SITE INFORMATION
www.usga.org/midam
Sept. 10-15, 2016
Stonewall (Old Course), Elverson, Pa. (www.stonewalllinks.com)
Stroke-Play Co-Host Course: Stonewall (North Course), Elverson, Pa.
Twitter: @USGA; Facebook.com/USGA; Instagram: @USGA; #USMidAm
PAR AND YARDAGE
Stonewall’s Old Course will be set up at 6,870 yards and will play to a par of 35-35–70. Stonewall’s North Course, which will serve as the stroke-play co-host course for the two days of stroke-play qualifying, will be set up at 6,711 yards and play to a par of 35-35–70.
(NOTE: Yardages subject to change.)
STONEWALL (OLD COURSE) HOLE BY HOLE
Hole 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Total
Par 5 4 5 4 3 4 3 4 3 35
Yards 507 427 562 395 176 435 160 417 213 3,292
Hole 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Total
Par 4 5 4 4 4 3 4 3 4 35
Yards 442 591 341 460 388 177 498 234 447 3,578
STONEWALL (NORTH COURSE) HOLE BY HOLE
Hole 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Total
Par 4 3 5 4 4 3 4 5 3 35
Yards 415 203 523 427 452 147 452 601 166 3,386
Hole 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Total
Par 4 4 4 3 4 4 4 3 5 35
Yards 347 411 351 196 414 395 478 209 524 3,325
ARCHITECT
Tom Doak designed Stonewall’s Old and North courses on land located in Chester County, 50 miles northwest of Philadelphia. The Old Course, which opened for play in July 1993, challenges players from tee to green and emphasizes accuracy and distance. The North Course opened in August 2003 and features more difficult green complexes and requires a more exacting short game.
COURSE RATING AND SLOPE
Based on the course setup for the championship, the Old Course has a Course Rating™ of 75.0 and a Slope Rating® of 143. The Course Rating™ for the North Course is 73.8 and the Slope Rating® is 142.
WHO CAN ENTER
The championship is open to any amateur golfer who is 25 years old by Sept. 10 with a Handicap Index® not exceeding 3.4.
ENTRIES
The USGA accepted 4,131 entries for the 2016 championship. The record of 5,271 entries was set in 1997. The 2015 Mid-Amateur accepted 4,024 entries. The deadline for entries was July 20.
SECTIONAL QUALIFYING
Sectional qualifying, conducted over 18 holes, was held from Aug. 1-15. There were 65 sites in 43 states. California has the most, with seven qualifying sites, while Texas had four qualifiers and Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and Illinois each have three.
SCHEDULE OF PLAY
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:
Sept. 10 (Saturday): First round, stroke play
Sept. 11 (Sunday): Second round, stroke play
Sept. 12 (Monday): First round, match play
Sept. 13 (Tuesday): Second and third rounds, match play
Sept. 14 (Wednesday): Quarterfinal and semifinal rounds, match play
Sept. 15 (Thursday): Championship match (36 holes)
FIRST TIME
For the first time in USGA history, the stroke-play co-host course will be used in a 36-hole championship match. The final match’s morning round will be played on Stonewall’s North Course, while the afternoon round will be held on Stonewall’s Old Course.
ADMISSION
Admission is free. Tickets are not needed for this USGA championship, and spectators are encouraged to attend.
2015 CHAMPION
Bolstered by a hole-in-one on the par-4, 33rd hole, Sammy Schmitz, of Farmington, Minn., defeated Marc Dull, of Lakeland, Fla., 3 and 2, in the championship match to win the 2015 U.S. Mid-Amateur at John’s Island Club’s West Course. Schmitz, 35, rifled his driver, which landed 17 feet to the left of the hole, caught the slope behind the hole and rolled back in for an ace. It is believed to be only the second hole-in-one on par-4 in USGA amateur competition. With a 3-up lead, Schmitz reached the green on the downhill, 233-yard, par-3 34th hole with a 3-iron. His two-putt par secured the victory and laid claim to the Robert T. Jones Memorial Trophy. Schmitz, who was 2 up through the morning 18 holes, birdied the par-3 23rd hole to build a 4-up advantage. Dull, a 29-year-old caddie at Streamsong (Fla.) Resort, won three of the next four holes to narrow his deficit to 1 down through 27 holes. Schmitz regained control of the match by winning the following hole with a bogey and the 30th hole with a par. Derek Ernst is the only other player to record an ace on a par-4 when he accomplished the feat at the 2011 U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship.
USGA CHAMPIONSHIPS IN PENNSYLVANIA
The 2016 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship and 2016 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship will be the 86th and 87th USGA championships, respectively, conducted in Pennsylvania. The U.S. Open was held at Oakmont (Pa.) Country Club on June 16-19, while Rolling Green Country Club, in Springfield, Pa., hosted the U.S. Women’s Amateur on Aug. 1-7.
USGA Championships in Pennsylvania (85)*
U.S. Open (17): 1907, 1910, 1927, 1934, 1935, 1939, 1950, 1953, 1962, 1971, 1973, 1981, 1983, 1994, 2007, 2013, 2016
U.S. Women’s Open (9): 1952, 1959, 1968, 1971, 1976, 1996, 2009, 2010, 2015
U.S. Senior Open (3): 1989, 1992, 2000
U.S. Amateur (13): 1916, 1919, 1924, 1925, 1930, 1938, 1951, 1966, 1969, 1977, 1989, 2003, 2005
U.S. Women’s Amateur (14): 1899, 1904, 1909, 1919, 1923, 1934, 1949, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1985, 2003, 2004, 2016
U.S. Girls’ Junior (5): 1949, 1954, 1966, 1985, 1998
U.S. Junior Amateur (3): 1983, 1997, 1999
U.S. Senior Amateur (3): 1965, 1971, 1987
U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur (6): 1962, 1972, 1983, 1987, 2001, 2012
U.S. Mid-Amateur (1): 2014
U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur (1): 1990
U.S. Amateur Public Links (5): 1928, 1934, 1957, 1965, 1969
U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links (2): 1980, 1997
Curtis Cup Match (2): 1954, 2002
Walker Cup Match (1): 2009
*championships conducted through 2016 U.S. Women’s Amateur
U.S. MID-AMATEURS IN NORTHEAST REGION
Years, Courses and Winners
1995: Caves Valley Golf Club, Owings Mills, Md. (Jerry Courville Jr.)
1996: Hartford Golf Club, West Hartford, Conn. (John “Spider” Miller)
2002: The Stanwich Club, Greenwich, Conn. (George Zahringer)
2003: Wilmington (Del.) Country Club, South Course (Nathan Smith)
2010: Atlantic Golf Club, Bridgehampton, N.Y. (Nathan Smith)
2014: Saucon Valley Country Club, Bethlehem, Pa. (Scott Harvey)
EXEMPT PLAYERS: A total of 23 players are fully exempt into the 2016 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 on July 20.
Joe Alfieri (WAGR Top 400)
David Bolen (2015 Mid-Amateur semifinalist)
Claudio Consul (WAGR Top 400)
Jess Daley (2015 Mid-Amateur quarterfinalist)
Marc Dull (2015 Mid-Amateur runner-up)
David Gies II (2015 Mid-Amateur quarterfinalist)
Doug Hanzel (WAGR Top 400)
Scott Harvey (2014 Mid-Amateur champion, 2015 USA Walker Cup Team, WAGR Top 400)
Josh Irving (2015 Mid-Amateur quarterfinalist)
Randal Lewis (2011 Mid-Amateur champion)
Chip Lutz (2015 Senior Amateur champion)
Kevin Marsh (2014 Mid-Amateur semifinalist)
Michael McCoy (2013 Mid-Amateur champion, 2015 USA Walker Cup Team, WAGR Top 400)
Brad Nurski (2014 Mid-Amateur runner-up)
Sammy Schmitz (2015 Mid-Amateur champion)
Nathan Smith (2009, 2010, 2012 Mid-Amateur champion, 2013 USA Walker Cup Team)
Patrick Tallent (2014 Senior Amateur champion)
Tom Werkmeister (2014 Mid-Amateur semifinalist)
Todd White (2015 Mid-Amateur semifinalist, 2013 USA Walker Cup Team, WAGR Top 400)
Brad Wilder (2015 Mid-Amateur semifinalist)
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-Amateur 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 36th 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.
For more information about the history of the championship, visit
http://www.usga.org/press_room/media_guide/Media-Guides/ and click on U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship.
TELEVISION SCHEDULE
The U.S. Mid-Amateur will receive at least four hours of live network coverage. FS1 will air the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds of match play (Sept. 14) and the championship match (Sept. 15). Shane O’Donoghue will serve as the host with analysts Brad Faxon and Steve Flesch. Buddy Marucci, the 2008 U.S. Senior Amateur champion, serves in the role of on-course reporter. Holly Sonders will handle interviews.
Date Network Broadcast Hours (Local/EDT)
Sept. 14 FS1 Semifinal Round, 3-5 p.m.
Sept. 15 FS1 Championship, 3-5 p.m.
FUTURE U.S. MID-AMATEURS
Oct. 7-12, 2017: Capital City Club (Crabapple Course), Atlanta, Ga.
Sept. 22-27, 2018: Charlotte (N.C.) Country Club
Sept. 21-26, 2019: Colorado Golf Club, Parker, Colo.
PHOTO MEDIA SERVICE
The USGA will offer daily complimentary high-resolution photographs during the U.S. Mid-Amateur for news use only. For more information and to register, contact photorequests@usga.org.
IMPORTANT PHONE NUMBERS
USGA Communications Department – 908-234-2300
U.S. Mid-Amateur Media Center – 908-326-1203
MEDIA OPERATIONS/SERVICE
Please contact Brian DePasquale for more information regarding your U.S. Mid-Amateur coverage. His contact information is:
Brian DePasquale: bdepasquale@usga.org, (O) 908-326-1884, (C) 908-655-8395
For more information on the USGA, visit usga.org. Media-specific information can be found in the USGA’s Online Media Center: www.usga.org/onlinemediacenter.