Recap of the 13th Annual Tennessee Senior State Open, 2022

by Hannah Paramore Breen, wife and caddie

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Bill Breen was already a three-time winner before the 13th annual Tennessee State Open week. Only one other person, Gibby Gilbert, could claim that. Nobody had won this tournament 4 times - until this year.

We had a good first round Monday, June 13, 2022, against last year’s winner, former tour player Cliff Kresge. Five birdies and 2 bogeys put Bill tied for the lead with Loren Personett, the Head Pro of McCabe Golf Course. Loren is formidable. We also were paired with BJ Green, a good friend of ours and another good player.

Loren set the bar with an Eagle on the par 4 #1 at Stonehenge Golf Course. By the fifth hole we had caught up with him and stayed 2 strokes ahead of the field for the next 8 holes.

Then the drama began. We had a 3-way tie between Bill, Loren, and amateur Tim Jackson starting around hole 14. Going into 17 we were still all tied but Gibby Gilbert, former tour player, birdied and joined the group. Then Bill birdied and pulled one ahead while Loren parred. Gibby and Tim parred out on 18 and then Loren birdied 18 on an amazing putt which left Bill and Loren tied at the end of regulation.

We went back to 18 for the first sudden death playoff hole. Bill’s tee shot hit the middle of the fairway but Loren pushed his to the right down into the rough among the trees. He made an amazing shot over water and into the left green-side bunker. It was not a good lie. He struggled with the bunker shot and left it in the rough about 20 feet from the hole.

Meanwhile Bill’s fairway shot went to the right of the flag and lay hole-high in the rough. Bill is lying 2. Loren is lying 3. Bill whispered to me “He’s going to chip this in for par.” I said ”He is not.”

He did. For par.

Bill chipped up gently to about two feet and parred. That may have been his best shot of the tournament - under pressure.

Playoff hole #2 (course hole #1): Both narrowly missed birdie putts, made par and we moved on to…

Playoff hole #3 (back to course hole #18): Both tee shots are in the fairway this time. Both hit the green in regulation. Two putts each and we are on to...

Playoff hole #4 (course hole #1): Bill came off his drive a bit and had 125 to the flag. Loren killed his tee shot and had about 85. Bill laser-focused on the flag and stuck his ball 9 feet from the hole. Loren had about a 15-18 foot putt for birdie which he barely missed. Par for Loren.

Bill’s putt slowed down right at the cup, teetered…and fell left into the cup for birdie!

And suddenly I could breathe again.

And with that putt, Bill made history, being the first person to ever win The Tennessee State Senior Open four times. Bill started playing this tournament the first season he was eligible, at 50 years old in 2012, and he has won four of the eleven times he’s played it. Being the mathematician that I am, I can easily tell you that’s more than 1/3 of the times he’s played the tournament.

I wonder if we can make it 5….

Special thanks to the Tennessee Section PGA and the City of Crossville for making this tournament possible. We appreciate you guys.