KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Antonio Farinella and incoming Eagle Hayden Hunneke have both brought home hardware at summer golf events.
Farinella hoisted the trophy for the 40th Annual Greater Knoxville Amateur at the Three Ridges Golf Course and the Green Meadow Country Club.
Farinella won the championship division with rounds of 71 and 68 for a two-day five-under-par 139.
Farinella was neck and neck with Chad Homan, Brad Burling and Tyler Lane for most of the back nine on Sunday at Green Meadow.
After a clutch birdie on hole 17, Farinella had clawed his way into a four-way share of the lead. As the final group made their way to the 18th tee, Homan was already in the clubhouse at 4-under-par for the tournament after carding a final round 67 that included seven birdies, one eagle, a triple bogey on the narrow 10th hole and a lone bogey.
As Farinella, Burling and Lane played the 18th, the advantage quickly swung to Farinella after he hit his approach shot to six feet to the back left hole location. Lane's approach ended up in the bunker and Burling had 40 feet for birdie up the hill. Lane's bunker shot and Burling's birdie attempt both missed, setting the stage for Farinella's delicate six-footer to win the championship.
The left to right breaking birdie attempt never left the center of the cup. And just like that, Farinella had shot a closing nine of 5-under-par 31 to win the 2022 GKA by one stroke.
Meanwhile, incoming freshman Hayden Hunneke captured his first Tennessee Golf Association win at the 2022 Men's Match Play Championship.
Hunneke squared off against Knoxville's Ryan Greer in a closely-contested championship match. The two traded blows through the first three holes with Greer winning two of three battles. Hunneke went one up after winning holes 5 and 6 before Greer knotted it back up on hole 8 as the pair made the turn still tied.
Trouble in the bunkers on the 10th cost Greer the hole putting Hunneke in a position he was much more comfortable playing from.
As Hunneke and Greer halved holes, time was running out for Greer. Down one with two to play, Greer's shot on the par 3 went left and rolled off the green, leaving him a difficult second shot. Hunneke was in a near identical spot from his semifinal match. Greer's chip nearly went in but then ran past the hole, leaving him a long par putt he couldn't convert. Hunneke lagged his birdie putt to a few inches, capturing the win for the graduate student at Carson-Newman. All it took was 109 holes of golf over four days.
