Brooks captures 49th Annual Tennessee Four-Ball Championship with Belmont's Uselton
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech’s Will Brooks teamed up with Belmont’s Jack Uselton to capture the 49th Annual Tennessee Four-Ball Championship at Cherokee Country Club Friday afternoon, capping an impressive four-day run for several current and former members of the Golden Eagle men’s golf program.
By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech's Will Brooks teamed up with Belmont's Jack Uselton to capture the 49th Annual Tennessee Four-Ball Championship at Cherokee Country Club Friday afternoon, capping an impressive four-day run for several current and former members of the Golden Eagle men's golf program.
The combo of Brooks and Uselton edged the team of former Tech golfer Ryan Greer and former Tennessee Volunteer Jack Smith, 2&1. A Cookeville native, Brooks snuck in a back-door putt on the par-3, eighth green for birdie, providing his tandem with its first lead of the championship bout.
Uselton saved par on the par-3, 12th hole to double the duo's lead, but Greer and Smith answered with a par of their own on the 15th. A birdie from Uselton on No. 16 put himself and Brooks back to 2-up with just two holes to play, needing to simply match their opponents on the next hole for the win.
"I'm very proud of Will and his teammate, Jack," Tech head coach Polk Brown said. "This is a tremendous accomplishment and the two had to string together six great rounds of golf in just four days. Will had a great sophomore season for us and we're excited to see how the hard work he has been putting in during the summer will pay off come fall."
Brooks and Uselton began their journey on Tuesday, qualifying for the event as the No. 5 seed with a joint, 8-under 62. The two went on to defeat the combos of Bogle Larue/Coleman Jones (2&1) and Jimmy Ward/Cole Parrish (4&2) on Wednesday, moving on to the quarterfinals.
On Thursday, Brooks and Uselton continued their trek towards the championship match, taking down Michael Shears/Michael Barnard, 2 up, early in the day. In the afternoon, the Golden Eagle and Bruin faced off with Cade Russell/Trenton Johnson in a semifinal affair, sneaking by with a 2&1 victory.
Golden Eagle seniors Dabney Dickenson and Cameron Yeary joined forces for a run of their own during the event, earning a bid as a the No. 14 seed and taking down a litany of former Tech golfers on their way to the semifinals.
In the second round of bracket play, the two defeated former Golden Eagle Lee Maxwell (the reigning champion of the Pepsi Bobby Nichols Golden Eagle Scramble presented by Budweiser) and his partner, Phillip Lee, 4&3.
Moving on to the quarterfinals, Yeary drained a dagger of a putt just off the edge of the fringe to provide a 1-up victory over former Tech great Mitch Thomas and his brother, Chip. Yeary and Dickenson would eventually fall to Greer and Smith in the semifinals, 3&2.
"As a former Golden Eagle golfer myself, it was just awesome to see so many of our current and former student-athletes make this field and enjoy some success," Brown said. "I'm very proud of Will, Dabney and Cameron for all their success this past week and am looking forward to the fall."
Photo from TGA
