Kingsport’s Tony Green eliminated two Chattanooga-area players from the Tennessee Senior Match Play Championship on Thursday.
He couldn’t take down a third Friday.
Chattanooga Golf and Country Club member Tom Baird defended his home turf Friday morning by beating Green with a birdie on the 19th hole.
“This is the first time I’ve really ever won anything but the club championship,” Baird said. “I’ve always wanted to play competitive golf, and this is pretty special. Maybe there will be more.”
In the afternoon, Middle Tennessee State freshman Brett Patterson from McMinnville beat University of Memphis junior Jonathan Fly 2 up to win the open division championship.
“This is the result of a lot of hard work and everything coming together at the right time,” said Patterson, who recently won the Spirit of America tournament. “Neither of us could really make many putts. I didn’t make too many mistakes, and I got a couple more putts to drop.”
Neither Baird nor Green secured control of the senior match, even though Baird led 2 up through eight holes and Green led by one heading into the last.
The heat of the week began to take a toll on Green, who won the championship in 2008 but couldn’t play in the 2009 event. He fractured his ankle while hitting a 3-wood in the fall of 2008.
In March of 2009, a blot clot nearly killed him and kept him in intensive care for two weeks. He returned to golf about four months later.
“I haven’t had my endurance, and every day is a little tougher,” Green said. “I totally lost my legs on the last couple holes and I tried to make a swing instead of just swinging, and it’s hard to do that under pressure.”
With his legs weary, Green’s tee shot on No. 18 settled on the No. 9 green, about 60 yards right and 40 yards down in elevation from the target green. He barely missed a par putt after a successful approach.
But Baird rolled in his par putt – after swatting a fly away from his ball on the 6-footer – to force the playoff.
He sank an even longer putt for birdie on the extra hole to win.
“We actually play very similar,” Baird said. “I gave him a few and he gave me a few. I wish we could have played a little better.”
Also in the morning, Fly eliminated University of Tennessee at Chattanooga sophomore Steven Fox 2 up in a regular-division semifinal, and Patterson beat defending champion Todd Burgan of Knoxville 3 and 1.
“I had a bunch of fun and it’s tough losing, but Jon is a great player,” said Fox, who was down three with three holes to play. “I had four three-putts and that hurts, because you need to make putts in match play.”
In the afternoon final, Patterson made the turn 2 up on Fly and never relinquished his lead even though Fly forced the match to 18 holes.
Patterson birdied No. 16 to go up with three to play. But Fly responded with a birdie on No. 17.
He couldn’t extend the match any longer. Fly’s tee shot on the 220-yard par-3 nestled in a bunker left of the green. He missed a 5-footer for par and conceded the hole – and thus the championship – to Patterson.
“I didn’t putt good enough to win today, and it showed,” Fly said. “Brett was tough to beat. He didn’t make mistakes and I did. He should have won.”
Patterson did, and Baird won too.