Mission accomplished… Cohen finally etches name on East Tennessee Amateur trophy
Published 11:46 pm Monday, June 28, 2021
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Nick Cohen is presented his winning trophy by William B. Greene Jr. Looking on is Andrew McKeehan (left), President of Carter County Bank, and Rey Padilla, General Manager of Elizabethton Golf Course.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Nick Cohen shares a smile after collecting his hardware from William B. Greene Jr. for winning the East Tennessee Amateur at Elizabethton Golf Course.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Nick Cohen lines up his winning putt in Sunday's William B. Greene Jr. East Tennessee Amateur.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Nick Cohen hits his chip shot toward the 18th green in Sunday's sudden-death playoff against Blake Howard.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Blake Howard blasts his shot out of the bunker on the sudden-death playoff hole. Howard came within an eyelash of sinking the shot.
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BY IVAN SANDERS
STAR SPORTS EDITOR
ivan.sanders@elizabethton.com
There was some lightning in the area on Sunday but none like a storm taking place at Elizabethton Golf Course in the Willam B. Greene Jr. East Tennessee Amateur.
Nick Cohen started the day eight strokes out of the lead held by Chad Homan and seven strokes behind co-second place leaders Tommy Miller and Bryson Morrell but as the final stroke dropped, Cohen had stood alone after a sudden-death playoff with Blake Howard to take home the 2021 title.
Cohen finished three groups ahead of the leaders carding a 65 for the day but stuck around the scoreboard as he had heard that the leaders were struggling in the day’s final round.
When the final group’s scores were posted showing Homan who started the day as the leader finishing with a 75 and a three-day total of 211 while Morrell ended his day with a 210 and Miller a 212, Cohen and Blake Howard found themselves headed back to the 18th hole for a sudden-death playoff as both golfers had ended regulation play tied at 209.
On the playoff hole, Cohen found himself hitting from below the green on the right side just below the tree line but lifted a perfect chip-shot to within a couple of feet of the hole.
Howard had a clear pitch to the green but the ball found itself in a sand bunker just below the green.
Cohen had to take a deep breath as Howard blasted out of the sand and the ball looked like it had a shot of finding the cup before stopping within a couple of feet of the hole.
“I didn’t hit my drive good and thought that I was going to be blocked by the trees and I got lucky and it got through down there and I had a wide-open shot at it,” Cohen said.
“I knew Blake had a really good chance of holing his bunker shot there in the playoff so I knew I had to make a birdie because I didn’t want to go to playoff holes with Blake.”
With one of the biggest putts of his career standing between him and the title, Cohen sank the putt and with a clutched fist celebrated winning by his own admission his favorite tournament to play in.
The golfer said that he knew at the start of the round he was going to need to have a solid round to even put himself in a position to win.
“I needed to make a lot of birdies,” Cohen said when asked what was going through his mind as he teed off on the first hole of the day. “When I knocked it in close on 15 to get to seven-under for the round, that’s when I knew that I might have a chance.
“Honestly when I got done, I didn’t think I had a chance so it wasn’t too nerve-wracking until the final group was coming up 18 and I heard they weren’t playing good.”
Cohen added that it was great to be able to finally have his name added to the trophy that is displayed in the clubhouse of Elizabethton Golf Course.
“It means a lot and I have been wanting to get my name on the trophy for a long time. It’s one of my favorite tournaments to play,” the former Sullivan South player said.
“My hands were a little bit shaky and I knew I had to get it on the right line. I always felt like I was in that group but my name wasn’t etched on the trophy yet so it felt good to get there.”
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William B. Greene Jr. East Tennessee Amateur
At Elizabethton GC
Final round
Sunday
Par 72
x-won sudden-death playoff
Championship Division
x-Nick Cohen 74-70-65—209
Blake Howard 69-70-70—209
Braedon Wear 74-71-65—210
Bryson Morrell 67-71-72—210
Jackson Skeen 70-70-71—211
Chad Homan 71-65-75—211
Gibson Miller 73-69-69—211
Joe Brooks 70-74-67—211
Cayman Ratliff 70-71-71—212
Tommy Miller 71-67-74—212
Bryan Sangid 70-73-69—212
Dustin Davis 71-69-73—213
Zach Briggs 72-73-68—213
Clint Lowe 72-72-69—213
Sean Anderson 72-72-70—214
Tyler Lane 71-74-70—215
Hunter O’Neal 73-68-76—217
Cameron Dugger 71-73-73—217
Brandon Mathis 66-78-74—218
Nick York 77-71-70—218
Matt Dotson 74-74-71—219
Josh Taylor 72-72-76—220
Cory Walker 73-74-73—220
Ben Treadway 77-71-72—220
Seth Crawford 71-76-74—221
Wes Hall 71-74-77—222
Ethan Mays 75-72-77—224
Tarun Hoskere 74-75-75—224
Caleb Tipton 74-72-79–225
Christofer Schaff 75-74-76—225
Match-play flights
Titleist Flight
Championship: Tyler Church def. Billy Palmer
Consolation: Grayson Clark def. Stephen Wilson; Tommy Tipton def. Craig Duncan
Callaway Flight
Championship: Ian Herrin def Tanner Jones
Consolation: Stephen Swecker def. Cory Richardson; PJ Johnson def. Freddy Santana
Mizuno Flight
Championship: Seth Greene def. Casey Goetz
Consolation: Troy Baker def. Brad Clay; Greg Hobbs def. Dylan Wyatt
Ping Flight
Championship: Greg Devnne def. Carroll Deaton
Consolation: Tommy Scott def Mark Dugger; Chris Tidwell def. Kenny Hawkins
