Honors honors Fox with membership

Friday, January 1, 1904

photo Former UTC golfer Steven Fox got to play in this year's Masters and U.S. Open tournaments because of his U.S. Amateur victory last summer, and Saturday he received another perk when he was given an honorary membership to The Honors Course in Ooltewah.

The Honors Course has a new member.

Reigning U.S. Amateur champion Steven Fox, a former University of Tennessee at Chattanooga golfer, accepted an honorary membership to the elite golf club in Ooltewah on Saturday evening following the opening event there of the Tennessee Golf Association's centennial celebration.

The Honors Course, which was founded by the late Jack Lupton and opened in 1983, is designed to honor and host premier amateur golfing players and events.

"His achievements warrant him joining us at The Honors Course," club vice president Mark Degler said of Fox. "What he's already done is extremely significant, and we look forward to seeing what he does in the future. We watched how he handed himself and what he's done since he won, and he's been a shining example of amateur golf."

Fox won the U.S. Amateur last August at Cherry Hills near Denver in a sudden-death playoff after being 2 down with two holes to play.

"This is amazing," Fox said. "The Honors Course is so prestigious, it's going to be awesome to come out here and play. I really wasn't expecting this."

Fox's victory earned him exemptions into the Masters this past April, the U.S. Open last weekend and the British Open in July. He already has played in six other PGA Tour events.

"We want to recognize the achievements that he's made, and he's a first-class individual," club representative Aon Miller said. "Steven is going to be an asset to the club. Jack would always ask when we proposed a member, 'Is he one of us?' He is."

Contact David Uchiyama at duchiyama@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6484.