OOLTEWAH, TENNESSEE | The name Johnny Brown has long been revered in Newnan, Georgia, the once-rural town that sits 40 miles southwest of Atlanta. For more than half a century, folks throughout Coweta County paid special attention to the insights and commentary of the legendary sportswriter and broadcaster as he chronicled their accomplishments.
Although 20 years has passed since the long-time Newnan Times-Herald sports editor’s death, one of his most admiring followers was left wondering what the noted scribe would have penned following the completion of the 69th U.S. Senior Amateur on Thursday at a sweltering and punishing The Honors Course outside of Chattanooga.
Louis Brown, 61, the son of the late Georgia Radio Hall of Fame member, was the last man standing in a war of endurance and precision at the Pete Dye-designed course restored two years ago by Gil Hanse. As Brown reflected on the previous week played in near triple-digit heat, he thought back to the man who helped shape him during his childhood in Newnan.
“He would be very proud, especially to see me win a USGA event,” Brown said. “My dad never got emotional, and he didn’t express his personal feelings a whole lot, but this would have been bigger than all the other things I’ve done. He wrote plenty about me as his son early in my career, but this would have been something special for him. I would love to be able to read that story.”
Playing in his first competitive individual tournament since finishing fourth in the Georgia Senior Amateur last September, Brown was a model of consistency throughout the week. He birdied four of his first seven holes in the final against Dan Sullivan of Pasadena, California, to grab a 4-up lead, then never wavered in claiming a 4-and-3 victory.
Brown, an Atlanta Country Club member, tied for third in stroke play to decide the 64 competitors for match play, one shot behind the 2-under-par 142 posted by co-medalists Roger Newsom of Virginia Beach, Virginia, and England’s John Kemp. Then, over the course of 100 holes of match play spanning four days, Brown trailed for only 10 holes across six matches.
Brown made his first showing in a USGA championship 43 years ago when he advanced to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Junior Amateur. He competed in one U.S. Amateur before turning pro, but he has played minimal competitive golf since regaining his amateur status 20 years ago. He had previously qualified for two U.S. Senior Amateurs without much success.
A two-time all-Southeastern Conference golfer while attending the University of Georgia and winner of the 1985 Georgia State Amateur, Brown chased the elusive dream as a touring professional on the PGA, Canadian and Nike circuits with limited success, although he was named the Australian Tour Rookie of the Year in 1989.
Now a partner in a financial advisory firm in Marietta, north of Atlanta, Brown is proud of his latest achievement given his schedule of limited competitions.
“I haven't done everything I wanted to do in golf, but I’ve won some tournaments,” Brown said. “I’ve won some stuff in Georgia that’s pretty meaningful. But the one thing that I thought would be huge for me would be to win a USGA event, and this was the only one.”
Brown is somewhat of a renaissance man whose interests extend beyond simply golf. He has been known to hold his own as a guitar player, with music serving as a cathartic outlet in his life.
“I can play a little,” Brown said. “I love playing rock music, which is a little unusual for golfers. Back when I played pro golf, I used to travel with a guitar. We’d sit around at night over a few beers and I would play some John Mellencamp, maybe some Prince, Queen and Led Zeppelin.”
“I’m certainly not shocked that I won. I know I’m good enough. ”
Louis Brown
There was never a threat of Brown becoming Newnan’s most decorated musical talent. That title belongs to Alan Jackson, a Country Music Hall of Fame performer who was a regular visitor to the Brown home during his childhood.
“Newnan was a small town, and he was over at our house all the time,” Brown said. “My older sister dated his best friend.”
When asked what song he would like to shred on the heels of his U.S. Senior Am title, Brown was quick to answer.
“Eye of the Tiger,” Brown said, referencing the band Survivor’s 1982 rock anthem. “That was the mindset I had this week.”
Brown must now reconsider his abbreviated competition schedule given the bevy of exemptions – notably, this month’s U.S. Mid-Amateur and next year’s U.S. Senior Open and U.S. Amateur – that come with his victory. But don’t expect a dramatic shift of him becoming a regular weekend warrior.
“I’m certainly not shocked that I won,” Brown said. “I know I’m good enough. But when you don’t play tournament golf, it’s pretty tough. I try to make up for the fact that I don’t play tournaments by making sure my game is sharp, having my golf swing in good shape as well as the mental part. I’ll have to figure out which events I’m going to play.”
Brown was particularly proud to continue the recent streak of Georgia residents winning the U.S. Senior Amateur.
“There are 50 states, but four out of the last 11 (winners) are from Georgia,” Brown said. “How about that? It says a lot about the quality of golfers we have in our state.”
RESULTS
E-MAIL PAUL
Top: Louis Brown chips onto the fifth green during the final match of the 2024 U.S. Senior Amateur.
jeff HAYNES/USGA