Amateur Joe Markham Jr. Wins the Tennessee Senior State Open
By Brian Weis
The 2024 Tennessee Senior Open Championship on the picturesque Cumberland Plateau was a spectacle that brought together 100 of the finest senior golfers. The air was thick with excitement and anticipation as these veterans of the green took on the daunting Stonehenge Golf Course. With its challenging layout, only three players managed consecutive rounds under par over the grueling 36-hole competition.
As the championship boiled down to its final three holes, the tension was palpable. Joe Markham (a) led at -6, with Jeff Lyons hot on his heels at -5, and Henrik Simonsen and Tim Jackson (a) lurking at -4. The drama peaked on the 17th hole when Markham missed a crucial short putt that would have given him a two-stroke cushion, leaving him with a precarious one-stroke lead.
The 18th hole was the ultimate test. Markham found himself in the greenside bunker, Jackson faced a daunting 20-foot birdie putt, and Lyons had already finished in the clubhouse at -5. Markham's nerves of steel showed as he delivered a masterful bunker shot to within 4 feet of the pin. Jackson narrowly missed his birdie attempt, and Markham sank his putt to clinch the Tennessee Senior State Open.
In the end, it was amateur Joe Markham, Jr. from Cleveland, TN, who emerged victorious, carding rounds of 68 and 70 to finish at 138 (-6). His final round was a testament to steady, composed play, featuring a birdie on the front nine and back-to-back birdies on the 10th and 11th holes. Markham's six straight pars to finish sealed a hard-fought and well-deserved victory.
Revised: 06/14/2024 - Article Viewed 841 Times
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