Worley, Carter use strong opening round to capture Mid-Amateur Four-Ball title

SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. — A record-tying first-round from the side of Brandon Worley and Austin Carter was more than enough to crown the two champions at the 5th Tennessee Mid-Amateur Four-Ball Championship at Sevierville Golf Club. They finished with a two-day total of 18-under-par 126, three shots ahead of the field at the Tennessee Golf Association’s first championship of the year.

The Tri-Cities team got off to a hot start and never really looked back. They opened with a 7-under-par 29 on the front nine at Sevierville Golf Club, which included five birdies and an eagle from Carter. They followed that up with a 6-under-par 30 on the back nine, where Worley closed out their round with an eagle of his own.

Carrying a four-stroke lead into the final day, Worley and Carter knew they had a little room to breathe. But as they walked off the seventh green following their second-straight bogey, that four-shot lead had shrunk to two as the side of Anthony Basilio and Cody Johnson moved to 2-under on the day.

Basilio and Johnson continued to hang around all day and on the 17th tee were just one stroke back of Worley and Carter.

As the pressure mounted, Carter stayed calm, cool and collected, birdieing the 17th and 18th holes while Johnson and Basilio made par on both. The closing birdies solidified Carter’s first TGA title and Worley’s second, having won the 2018 Tennessee Four-Ball with Cayman Ratliff.

Johnson and Basilio played well throughout, posting the second-lowest round on day one with a 9-under-par 63 and had the low round on day two, finishing with a 6-under-par 66 to finish in second place. They were the only side in the entire field to not record a score of bogey or worse in their two rounds of play.

The Davis duo of Tory and Tanner finished in third place at 11-under-par, marking their first top 5 finish at the event. Knoxville’s Brad Burling and Sewanee’s Taylor Mottern finished a stroke behind them in fourth place at 10-under-par 134. The side of Justin White and Jordan Thomas, who earlier in the week became the first double-amputee to qualify for the Tennessee State Amateur, rounded out the top five at 9-under-par.

For full results from the 5th Tennessee Mid-Amateur Four-Ball Championship, click here.