Mays, Fly win their first Senior and Super Senior Match Play TGA titles
OAK RIDGE, Tenn. — Oak Ridge Country Club served as the stage for the Tennessee Senior and Super Senior Match Play Championships. Battling through the Tennessee heat and tough greens, Buzz Fly and Rick Mays rose to the occasion and claimed their first Match Play championship titles in their respective divisions.
In the Super Senior division, Buzz Fly asserted his dominance early, finishing atop the leaderboard after two rounds of stroke play. His back-to-back under-par performances—totaling 8-under—secured him the No. 1 seed entering the match play bracket. Among eight advancing players, Fly's top seeding set the tone for what would be a tremendous run.
His opening match in the bracket proved to be the toughest, extending to 19 holes before he would advance.
From there, Fly took his game to another level. He cruised through the quarterfinals with a 6&4 win and closed out the championship match against Richard Keene on the 17th hole, winning 2&1.
The Memphis native adds the Chuck Jabaley Cup to an already decorated resume that includes a 2013 Senior Match Play title and four consecutive Super Senior Amateur championships. He now sets his sights on defending those titles once again in August at Belle Meade.
Meanwhile, in the Seniors division, Rick Mays made his presence known in a quieter fashion. He posted a steady 4-under in Round One to sit in second place, followed by a 3-under in Round Two to finish T6 overall.
Notching the seventh seed heading into match play, Mays had to grind his way through the bracket. Mays was almost knocked out in the opening round, finding himself 3 down to Lookout Mountain’s Zeb Patten with just four holes left to play. The Riceville resident didn’t back down from the challenge, winning the next four holes, including a birdie on the last to overcome defeat and advance to the quarterfinals. There, he picked up some momentum with a decisive 4&3 win over Thomas White.
Mays emerged from a crowded field of sixteen to take on Bradford Kuester in the championship match.
The match between the two was tightly contested as neither player had more than a one-hole advantage throughout the entire round.
Once again, Mays championship hopes were on the line as he stood on the 18th tee. Down one to Kuester, he knew this was his last chance to extend the match and his hopes of hoisting the John T. Lupton Cup. A good drive and great second shot gave him a birdie chance that he converted to push the match to extra holes.
The first playoff hole went back to the 18th tee where Mays had to overcome adversity again. His drive didn’t give him much of a shot of reaching the green in two and instead went into the fescue left of the cart path, meaning a bad lie with the title on the line. A punch out put him close to the green and he nearly chipped in to end the match, but close enough to save par and match Kuester’s par to go to the 20th hole of the match.
After two good drives, both Kuester and Mays second shots ended up short of the green, requiring a chip and a putt to make par. Kuester’s chip came up short while Mays put it close to make par. There, Mays displayed impressive composure, sinking his putt after a tough miss from Kuester to claim the John T. Lupton Cup.