Mike Poe (Paul Payne Photo)

Having enjoyed a storied career as an amateur golfer, Mike Poe will always look back at Sunday’s win in the Senior Division of the Cleveland Invitational with fondness for a couple of unique reasons.

First, the Loudon resident who plays out of Tennessee National won for the second time in the event hosted at Cleveland Country Club, this time being declared champion from the safety of the clubhouse while carnage unfolded among the leaders who were still on the course behind him.

Secondly, Poe’s winning score of 1-over 145 following a round of 72 on Sunday allowed him to secure his 100th career victory, something that serves as a testimony to his success over a long period of time. 

“I’m 68 so any time I win one now is very gratifying,” Poe said. “To shoot even par today, I consider myself fortunate. This was a great field of golfers who’ve won plenty of championships during their careers. For me to walk away as the winner makes this special given the fact this was my 100th tournament win. I guess I need to reset my goals, so my goal now is to win No. 101.”

Poe has three Tennessee Golf Association championships among his 100 wins, including the 2022 State Senior Match Play to go with a pair of State Senior Four-Ball titles in 2012 and 2023.

While Poe’s victory enabled him to reach a personal milestone, an equally compelling storyline unfolded when reflecting on those golfers who had ample opportunity to win but were undone down the stretch.

“I was pretty fortunate,” Poe said. “It’s not very often you win a tournament while sitting in the clubhouse. Those guys behind me had some trouble, but I’ve been on the other end of that outcome before, too. It’s just the nature of the beast when you play as long as I have.”

Poe opened the day three shots off the lead with two groups teeing off behind his threesome for Sunday’s final round.  Poe was even on the day through eight holes when he snuck a peek at the leaderboard to see where he stood.

“I looked at the scores after No. 8 and saw I was one shot back, then I went and three-putted 9,” Poe said. “I decided I was going to go post my score and not worry about the other scores. When I bogeyed 16, I figured that took me out of contention and I thought I’d just play for a good finish.”

Consecutive birdies on 10 and 11 moved Poe back to even par into a share of the lead after shooting 37 on the front, and the bogey at 16 left him looking up at both Rick Mays and Kip Henley on the scoreboard.

“I hit a good shot at 17 missed a 20-footer for birdie, and then missed a birdie try from 12 feet on 18,” Poe said. “I knew I did the best I could, but assumed it wouldn’t be enough so I grabbed my box lunch and planned on hopping in the car to drive to Hilton Head. Then someone grabbed me and told me I might want to hang around.”

Little did Poe realize what would unfold in the final two groupings still on the course.

Henley stood at even par for the tournament and 1-under on the day with two holes to play, hopeful of finally capturing a championship at Cleveland Country Club that had eluded him over his storied career. However, a double bogey on No. 17 followed with a bogey on the closing hole left Henley with a final round 74 to tie for fourth at 3-over 147 along with Joe Markham Jr. and Zeb Patten, who managed to post a tidy final round of 71 as the day’s best score.

It seemed to be Rick Mays’ tournament to win on his home course after an eagle on No. 10 nudged him to 2-under for the weekend. He still owned a one-shot lead with three holes to play after bogeying 13 before enduring a forgettable finish. Mays played the final trio of holes in a combined 6-over – including a triple bogey at 18 – to close with a round of 78, finishing the tournament at 5-over 149 to tie Tom Schreiner and Neill Hatcher for seventh place.

Defending champion Richard Keene completed play at 2-over 146 to deadlock with Bob Rice for second place. Keene opened with bogeys on four of his first five holes on Sunday to put himself in an early hole, then cruised through his final 13 holes in 2-under including a birdie on the last.

Rice was four shots off the lead entering the day, but recorded three birdies against a trio of bogeys to move his way up the leaderboard with a steady 72 in his final round while the battle of attrition took place behind him.

Jeff Cox posted a top 10 finish at 6-over 150 following a final round 79, while first-round leader Gary Davis finished 11th at 8-over 152 after signing for an 82 on Sunday.

Zielinski Wins Open Division In Playoff

Lee University junior Drew Zielinski birdied the third hole of a playoff to win the Open Division, defeating Cleveland Country Club member Josh Coley with the outcome decided on No. 3 after both golfers parred the first two extra holes.

Zielinski, who hails from Ocean Springs, Miss., overcame three straight bogeys earlier in his round to cover his final nine holes in 31 to finish with a 66 that included nine birdies, his two-day total of 11-under 133 equaling that of Coley.

Coley posted a tournament best 65 that included ten birdies, but a costly bogey on No. 17 coupled with Zielinski’s birdie on the same hole forced the playoff after both golfers parred the 18th.

Hunter Vest placed third at 9-under 135, shooting an impressive 66 on Sunday that included an eagle on the challenging par-4 18th hole. Keoni Vidrine shot a closing round of 72 to finish fourth at 5-under 139.

Other top 10 finishers included Richard Spangler at 4-under 140 good for fifth, Samuel Johnson at 3-under 141 for sixth, Tobias Buffam at 2-under 142 for seventh, Jacob Clark and Brent Copeland at even par 144 to tie for eighth, and Seth Brandon at 1-over 145 for tenth.

Brame Repeats As Super Senior Champion

Richard Brame managed to defend his title from last year in the Super Senior Division, posting another 2-under 70 to match his score from Saturday to win by nine shots at 4-under 140.

His day got off to a rocky start to offer some hope for his competitors as Brame bogeyed three of his first four holes. But an eagle on the par-5 14th jump started a strong finish for The Honors Course member, adding three more birdies over his final four holes to win going away. In fact, Brame completed the tournament playing the last five holes in a combined 9 under over two days.

Jerry Burrell tallied a two-day total of 5-over 149 to finish second, while Kent Taylor was third with an aggregate of 7-over 151 good for third. Bret Douglas (10-over 154) was fourth, and Jim Dunn (13-over 157) placed fifth.

For complete results, go to Cleveland Invitational results.

Paul Payne can be emailed at paulpayne6249@gmail.com