Buzz Fly chose to spend his birthday at Lookout Mountain Club on Friday, five hours away from the rest of his family in Memphis. But he picked out the perfect gift for himself to celebrate the occasion, one that has become all too familiar.
The Midgett Family Trophy is awarded to the champion of the Tennessee Super Senior Amateur, and for the sixth consecutive year the hardware will find itself in Fly’s possession after his three-shot win. In doing so, the 71-year-old Fly ushered in his new year by also adding his name to the Tennessee Golf Association record book in becoming the first golfer to win the same event six straight years.
Fly eclipsed a mark shared by a pair of Tennessee Golf Hall of Fame members – Lew Oehmig and Judy Eller Street – and it’s only a matter of time before he finds himself joining them with his own enshrinement.
Oehmig’s streak of Tennessee Senior Amateurs won from 1969-73 could have possibly been extended had the tournament not undergone a seven-year hiatus before resuming in 1980. Street began her run of Tennessee Women’s Amateur titles as a 15-year-old in 1956 that concluded in 1960.
“I'm just grateful to be able to still play good and play solid at this age,” Fly said. “I qualified for the U.S. Senior Amateur a few weeks ago, and I'm going to get to go next week for the seventh time. I'll be the second oldest guy in the field, so it’s just a privilege to be able to continue to play golf at this level.”
When confronted by the fact that his win usurps Oehmig’s deeds in TGA annals, Fly was quick to downplay the comparison to the legend.
“I don't put myself in the same category with Lew Oehmig,” Fly said. “I don't know that Super Senior stuff stacks up to all the things he accomplished.”
Fly has now accumulated 17 statewide victories, with 15 of those coming in the last 13 years when he found time to compete regularly after focusing on his family and business career previously. In addition to his six Super Senior Amateurs, he won a Super Senior Match Play title in 2025 to go with three Senior Four-Ball victories (2016, 2019, 2020) and a Senior Match Play crown (2013) to bring his TGA total to 11.
Fly also has won six Tennessee PGA events, including two Tennessee Assistant PGA Professional championships (1979, 1980), two Tennessee Super Senior State Opens (2022, 2024) and a pair of Tennessee PGA Senior Players Championships (2013, 2017).
After entering Friday’s round deadlocked with Brentwood’s Hubie Smith at 4-over, Fly recorded a 2-over 72 to win by three shots over Smith with a final total of 6-over par.
Fly trailed by one shot after three holes before virtually sealing the outcome at the turn. He claimed birdies at holes 4 and 6 along with four pars to improve to 3-over, while Smith encountered three bogeys and a double bogey to fall to 9-over during that same stretch. In the span of six holes, Fly went from one down to leading by six.
But Smith refused to go down without a fight. He bagged a trio of birdies over the first four holes of the back nine, drawing to within three shots after Fly double-bogeyed the par-3 13th.
“I was playing great until that point, and I’ll admit I felt some pressure after that double,” Fly said. “I was aware that I was only three-up after that three-shot swing with five difficult holes left. I felt the pressure for sure from that point on.”
But Smith could claw no closer as the golfers traded bogeys at 14 and 15 and ended the round with three straight pars.
Smith finished second in his first year as a Super Senior, having placed second two years ago at Memphis Country Club in the Senior Amateur. He closed with a final round 75 to post a total of 9 over.
Knoxville’s John Thomas - one of three golfers along with Nashville’s Stuart Smith and Rob Kremer to shoot 71 as Friday’s low score – finished third at 14 over. Clarksville’s Greg Guinn and Brentwood’s Greg Wilder tied for fourth at 15 over.
Stuart Smith, David Apperson of Memphis and French Bolen of Knoxville finished at 16 over, good for a sixth-place tie, one shot ahead of Wes Payne of Knoxville in ninth at 17 over.