Tennessee Wins 2003 USGA Men's State Team Championship

Danny Green of Jackson shot a 3-under-par 67 in the final round to lead the three-man squad from Tennessee to a four-stroke victory over California and North Carolina at the USGA Men’s State Team Championship at the 6,513-yard, par-70 Charles River Country Club in Newton Centre, Mass. The 46-year-old Green, who had won the 1999 U.S. Mid-Amateur and was runner-up in the 1989 U.S. Amateur and 2001 U.S. Amateur Public Links, made three birdies on the second nine the low round of the final day. Tennessee finished at 6-under 413.

Green was part of a stellar lineup that included two-time U.S. Mid-Amateur champion (1994 and 2001) Tim Jackson of Germantown and reigning APL champion Brant Snedeker of Nashville, a recent graduate of Vanderbilt University, where he was an All-American and the 2003 Southeastern Conference Player of the Year. Green (68-73-67), a member of the ’01 USA Walker Cup team, was Tennessee’s low scorer at 208, while Jackson (68-73-70), a two-time Walker Cupper, and Snedeker (73-67-71) each posted 211. 

The 54-hole format used a 3-count-2 scoring formula to establish the team’s score for each round.

“The objective when you leave home is to win,” said Green, a fiery competitor with an unorthodox swing. “Unfortunately, golf is more about losing than winning so it makes it sweeter when you win. Anything less than winning is not a successful tournament for us.” 

Added Jackson: “To represent your state and win a national championship, it’s why we play – to win those gold medals. Everybody contributed for the week. That’s the way it ought to be.”

California and North Carolina each came in at 417. Chris Botsford of Pasadena led California with a three-day total of 206 (66-71-69), while North Carolina was paced by USGA championship veteran Paul Simson of Raleigh (68-70-71—209). Georgia finished fourth at 421, with host team Massachusetts fifth at 422. Scoring conditions were made a bit more challenging thanks to the after-effects of Hurricane Isabel.