41st U.S. Mid-Amateur Home

What Happened

Between bogeys on his opening and closing holes – he started on No. 10 – Leow registered five birdies and an eagle, a 4-iron to 6 feet on the 559-yard 18th hole. Among the birdies were four in a row from No. 2 (his 11th of the day), including a 5-iron to a foot on the demanding 215-yard third hole.

Melnyk, 42, of Atlanta, Ga., the son of 1969 U.S. Amateur and 1971 British Amateur champion Steve Melnyk, did something his father never did in his USGA career: card a 65. Steve’s best round was a 68 in the 1970 U.S. Amateur at Waverley Country Club in Portland, Ore. Like his father, Dalton attended the University of Florida, and he’d love to join him as a USGA champion.

He round included three consecutive birdies from No. 5 (his 14th hole of the day after starting on No. 10).

“Whether it has a USGA in front of it or a Georgia State Golf Association in front of it, it’s just a golf tournament and I know how to do that,” said Melnyk, who works in the insurance business. “There is some intimidation at first; I felt overwhelmed in my previous experiences. I felt like I belonged in 2019 (Mid-Amateur) and I know I belong this year.”

Hugh Foley, of the Republic of Ireland, was two strokes back of Hagestad with a 66 at Blue Mound.

Torey Edwards, of Long Beach, Calif.; Sam Foust, of Edina, Minn.; Ben Cooley, of Phoenixville, Md.; Matthew Naumec, of Wilbraham, Mass.; Sam Jones, of New Zealand; 2022 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball champion Davis Womble, of Winston-Salem, N.C.; and 2019 runner-up Joseph Deraney, of Tupelo, Miss., all shot 67s at Blue Mound, with Cooley making an eagle 2 on No. 16.

Harry Bolton, of Australia; Jake Shuman, of Boston, Mass.; and Thad Hudgens, of Longwood, Fla., posted 3-under 68s at Erin Hills.

What’s Next

Round 2 of stroke play is scheduled for Sunday. Once stroke play is completed, the field will be trimmed to the low 64 scorers for match play, which is scheduled to begin on Monday at Erin Hills. Any playoff required for the final spots would take place at Erin Hills, starting Monday morning on No. 10, if the weather cooperates.

Notable

• Besides the aforementioned Dalton Melnyk, two other players registered bogey-free rounds at Blue Mound: Joseph Deraney and Preston Dembowiak, who grew up in West Bend, Wis., before moving to North Carolina.
  
  
• Jeff Hamm, of Walnut Creek, Calif., didn’t get into the field until Thursday when exempt player Felix Dominguez withdrew due to a back injury. Without the benefit of a practice round at either course, Hamm posted an even-par 71 at Erin Hills.
  
  
• Michael McCoy, 59, of Des Moines, Iowa, the 2013 champion and the oldest player in the field, carded a 2-under 69 at Erin Hills. McCoy is fresh off a run to the Round of 16 in the U.S. Senior Amateur. His 32-year-old son, Nate, registered a 1-over 71 at Blue Mound.
  
  
• Other past champions had mixed success. Four-time winner Nathan Smith opened with a 1-over 71 at Blue Mound, while 2017 champion Matt Parziale posted 74 at Erin Hills. Scott Harvey (2014) shot 4-over 75 at Erin Hills, Sammy Schmitz (2015) had a 75 at Blue Mound, and Lukas Michel (2019), the only international champion in history, carded an 87 at Erin Hills.
  
  
• Of the four Wisconsin residents in the field, Jack Schultz, of Milwaukee, had the best opening round with an even-par 70 at Blue Mound. Schultz is playing with a high ankle sprain suffered 10 days ago while bouldering.
  
  
• Callie (Scheffler) Paysse, the sister of 2022 PGA Tour Player of the Year and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, is caddieing for husband Andrew Paysse for a second consecutive U.S. Mid-Amateur. The couple recently gave birth to their first child, so Callie’s parents, Scott and Diane Scheffler, are in attendance to look after their grandchild. Callie and Andrew met at Texas A&M, where they both played varsity golf. Paysse posted a 2-under 69 at Erin Hills on Saturday.
  
  
• Erin Hills played one stroke more difficult than Blue Mound to par. The stroke average at Erin Hills was 75.4 or 4.4 strokes over the par of 71, while Blue Mound’s stroke average (73.4) was 3.4 strokes over its par of 70.

Quotable

“That was my first [U.S.] Open. It was tough to compare to what an Open should look like. I thought it was tough. Brooks [Koepka] didn’t, but I did.” – Stewart Hagestad on Erin Hills during the 2017 U.S. Open

“Definitely not the best [finish], especially when the course is playing relatively short for me. I had a lot of short irons and wedges [into the greens].” – James Leow (65 at Blue Mound) on his final-hole bogey

“Everyone here is acting like it is Christmas morning. Everyone is so excited to be here. But you have to put the peg in the ground and just go play golf. If anything, it kind of normalizes more knowing that my dad (Steve) and brother (Butler) have both played in these and had success.” – Dalton Melnyk on playing in USGA championships

“This is my 10th USGA [championship] and every time in the past I’d get so nervous because it’s super-important. I remember the Junior I played in 2005 [at Longmeadow Country Club] was kind of the same thing. [There] was out of bounds left and I smoked it left. I’ve gotten better mentally and not getting nervous [on the first tee].” – Jack Schultz (even-par 70), of Milwaukee, Wis., who hit the opening tee shot off No. 1 at stroke-play co-host Blue Mound Golf & Country Club

David Shefter is a senior staff writer for the USGA. Email him at dshefter@usga.org. Brian DePasquale, a senior manager of championship communications, contributed.

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