Hufstetler completes TPC Senior Slam

Johnson wins TPC regular division against fellow high schooler

photo Mitch Hufstetler

There's something about championships that bring out emotion in athletes.

Nobody knows what that emotion -- if any -- will be in the moment.

It was a couple tears on Sunday for Mitch Hufstetler who won the senior division of the Chattanooga TPC at Council Fire Golf Club.

"My family has been behind me all the way," said Hufstetler after he beat Tom Baird 1-up on a cloudless afternoon.

"I know my dad [Roy] is looking down and proud," Hufstetler said. "If he would have been here, he would have been here for every shot. He loved golf and he loved his family. The biggest thing I learned from him is to love your family."

A fellow member of his Black Creek Club family, Lake Johnson, won the regular division championship over fellow high school golfer Ben Rebne 7 and 5.

"It's pretty cool for two high school golfers to be in the finals because this is more of a men's tournament," said Johnson, a senior at Chattanooga Christian who plays out of Black Creek. "Technically, I birdied five of the fist six holes and I wanted to keep it going."

He did, and sucked the drama out of the championship match. Rebne conceded on the 12 hole. The senior championship lasted until the 18th hole with neither Hufstetler or Baird leading by more than two.

"Mitch had a great year and he's a well-deserving champion," said Baird, knowing Hufstetler accomplished a new feat in Chattanooga TPC history.

Hufstetler won the senior division of all six tournaments in the Chattanooga TPC series: Signal Mountain Invitational, Cleveland Invitational, Dalton Invitational, Chattanooga Men's Metro, Brainerd Invitational and the Chattanooga TPC.

"Words can't describe it," said Hufstetler after calling his wife Throndia to give her the news of his victory. "It's been a dream come true. I've had good fortune, and a couple bad things happened to my opponents this year."

Hufstetler won two tournaments this year after opponents made critical mistakes on the final hole of the tournament. Baird made his mistake at No. 16 when a deceiving five-foot putt for par -- to halve the hole and keep the match all-square -- dipped to the left and failed to drop. Baird got up-and-down to halve with par on No. 17 and they both parred No. 18 resulting in Hufstetler's victory.

"For 14 years I was off the golf scene starting when my daughter [Claire] turned 4," Hufstetler said. "I took her to [softball] practice and had no intention of doing anything except watching. Next thing you know, I'm pitching, then coaching.

"When [son] Brandon started baseball there were 19 dads so they didn't need my help."

Claire Hufstetler is forever grateful for her father's sacrifices.

"When my brother and I were growing up, my dad always sacrificed playing golf so that he could coach my softball team or watch my brother play," Claire wrote in an email. "He never once missed anything. There is no telling where he would be today had he been able to practice and play when we were younger."

Hufstetler has another potential coaching job, another one that doesn't pay, but is done out of affection.

"If I could teach Lake [Johnson] to chip and putt, nobody could beat him," said Hufstetler who is known for his short-game and plays friends rounds against the youngster one set of tees closer to the green.

Johnson is headed to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga next fall where he will play for coach Mark Guhne.

In order to advance to the finals, Johnson beat Matt Robertson 2 and 1, while Rebne beat Cody Godfrey 6 and 4 in the morning semifinals. Hufstetler and Baird had Saturday, as well as Sunday morning off, after winning their semifinal matches on Friday.

"Lake definitely beat me," Rebne said. "He was making birdies left and right."

Their match ended long before Hufstetler looked up and pointed to the sky, then used the same finger to wipe away a tear.

Contact David Uchiyama at duchiyama@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6484. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/UchiyamaCTFP.

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