BY SPENCER CAMPBELL
BRISTOL HERALD COURIER
ELIZABETHTON, Tenn. – Richard Lowe stood in the middle of the fairway on the 18th hole at Elizabethton Golf Course.
Minutes earlier, standing on the 18th tee box, Lowe had heard cheers erupt from the gallery surrounding the final green. Todd Ricker, playing in the group ahead of Lowe, had birdied, forging a tie between the two at 12-under.
After parting the fairway with his 3-wood, Lowe, needing a birdie of his own to avoid a playoff, sought the guidance of two supreme powers. First, a quick prayer. Second, Lowe asked himself, “What would Tiger do?”
And then he did what Tiger would’ve done.
Lowe’s approach shot into the 18th green landed just inches from the pin. The Johnson City resident knocked in that putt to win the 15th annual Carter County Bank East Tennessee Amateur at Elizabethton Golf Course on Sunday, securing the first invitational victory of his career.
“I liked the shot that I had in there,” Lowe said. “I had right at 100 yards, and hit a good 3-wood off the tee to get me there. That’s what I wanted. Those were two of the best shots I hit all day, coming in. And then I made the putt. But it was tough.”
Making it tough were two challengers playing in the group directly in front of Lowe: Greeneville’s Ricker and Johnson City’s Chris Wynne. Beginning the day five strokes behind Lowe, Wynne opened up with three-straight birdies on his way to a front nine 31. But a 3-putt on No. 11 and a double-bogey on No. 14 left Wynne at 9-under, three shots behind.
When Wynne fell by the wayside on the back nine, Ricker picked up the charge, firing his own 31 on the inward nine. Ricker made a 30-foot birdie put from the back fringe to post a 204, and momentarily tie Lowe.
“I wish I could’ve been playing with [Lowe], just to put more pressure on him,” Ricker said. “I thought, at least, I gave myself a chance. I might of even thought that might of won it, the way he was coming in there. But he hit a good shot. He deserves to win.”
Lowe led the tournament from start to finish, opening with a 7-under 65. He took a 3-shot lead into Sunday, and an eagle on the par-5 14th extended his lead. But back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 15 and 16 brought the field back into play.
“I still knew I had the lead and had to bring it in,” Lowe said. “I didn’t play well enough today to just shut the door. I left it open a little bit and they tried to close it. Luckily I was able to play well enough.”
scampbell@bristolnews.com|(276) 645-2543
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