Paul Helle has a plan that just might improve the Signal Mountain Invitational.
The tournament always has been kind to area college golfers, but a player from Georgia State won last year.
So the Signal Mountain Golf and Country Club head professional decided to see if other college players from across the Southeast would be interested.
A few played Friday in the first round of the 2014 tournament.
“My coach got a lot of emails from Mr. Helle and he forwarded them to me, and I had a free weekend,” said UNC Wilmington freshman Thomas Lilly. “I’d never been to Tennessee, so I wanted to see what it’s all about, plus we didn’t make it to [NCAA] regionals, so I needed something to play in.