MTSU’s McKnight and Zimmer defeat coach for Four-Ball Championship

Harrison, TENN. — If the 2024 Four-Ball Championship was a sign of things to come, MTSU Blue Raiders fans have much to look forward to this upcoming golf season. After 108 holes of golf in just four days, Sheldon McKnight and JJ Zimmer were crowned champions of the 2024 Tennessee Four-Ball Championship. 

It was the first TGA title for Zimmer, an incoming transfer to MTSU by way of Union University. For McKnight, it was his second TGA Title, his first coming in 2022 at the Tennessee Junior Amateur.

The pair got off to a hot start, earning a T2 finish in stroke play qualifying at 21-under-par, that included a second-round 58, punctuated with 14 birdies. This earned McKnight and Zimmer the second seed heading into the 16-team match-play bracket. 

In the round of 16, the two faced off against Nashville’s Tucker Jenkins and Franklin’s Bill Wellons. Wellons and Jenkins jumped out to an early lead, but after McKnight and Zimmer tied the match on the 5th hole, the two never trailed again. McKnight and Zimmer won the match 2 & 1 to advance to the quarterfinals. 

Facing Wes Farris and Rick Mays in the quarterfinals match, McKnight and Zimmer kept the momentum rolling from their match win earlier in the day. The duo won the second hole of the match and proceeded to keep their foot on the gas. McKnight and Zimmer advanced to the final day and semifinals match 5 & 3 after a birdie on the 15th hole secured the match. 

Powell’s Ethan Whitaker and Knoxville’s Carson Kammann were on the other side of the tee box for McKnight and Zimmer’s semifinal match. The match was gridlocked through six holes, but Whitaker and Kammann found their rhythm, winning three of the next four holes, 3 up after 10. McKnight and Zimmer showed no quit, winning the 11th hole to cut into the deficit. McKnight and Zimmer strung together a three-hole win streak on 14, 15, and 16 to take the lead by one hole. Kammann and Whitaker struck right back on 17, and the match was tied heading to the 18th hole. 

Momentum on their side, McKnight stuck his approach shot into the tricky 18th green to two feet. A tap-in birdie later, and McKnight and Zimmer were just one match away from hoisting the Orvis Milner Trophy. 

McKnight and Zimmer saw familiar faces on the other side of the championship match. The Blue Raiders took on their assistant coach and 2024 Tennessee State Amateur Champion Payne Denman and Tennessee Golf Foundation President and former MTSU golf coach Whit Turnbow, the first-seeded team in the match play bracket and 2023 Tennessee Four-Ball Champions. In their semifinals match, Turnbow and Denman faced off against the red-hot Keoni Vidrine and Steven Locke, who had won their previous two matches 4 & 3 and 6 & 5, respectively. 

Vidrine and Lock won the first hole of the match, and led by two after 10 holes. After a birdie on 14 from Denman and another on 16 from Turnbow, the match was tied with 2 holes to play. 18 holes wasn’t enough to determine a winner, and the two sides went to hole 10 for a playoff. On the second playoff hole, the par-3 11th, Denman knocked in a 10-footer for birdie to send the defending champions back to the final match, despite never leading during the semifinals. 

 McKnight and Zimmer came out of the gate firing, winning three of the first four holes of the match. The duo remained consistent, and the match stayed that way until they won the 10th hole of the match. Denman and Turnbow showed no quit, winning the next hole. After a few back-and-forth holes, Zimmer sealed the championship for the pair with a 15-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole, winning the match 3 & 2. Denman and Turnbow came up just short of becoming the first duo to repeat as Four-Ball champions since Tennessee Golf Hall of Famers Danny Green and Rob Long nearly 30 years ago.

For the full event results, click here.