TENNESSEE PGA SECTION CHAMPIONSHIP
 conducted by the Tennessee PGA
 State_Am_trophy
HISTORY: The Tennessee PGA Professional Championship and the Tennessee Golf Association’s Tennessee State Open are the premier events of the year for Tennessee’s club professionals. All TPGA Section members are eligible to compete and the Tennessee Section of the PGA includes member pros who work for clubs located in counties bordering Tennessee. After a long hard and frustrating political fight, in 1968 the Tennessee Section was recognized by the Professional Golfers Association of America (PGA), the national body that conducts the affairs of club professionals. Previous to 1968, the Tennessee chapter was a part of the Southeastern PGA Section that included Mississippi and Louisiana. The Tennessee Section Championship began in the fall of 1968 when the group held its first meeting at Windyke Country Club in Germantown. Carroll Armstrong of Kingsport won the tournament by three strokes over Murfreesboro’s Gene Dixon. The tournament was an outgrowth of the State PGA tournament that had been conducted the three previous years during the Tennessee chapter meeting at Tansi Resort in Crossville. In each of these years, Knoxville’s Joe Campbell won. In 1967, Campbell shot 198 (-12), a record that still stands. Campbell and Gibby Gilbert Jr. each have won the tournament five times.
 

State-Champ

2020 RESULTS: Johan Kok, general manager of the Troubadour Club in Arrington, shot 71-67-64—202 (-11) on the South course at Vanderbilt Legends in Franklin to win his tournament record-setting fourth straight Tennessee PGA Professional Championship.

RESULTS
Johan Kok, Nashville71-67-64—202 (-11)
Braxton Hunter, Knoxville67-66-73—206
Adam Forgey, Crossville69-69-70—208
Brian Wood, Lakeland73-68-69—210
Andrew Bateman, Knoxville70-71-69—210
Bill Breen, Nashville71-73-67—211
Jake Reeves, Knoxville69-71-71—211
Marshall Talkington, Jackson71-73-68—212
Walt Chapman, Knoxville67-73-72—212
Kevin Snell, Eagleville72-72-71—215
Audie Johnson, Mt. Juliet71-70-74—215
Bobby Cochran, Germantown68-74-73—215
Josh Bevell, Nashville69-70-76—215
Oliver Peacock, Franklin73-67-75—215
PAST CHAMPIONS AND SITES
2020Johan KokVanderbilt Legends (South)
2019Johan KokHolston Hills 
2018Johan KokHolston Hills
2017Johan KokTroubadour
2016Oliver PeacockTroubadour
2015Loren PersonettVanderbilt Legends (North)
2014Scott MoranHolston Hills
2013Kelvin BurginWesthaven
2012Scott MoranFox Den
2011Audie JohnsonTPC Southwind
2010Kip HenleyCouncil Fire
2009Scott MoranOak Ridge
2008Kelvin BurginOld Hickory
2007Kelvin BurginHolston Hills
2006Kelvin BurginBear Trace at Cumberland Mountain
2005Kip HenleyLookout Mountain
2004Rob HessingGolf Club of Tennessee
2003Loren PersonettCouncil Fire
2002Bob BoyleBelle Meade
2001Bob BoyleCleveland
2000Sam AdamsEagle’s Landing
1999Randy HeltonIndian Hills
1998Bobby BrayCouncil Fire
1997Art WhaleyStones River
1996Art WhaleyWindyke (East)
1995Don JonesRidgefields
1994Kip HenleyThe Country Club (Morristown)
1993Kip Henley*Springhouse 
1992Walt ChapmanCleveland
1991Randy HeltonGermantown
1990Gibby Gilbert Jr.Bristol
1989Bobby BrayNashboro Village
1988Gibby Gilbert Jr.The Country Club (Morristown)
1987Gibby Gilbert Jr.Hermitage (General’s Retreat)
1986Gibby Gilbert Jr.Bluegrass
1985Gary RobinsonRidgeway
1984Waddy StokesCleveland
1983Gary RobinsonRichland
1982Bobby BrayRidgefields
1981Mike NixonHolston Hills
1980Mike NixonRidgeway
1979Gibby Gilbert Jr.Chattanooga
1978James PaschalTemple Hills
1977Greg PowersBristol
1976Gary RobinsonFox Den
1975Bert WeaverWindyke (West)
1974Greg PowersFall Creek Falls
1973Bob WolfeFall Creek Falls
1972Joe CampbellRidgefields
1971x-Larry Gilbert**Farmington
1970Joe CampbellOak Ridge
1969Mason RudolphHillwood
1968Carroll ArmstrongWindyke (East)
1967Joe CampbellLake Tansi 
1966Joe CampbellLake Tansi 
1965Joe CampbellLake Tansi
   


 
MULTIPLE WINNERS
Joe Campbell (5)1965, 66, 67, 70, 72
Gibby Gilbert Jr. (5)1979, 86, 87, 88, 90
Kip Henley (4)1993, 94, 05, 10
Kelvin Burgin (4)2006, 07, 08, 13
Johan Kok (4)2017, 18, 19, 20
Gary Robinson (3)1976, 83, 85
Bobby Bray (3)1982, 89, 98
Scott Moran (3)2009, 12, 14
Greg Powers (2)1974, 77
Mike Nixon (2)1980, 81
Randy Helton (2)1991, 99
Art Whaley (2)1996, 97
Bob Boyle (2)2001, 02
Loren Personett (2)2003, 15
  
TOURNAMENT RECORDS
Match Play
Most championships: 2, Joe Campbell, 1965, 1966.
Most consecutive championships: 2, Joe Campbell, 1965, 1966.
Most times in finals: 2, Joe Campbell, 1965, 1966.
Stroke Play
Most championships: 5, Gibby Gilbert Jr., 1979, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990.
Most consecutive championships: 4, Johan Kok, 2017, 2018, 2019.
Most runner-up finishes: 4, Richard Eller, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1978; Bert Weaver, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1980.  
Lowest score, 54 holes: 198 (-12), Joe Campbell, 1967, Tansi Resort. 
Lowest score, 54 holes, based on par: 200 (-16), Johan Kok, 2018, Holston Hills.
Lowest 18-hole score: 64, Gibby Gilbert Jr., 2nd round, 1988, Morristown; Richard Rebne, 3rd round, 2016, Troubadour; Johan Kok, 3rd round, 2020, Vanderbilt Legends (South).
Lowest 18-hole score, based on par: 64 (-8), Gibby Gilbert Jr., 2nd round, 1988, Morristown; Richard Rebne, 3rd round, 2016, Troubadour; John Kok, 3rd round, 2020, Vanderbilt Legends (South).
Lowest score, first 18 holes: 65, Joe Campbell, 1967, Tansi Resort; Carroll Armstrong, 1967, Tansi Resort; Art Whaley, 1997, Stones River; Jake Reeves, 2017, Troubadour; Johan Kok, 2018, Holston Hills; Johan Kok, 2019, Holston Hills.
Lowest score, first 36 holes: 132, Joe Campbell, 1967, Tansi Resort; Kip Henley, 2005, Lookout Mountain; Johan Kok, 2018, Holston Hills.
Lowest score, last 36 holes: 131, John Kok, 2020, Vanderbilt Legends (South). 
Lowest 18-hole final round by winner: 64, John Kok, 2020, Vanderbilt Legends (South).
Largest winning margin: 10 strokes, Greg Powers, 1974, Fall Creek Falls.  
Match and Stroke Play
Most championships: 5, Joe Campbell, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1970, 1972; Gibby Gilbert Jr., 1979, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990 
Most consecutive championships: 4, Johan Kok, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020.
Most runner-up finishes: 4, Richard Eller, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1978; Bert Weaver, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1980
Longest span, first to last championship: 16 years, Bobby Bray, 1982-1998
Longest span between championships: 12 years, Loren Personett, 2003-2015 
First left-handed player to win: Sam Adams, 2000, Eagle’s Landing
Youngest player to win: Greg Powers (28 years, 5 months, 26 days), 1974, Fall Creek Falls; Jimmy Paschal (28 years, 8 months, 27 days), 1978, Temple Hills; Larry Gilbert (28 years, 9 months, 28 days), 1971, Farmington.
Oldest player to win: Sam Adams (54 years, 3 months, 22 days), 2000, Eagle’s Landing.
Most times host club of championship: 3, Tansi Resort, 1965, 1966, 1967; Windyke, 1968, 1975, 1996; Ridgefields, 1972, 1982, 1995; Holston Hills, 1981, 2007, 2014; Cleveland, 1984, 1992, 2001
*-Now Gaylord Springs Golf Club.
**-Now Germantown Country Club.
x-Greg Powers’s 142 was low, but apprentice players, in a separate division, were not eligible for the Section Championship.
 


 2021 TENNESSEE GOLF ALMANAC AND RECORD BOOK

written and edited by Gene Pearce
copyright © Tennessee Golf Foundation