Matt Crowder reacts after missing a putt on the 18th green during the Chattanooga Men’s Metro golf tournament at The Course at McLemore on Sunday in Rising Fawn, Ga.With erratic ball striking and a shaky history over the past few years, Richard Spangler had reasons to not exactly be confident coming into the final holes of the Chattanooga Men’s Metro golf tournament Sunday at The Course at McLemore.
But Spangler overcame the jitters and sported a hot putter to finish the final round with a 1-over-par 72 and a 54-hole score of 1-over 214 that allowed the former Middle Tennessee State golfer to eke out a two-shot victory over Rick Mays.
Matt Crowder placed third at 4 over, finishing with a 72 on a day when only one player broke par at the scenic but difficult mountain course that overlooks McLemore Cove in north Georgia, just a few miles east of Trenton. Mays closed with a 73.
While most of the field was having difficulty with the course, Hayden Hunneke compiled the best score of this year’s event with a sizzling 67 to finish at 4-over 217 and share fourth place with 2018 champion David Watts (75) and Taylor Lewis (71). Hunneke’s 67 was despite a triple-bogey 7 at No. 6.
While the majority of the players were having trouble even making pars, Hunneke, a member of the University of Tennessee golf team, made eight birdies. Spangler had only two birdies in the round.