UTC golfer wins Tennessee State Amateur Wes Gosselin shoost 18-under to win 101st annual event
Chattanooga Mocs senior Wes Gosselin started the final round with an 11-shot lead at the 101st Tennessee State Amateur. He finished 12 strokes clear of the field with an 18under 270 to claim the coveted trophy this past weekend..
The huge lead brought a lot of different thoughts. From just maintaining the strong game he brought to the Blackthorn Club to not slipping in the shower.
“(Laughing at the question) You joke, but the shower in our hotel room didn’t have a rubber mat,” Gosselin shared. “Last night, I sort of slipped a little and thought, man be careful.
“To be honest, I’ve never really dealt with that kind of lead. My game plan had been really good, managed myself well all week, so I just tried to play good golf. I didn’t really want to think about what someone else was doing. “It worked well.” That’s an understatement. His final round 71 (1-under par) was the week’s high score for the wire-towire winner. He had an eagle and 25 birdies over the 72 holes, including 10 birdies in the second round alone.
“It’s really nice to play this well,” he added. “It’s been an upand-down summer, so it’s great to see it come together. I’ve worked really hard on my ballstriking and putting. It was also a huge week from the mental side.”
Chattanooga coach Mark Guhne added an exclamation point when talking about Gosselin’s work ethic paying off in the win.
“It’s the reward for a lot of hard work,” Guhne affirmed. “Wes just keeps getting better every day, and it’s because of the way he works on his game. This is just another step in his career that’s in the direction he wants to go.
“He has a future in this game and shows it in the way he works at it which leads to moments like this.”
It’s the eighth TGA win during Guhne’s tenure at UTC, the most for any team in the state. Gosselin joins Thomas Smith (2006), Derek Rende (2008) and Steven Fox (2013) as Amateur Champs. Rende (2007), Bryce Ledford (2009) and Fox (2014) won the Tennessee State Open, while Fox also boasts a Tennessee Match Play title (2011).
“It’s great,” he continued. “We recruit Tennessee players and many of those became the best player in the state. It’s special to see and important to our program.”
Gosselin was not alone as six of his teammates qualified for the event with six making the cut. Lake Johnson and Stuart Thomas tied for 12th, while Brooks Thomas (T29), Andrew Weathers (T33) and Phillip Hickam (T53) rounded out the contingent.
“It was a really good week for UTC golf,” Guhne concluded. “It was really positive with good rounds on a tough golf course. I like the way we look heading into the season.”