me satisfied. I don't have a number I'd say would satisfy me tomorrow. As long as I hit it good and make some putts, then whatever happens happens."
Contact Kelley Smiddie at ksmiddie@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6653. Follow him at twitter.com/KelleySmiddie.