Casey Flenniken of Knoxville and Marshall Talkington of Jackson, Tenn., shared the first-round lead with 5-under-par 65s Monday in the Ira Templeton Chattanooga Classic at Creeks Bend Golf Club. Jared Melson from Tullahoma and amateur Keoni Vidrine from Delano were in a group of five tied for third at 68, the others being Knoxville's Scott Moran and Chris Dibble and Nashville amateur Nick Garretson. Recent Heritage High School graduate Sport Allmond and Jake Reeves of Knoxville share eighth place at 69 going into the final round today, and former Cleveland resident Nick Bailes of Nashville, Wil Manuel of Hixson, Jay Potter of Tullahoma, Braxton Hunter of Knoxville and Glenn Hudson of La Follette are tied for 10th at even-par 70. Nashville's Bill Breen leads the senior division with a 66, one shot better than Jack Oliver of Franklin and amateur Jeff Golliher of Knoxville and two ahead of Kingsport's Mark Houser. Area amateurs Scott Patton, Neil Spitalny and Bob Rice share fifth place at 69.
* Gage Smith from LaFayette, Ga., shot a first-round 75 and was tied for 25th in the U.S. Junior Amateur qualifier Monday at the University of Georgia course, but it's a 36-hole event and the second round was suspended until today. Four spots will be awarded for the national tournament at The Honors Course in three weeks. Ben Carr of Columbus shot a 66 on Monday, and Justin Kim of Rome was second at 69 after 18 holes.
Basketball
* New Lee University men's basketball coach Bubba Smith announced Monday his first signing class with the Flames, with two transfers and seven 2016 high school graduates. One of the latter group was Central star Ryan Montgomery, who helped lead the Purple Pounders to back-to-back state tournaments and averaged 18 points and 10 rebounds a game as a senior. "The versatile forward will be able to play multiple spots on the floor," the Lee release said, noting that Tusculum, King and The Citadel also were recruiting him. Cody Jones is coming as a sophomore from Sewanee, Smith's former school, where he scored in double figures 17 times as a freshman, with highs of 27 and 26 points, and was the Southern Athletic Association newcomer of the year. The Flames' other transfer is senior Mike Kobani from Nigeria by way of Appalachian State, where he appeared in 47 games in three years and scored 18 points in one. The other incoming freshmen are Leander Ridgeway from Lexington, Ky., and Henry Clay High; Kevin Wharton-Price from Huntersville, N.C., and South Lake Christian; Jacob Hoffman from Denmark and Great Atlanta Christian; Parker Suedekum from Brentwood Academy; Sawyer Taylor from Hendersonville, Tenn., and Station Camp High; and Caleb Hodnett from Hendersonville and Aaron Academy. Hodnett avearged 29 points a game with 46 in one as a senior, while Suedekum was part of consecutive Division II-AA state championships and Taylor was a "knock-down" shooter for a 36-2 team after playing three years for Beech High. Hoffman, whose father played 10 years professionally in Denmark and then became a pro coach, was part of an undefeated Georgia state champion as a sophomore.
Auto Racing
* Chattanooga's Curt Swearingin finished third in all three races and got his first time on the podium in the PCA Club Racing Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport Trophy East competition this past weekend at Virginia International Raceway in Danville, Va. Swearingin represents the Tennessee PCA Region in the first-year series. "I feel great!" he was quoted in a series release after his third-place finish in Sunday's endurance race in his No. 18 Advanced Collision Porsche. "We've been struggling to get here. We've been fourth, fourth, fourth. We're happy to get a podium for a change. We've been trying so hard." Then as it turned out, the results of Saturday's sprint races were altered to give him two other thirds. The series goes to Elkhart Lake, Wis., in early September and to Daytona International Speedway in October.