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Margaritis wins first TGA title at the 37th Tennessee Mid-Amateur Championship

JACKSON, Tenn. — The week at Jackson Country Club was a challenge for most with quick, perplexing greens putting the pressure on even the best putters. But it was Germantown’s Winston Margaritis who rose above the rest to win the 37th Tennessee Mid-Amateur Championship, his first Tennessee Golf Association victory.


The former Belmont golfer was the only one to record an under-par 54-hole score, finishing 1-under-par with a 69-71-69 three-day total. Margaritis’ first-round 69 put him in a two-way tie for first with Jackson local Ryan Davis. Both Davis and Margaritis finished over par in the second round needing to chase down the leader, Murfreesboro’s Grant Leaver.


Leaver held a two-stroke lead over Margaritis heading into the final round with Nashville’s Brenton Flynn rounding out the lead group. The front nine could not have been more different between Margaritis and Leaver with the former quickly taking the lead with a two-under front nine with three birdies while the latter stumbled to a five-over front nine.


As comfortable as a five-shot lead sounds, it could quickly disappear at Jackson Country Club meaning nothing was guaranteed for Margaritis. But the Germantown product kept his steady play throughout, taking a five-shot lead into the 18th. Margaritis finished with a bogey but it didn’t matter, the John Atkins Trophy was his.


Hoisting the trophy was a full-circle moment for Margaritis who last did it at the 2016 TSSAA State Championship. After signing to play golf at Florida State, he stepped away from the game after his first year to focus on studies before returning to play collegiate golf while getting his Master’s Degree at Belmont.


“I needed to step away from the game to get the right perspective,” Margaritis told Amateur Golf. “Golf can be very taxing and very frustrating when you put a lot of time in it and you don't get the results. At that point in my life, I was 19 and wasn’t really enjoying it. It took me a long time to examine and get perspective on why I play the game. I came to realize it’s not to shoot low rounds. It's not really to win tournaments. It's just because you love it.”


The low round of the day didn’t belong to the champ, however. Instead, it went to Chattanooga’s Hunter Garrett who surged up the leaderboard with back-to-back sub-70 rounds. Garrett’s 2-under-par 68 was the best of the final round and tied for the best of the week with fellow runner-up Leaver.


Knoxville’s Jack Smith finished in fourth place with a 4-over-par 214 for another Top 5 finish at the Tennessee Mid-Amateur.


Taylor Mottern’s title defense came up short but he climbed the leaderboard in the final round to finish in the Top 5 with a 69. He was joined in a tie for fifth with Burns’ Matt Mitchell and Nashville’s Brenton Flynn.


For complete results from the 37th Tennessee Mid-Amateur Championship, click here.

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