2015 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship Fact Sheet

www.usmidam.org

Oct. 3-8, 2015
John’s Island Club (West Course), Vero Beach, Fla. (www.johnsislandclub.org)
Stroke-Play Co-Host Course: John’s Island Club (North Course), Vero Beach, Fla.

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PAR AND YARDAGE          
John’s Island Club’s West Course will be set up at 6,855 yards and will play to a par of 36-36–72. The North Course at John’s Island Club, which will serve as the stroke-play co-host course for the two days of stroke-play qualifying, will be set up at 6,943 yards and play to a par of 36-35–71.

ARCHITECT
Tom Fazio designed John’s Island Club’s West Course, which opened in 1989. Pete Dye designed John’s Island Club’s North Course. It opened for play in 1973. The club is located 90 miles southeast of Orlando, Fla. in Indian River County.

COURSE RATING AND SLOPE    
Based on the course setup for the championship, the West Course has a Course Rating™ of 74.9 and a Slope Rating® of 145. The Course Rating™ for the North Course is 75.2 and the Slope Rating® is 141.

WHO CAN ENTER   
The championship is open to any amateur golfer who is 25 years old by Oct. 3 with a Handicap Index® not exceeding 3.4.

ENTRIES
The USGA accepted 4,024 entries for the 2015 championship. The record of 5,271 entries was set in 1997. The 2014 Mid-Amateur accepted 3,891 entries.

SECTIONAL QUALIFYING 
Sectional qualifying, conducted over 18 holes, was held from Aug. 24-Sept. 15. There were 65 sites in 40 states. California had the most, with seven qualifying sites, while Texas had four qualifiers and Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and Illinois each had three.

SCHEDULE OF PLAY         
Practice rounds will be held Oct. 1-2. The starting field of 264 players will play two rounds of stroke play, with the low 64 scorers advancing to match play. The schedule is as follows:

Oct. 3 (Saturday): First round of stroke-play qualifying
Oct. 4 (Sunday): Second round of stroke-play qualifying
Oct. 5 (Monday): First round of match play
Oct. 6 (Tuesday): Second and third rounds of match play
Oct. 7 (Wednesday): Quarterfinal and semifinal rounds of match play
Oct. 8 (Thursday): Championship match (36 holes)

ADMISSION  
Admission is free. Tickets are not needed for this USGA championship, and spectators are encouraged to attend.

2014 CHAMPION     
Scott Harvey, 36, of Greensboro, N.C., defeated fellow stroke-play medalist Brad Nurski, 35, of St. Joseph, Mo., 6 and 5, to win the 2014 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship at Saucon Valley Country Club’s Old Course in Bethlehem, Pa. It was only the second matchup between co-medalists in the 34-year history of the championship. Harvey, a real estate property manager, grabbed a 4-up lead after the morning 18, but Nurski won the afternoon round’s opening three holes. Nurski, a railroad conductor and switchman, sandwiched birdies on holes 19 and 21 around a winning par on No. 20. Harvey squashed the comeback attempt by making a downhill 10-footer for birdie on the par-3 22nd hole and Nurski failed to get up and down for par one hole later after a wayward tee shot. Harvey wrapped up his first USGA championship and custody of the Robert T. Jones Memorial Trophy when he sank a 16-foot uphill birdie putt on the par-4 30th hole. His late father, Bill, had played in 23 USGA championships, including 15 U.S. Amateurs.

USGA CHAMPIONSHIPS IN FLORIDA
The 2015 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship will be the 20th USGA championship conducted in Florida. John’s Island Club is hosting a USGA championship for the first time.

USGA Championships in Florida  
1930 U.S. Amateur Public Links: Jacksonville Municipal Links, Jacksonville (Robert E. Wingate)
1952 U.S. Amateur Public Links: Miami County Club, Miami (Omer L. Bogan)
1963 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur: Country Club of Florida, Village of Golf (Marion Choate)
1969 U.S. Women’s Open: Scenic Hills Country Club, Pensacola (Donna Caponi)
1970 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur: Coral Ridge Country Club, Fort Lauderdale (Carolyn Cudone)
1978 U.S. Senior Amateur: Pine Tree Golf Club, Boynton Beach (Keith R. Compton)
1987 U.S. Amateur: Jupiter Hills Club (Hills Course), Tequesta (Billy Mayfair)
1988 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur: Amelia Island Plantation, Amelia Island (Martha Lang)
1991 U.S. Junior Amateur: Bay Hill Club & Lodge, Orlando (Tiger Woods)
1992 U.S. Senior Amateur: The Loxahatchee Club, Jupiter (Clarence Moore)
1992 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur: Old Marsh Golf Club, Palm Beach Gardens (Marion Maney-McInerney)
1994 U.S. Amateur: TPC at Sawgrass (Stadium Course), Ponte Vedra Beach (Tiger Woods)
1995 USGA Women’s State Team: Lake Buena Vista Club, Lake Buena Vista (Pennsylvania)
1995 USGA Men’s State Team: Lake Nona Golf & Country Club, Orlando (Virginia)
2002 U.S. Senior Amateur: Timuquana Country Club, Jacksonville (Greg Reynolds)
2003 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links: Ocean Hammock Golf Club, Palm Coast (Michelle Wie)
2009 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur: Golden Hills Golf & Turf Club, Ocala (Martha Leach)
2010 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur: Fiddlesticks C.C. (Long Mean Course), Fort Myers (Mina Hardin)
2010 U.S. Senior Amateur: Lake Nona Golf & Country Club, Orlando (Paul Simson)

U.S. MID-AMATEURS IN SOUTHEASTERN REGION   
Years, Courses and Winners
1984: Atlanta Athletic Club (Highlands Course), Duluth, Ga. (Michael Podolak)
1986: Annandale Golf Club, Madison, Miss. (Bill Loeffler)
1991: Long Cove Club, Hilton Head Island, S.C. (Jim Stuart)
2000: The Homestead (Cascades Course), Hot Springs, Va. (Greg Puga)
2004: Sea Island Golf Club (Seaside Course), St. Simons Island, Ga. (Austin Eaton III)
2005: The Honors Course, Chattanooga, Tenn. (Kevin Marsh)
2009: Kiawah Island Club (Cassique Course), Kiawah Island, S.C. (Nathan Smith)
2013: Country Club of Birmingham (West Course), Birmingham, Ala. (Michael McCoy)

EXEMPT PLAYERS: A total of 18 players are fully exempt into the 2015 U.S. Mid-Amateur based on performances in USGA championships and other elite amateur competitions. Additional players gained exemptions into the championship by being in the top 400 of the World Amateur Golf Ranking™ (WAGR) as of the close of entries.

Joe Alfieri (Top 400 WAGR)
Patrick Christovich (2014 Mid-Amateur quarterfinalist)
Denver Haddix (2014 Mid-Amateur quarterfinalist)
Michael Harrington (2014 Mid-Amateur quarterfinalist)
Scott Harvey (2014 Mid-Amateur champion)
Randal Lewis (2011 Mid-Amateur champion)
Kevin Marsh (2005 Mid-Amateur champion, 2013 Mid-Amateur semifinalist, 2014 Mid-Amateur semifinalist)
Michael McCoy (2013 Mid-Amateur champion, 2015 U.S. Senior Open)
Bryan Norton (2014 U.S. Senior Amateur runner-up)
Brad Nurski (2014 Mid-Amateur runner-up)
Nathan Smith (2009, 2010, 2012 Mid-Amateur champion, 2013 USA Walker Cup Team)
Pat Tallent (2014 Senior Amateur champion)
Tom Werkmeister (2014 Mid-Amateur semifinalist)
Ben Westgate (Top 400 WAGR)
Todd White (2014 Mid-Amateur quarterfinalist, 2013 USA Walker Cup Team)
Bill Williamson (2013 Mid-Amateur runner-up)
Steve Wilson (2008 Mid-Amateur champion)
Dave Womack (2006 Mid-Amateur champion)

CHAMPIONSHIP TROPHY 
When the USGA announced its intention to hold a U.S. Mid-Amateur in 1981, the Atlanta Athletic Club graciously donated a decorative, sterling silver trophy from its most famous member – Bob Jones. The ornate, three-handled cup, originally named the Davis Freeman Golf Trophy, was first used as the prize for a junior tournament at Atlanta Athletic Club. The trophy was awarded beginning in 1909 and ending with three consecutive victories by Bob Jones in 1917, 1919, and 1920. The Freeman trophy was formally donated by the Atlanta Athletic Club and Georgia State Golf Association, and officially named the Robert T. Jones, Jr. Memorial Trophy. With his 1981 Mid-Am victory at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis, Jim Holtgrieve became the first to receive the Jones Memorial Trophy.

The original U.S. Mid-Amateur trophy is on display at the USGA Museum in Far Hills, N.J.

CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
This is the 35th U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship. The Mid-Amateur, for amateur golfers of at least 25 years of age, provides a formal national championship for the post-college amateur, for whom the game is truly an avocation.

Played at the Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis, Mo., in 1981, the first Mid-Amateur drew 1,638 entries. The field included three former U.S. Amateur champions: Gary Cowan (1966, 1971), Marvin “Vinny” Giles III (1972) and Fred Ridley (1975). Jim Holtgrieve, 33, of Des Peres, Mo., defeated fellow 1981 USA Walker Cup Team member Bob Lewis Jr., 37, of Warren, Ohio, in the final, 2 up.