Matt Mitchell has always dreamed of having his name added to a state championship trophy. He has some impressive wins on his resume’ including a Memphis Amateur title and a victory at the prestigious Tillinghast Invitational, but a Tennessee Golf Association crown seemed to always escape his grasp.
That is, until Friday at Chickasaw Country Club.
The 51-year-old Mitchell finally achieved that elusive goal at the 27th Tennessee Match Play Championship, defeating Nashville's Tucker Jenkins in the finals by a 2 and 1 margin for his first TGA title. And after draining the decisive putt for par on the 17th hole, Mitchell was overcome with equal parts jubilation and relief.
“It’s almost indescribable,” Mitchell said. “I know a lot of people say, ‘Oh, man, I don’t have the words’ or ‘It’s a dream come true’. But when that last putt went in, I bawled because it’s been such a long journey and it’s so difficult to win. I’ve put in a ton of work over the last 15 years, and even though I don’t judge my worth on whether or not I’d won a state event, it feels great to be able to finally accomplish this.”
Mitchell, a resident of Burns, can now permanently find his name on the Tim Jackson Cup alongside names that he has always admired.
“The fact my name is on a trophy with Tim Jackson, Todd Burgan and my good friend Travis Womble is pretty amazing,” Mitchell said. “No matter how bad I play from here on out, they can’t take my name off it. It’s just thrilling to know you have your name on the same trophy as Hall of Famers.”
In the championship match, Jenkins picked up three early birdies to grab a 2 up lead after six holes. After both golfers earned pars at No. 7, Mitchell then went on a tear that ultimately determined the outcome.
Mitchell won three straight holes starting at the 8th with a birdie and two pars to take a 1 up edge. The pair halved 11 with birdies before Mitchell claimed wins at 12 with a par and at 13 with a birdie.
Sitting on a 3-up cushion with five holes remaining, Mitchell played steady golf down the stretch with Jenkins able to claw back within two with a par at 16. However, a final par at 17 settled the outcome with Mitchel claiming a 2 and 1 win.
“Tucker is a good friend of mine and he has a unique ability to never be out of a hole,” Mitchell said. “He had me down early, but I was able to go up right after the turn. That’s when I told myself, ‘It’s right there in front of you. You’ve just got to man up and hit some shots to bring this home.’”
In his earlier semifinal match with Andrew Duff of Memphis, Mitchell had consecutive birdies at Nos. 4 and 5 to help him take an early 3-up lead. Duff managed to trim the gap to 1 down with birdies at 8 and 10, and the margin remained unchanged as the duo halved the next four holes.
Mitchell then delivered a decisive blow with winning pars at 15 and 16 to seal his 3 and 2 verdict.
Jenkins defeated Kevin Rhoderick of Knoxville in his semifinal match, 6 and 4. He held a 3 up spread through 11 holes thanks to three winning birdies, then sealed the match with a par at 12 and birdies at 13 and 14.
Mitchell was the second oldest player in the 64-player field this week, but he was able to rely upon his past experience to keep up with the field of younger competitors.
“This is one for the old guys,” Mitchell said. “I’m almost 52 years old and I don’t know if there’s anybody that’s won this that was older than me, so I’m super proud of that.”
After playing collegiately at Samford, Mitchell has made a concentrated effort to steadily improve over the past several years. He made it to final stage of Champions Tour qualifying school a few years back and has earned some top 10 finishes in past events, most recently a 10th place showing in the Tennessee State Open where he was third best among amateurs.
“I’ve been playing some good golf lately,” Mitchell said. “But the funny thing is I’ve never actually won my pool before in this tournament, so I never got out of pool play. But this year I played well at the right time, and I could not be more thankful for it.”