Two teams return to the winner's circle at the Senior & Super Senior Four-Ball

LOUDON, Tenn. — Golf and life share many common themes, but perhaps none more important than the lesson of hard work and perseverance paying off. That was certainly the case this past week at the Senior and Super-Senior Four-ball Championship.

Tony Green and Garry Siddons successfully defended their title as the Super Senior Four-Ball champions in a 3-hole playoff, holding off 19-time TGA champion Danny Green and four-time champion Doug Harris. The win was Green’s 6th TGA event win and Siddon’s second, with the pair’s most recent win coming from the Super Senior Four-Ball in 2023. 

After a total of 89 holes, the former University of Tennessee teammates Stuart Smith and Jeff Walker claimed victory for the Senior Division. Walker claimed his fourth TGA title, and got back into the winner’s circle for the first time since winning the TGA Parent-Child championship in 2004, while Smith claimed his first TGA title. 

The path to victory was filled with trials and tribulations and was a grind for both teams.

Smith and Walker advanced to the match play portion of the tournament after carding a nine-under-par 135 during the first two rounds of stroke play qualifying, earning them the 7th seed in bracket play. 

In the quarterfinal match, Smith and Walker faced Tullahoma’s Alan Jones and Clay Uselton, winning 3 & 1. The pair started off hot and remained that way, taking their first lead after winning the third hole, and never relinquished the lead. Up two through 16, Walker iced the match with a birdie putt on 17 to advance to the semifinals. 

Green and Siddons shot a six-under-par 138 to advance to the final two days, and were the third seed in the match play bracket. 

In the semifinal match against Memphis’ David Apperson and Powell’s Bryan Kendrick, Green and Siddons took the lead on hole three, and led until Siddons won the match for the team with a birdie on the 15th hole, winning 4 & 3. 

In the Senior semifinals, Walker and Smith faced off against Knoxville’s Will Kegley and Sevierville’s Bill Oliver. Walker and Smith were down four holes through six, but mounted a slow but steady comeback, tying the match for the first time on hole 16. Down one going into the 18th hole, Smith rolled in a 12-footer for birdie to force a playoff for a chance to punch a ticket to the championship match. 

The playoff lasted two holes, and Smith’s clutch gene showed again, winning the match with a birdie putt on hole 2. 

The pair was matched up against the one-seeded Jay Potter and David Burris, representing Manchester and Tullahoma, respectively. The match was tight, with no team leading by more than two holes at any point during the championship match.

Walker and Smith took their first lead of the match on hole 10, and never trailed after. With a par on hole 17, the pair claimed the title for the Senior Division, winning the match 2 & 1.

In the Super Senior championship match, Green and Siddons faced the pair of Danny Green and Doug Harris, the one-seeded Super-Senior team with a combined 24 TGA event wins. 

Green and Siddons came out of the gates firing on all cylinders, winning the first three holes. Harris and Green eventually mounted a comeback, tying the match on hole 14, and taking the lead on hole 16. Down one going into 18, Green and Siddons needed to win the hole to force a play-off.

Green rolled in a steep downhill putt to extend the match to play off holes. After two pars by both teams, the match ended on the par-3 third hole. Green rolled in a 40-foot putt from the backside of the green to secure a victory and a successful title defense. 

The pair became the first to win the event in back-to-back years since Mike Nixon and Doug Harris in 2020 and 2021.