Maddox Butler wins The East Tennessee Collegiate

JOHNSON CITY, TN – It's hard to play much better than Maddox Butler did on Tuesday in the final round of The East Tennessee Collegiate at the Johnson City Country Club. 

Entering Tuesday, Butler was tied for the lead following a 5-under opening round on Monday. Butler started his final round with back-to-back birdies and was off from there, shooting 8-under to win the tournament by six shots. Butler shot 13-under over the two rounds. 

The Senators have now had an individual win the tournament two straight years, as Bowen Brantley was the medalist in 2024. 

As a team, Walters State moved up two spots and finished third at 10-under. The Senators shot 8-under in Tuesday's final round. 

For Butler, following the birdies on holes three and four, he birdied hole six to get to 3-under on the day. That's where he was when he came to the back nine, but Butler birdied holes 10, 11 and 12 to get to 6-under. Following a bogey on 16, Butler got back on track with three more birdies in a row on holes 17, 18 and one. Butler parred hole two to finish out his round at 8-under. 

Along with Butler, Ayden Smith finished in a tie for 14th place at 1-under after shooting 1-under in Tuesday's final round. Smith birdied holes three and seven on the front nine and then had a bogey free back nine with birdies on holes 13 and 15. 

Third for the Senators was Greyson Smith in a tie for 23rd at 1-over. Smith shot even-par in his round on Tuesday and was 4-under on the back nine. Smith had birdies on holes 10, 13, 15 and 17. 

Rounding out the team were Brant Kardatzke in a tie for 34th place at 3-over and Blake Dawson in a tie for 52nd at 9-over. Kardatzke shot 1-over on Tuesday with birdies on holes one, nine and 13. Meanwhile, Dawson shot 79 in his final round, with a birdie on the 13th hole. 

Playing as an individual, Alex Gaetz picked up a top five finish and All-Tournament honors, taking fourth place at 5-under. Gaetz shot 1-under on Tuesday, with birdies on holes seven, 15 and 17. 

Up Next:

Walters State is back in action October 6-7, hosting the Bill Gardner Fall Classic at The Country Club in Morristown.