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What Happened

Deraney, who won the Canadian Mid-Amateur for a second consecutive year last month, also saw a 3-up lead on the second nine dwindle to 1 against Schultz. Schultz hit a remarkable recovery shot to 8 feet from gnarly rough on No. 13 to set up a winning birdie, and the University of Missouri graduate won the par-5 16th with a par.

On 18, Deraney, a stay-at-home dad, blistered his drive 50 yards past Schultz, but it was the Texan who wound up closer to the flagstick after their approach shots. Deraney carefully lagged his putt to 2 feet for a par. Schultz, needing to convert to force extra holes, failed to convert from 12 feet.

“It wasn’t my best putt,” said Schultz. “At least I had a chance. For a while [in the match], it wasn’t looking like I was going to have a chance. At least I had a putt to try to extend it. That’s all I can ask for.”

Added Deraney, a Mississippi State University graduate: “I’m very excited. Just to get to play in USGA events is special treat. We all typically count how many we’ve played in, right? So it’s a special treat. To play so well is something really fantastic.”

In the morning quarterfinals, Michel needed 20 holes to eliminate Jacob Koppenberg, 32, of Bellingham, Wash., after seeing a 4-up lead with five to play evaporate. Koppenberg made two birdies and an eagle before winning the 18th hole with a par to force extra holes. After both players birdied the par-5 19th hole – Hole 1 at Colorado Golf Club – Michel prevailed by two-putting for par from 20 feet on the 152-yard, par-3 20th.

Deraney, meanwhile, defeated Yaroslav Merkulov, 27, of Penfield, N.Y., 2 and 1. Hagestad played the equivalent of 5-under golf – with concessions – to eliminate No. 63 seed Nick Geyer, 32, of San Diego, Calif., while Schultz defeated Andres Schonbaum, 28, of Argentina, 3 and 2.

Notable

• The two semifinal losers (Schultz and Hagestad) each earned a two-year exemption to the U.S. Mid-Amateur. Hagestad, by virtue of his 2016 victory, is exempt through the 2026 championship. The 2020 championship will be contested at Kinloch Golf Club in Manakin-Sabot, Va., and the 2021 competition is set for Sankaty Head Golf Club on Nantucket Island in Massachusetts.
  
  
• William Davenport, of Palm City, Fla., who lost to Stewart Hagestad in the Round of 64, took over caddie duties for Lukas Michel.
  
  
• Joseph Deraney has employed a club caddie, Sadie LeCheminant, since match play commenced on Monday.
  
  
• Nick Geyer was the only quarterfinalist not to use a caddie.
  
  
• The 20-hole quarterfinal match between Michel and Jacob Koppenberg tied for the fifth-longest in the Round of 8 in championship history.
  
• When Hagestad lost the par-3 second hole in his quarterfinal match against Geyer, it was the first time he had trailed in 45 holes.
  
  
• Hagestad’s match-play record in the U.S. Mid-Amateur is now 14-3.

Quotable

“I knew I was still playing well. Like, he was the one that kind of ate into my lead. I think he was like 4 under [over] three [consecutive] holes on the back nine. I was 1 under and I lost three of them. You kind of just got to ignore that stuff and keep playing your own game. I think that’s what I did.” – Lukas Michel, of Australia, on losing a 4-up lead with five to play, but still prevailing in 20 holes over Jacob Koppenberg in the quarterfinals

“I mean, yeah, a spot at the U.S. Open and [a likely] invite to the Masters. Pros can play their whole life and not get that opportunity. Nothing gets better than that I don’t think.” – Michel on the perks that go to the champion

“So I can answer that question pretty quickly: zero. It’s going to be just like today. It’s 36 holes. I’ll have to figure out how to focus on the first 18 and not just be like, let’s get it over so we can get to the show, the last 18 holes. So just play solidly. I’m going to play the golf course; you know, try to eliminate mistakes, make the other person make birdies. They’re kind of hard to come by in spots out here. Try to stay rested. Get some food. Hopefully come the back nine I’ve got a shot.” – Joseph Deraney, of Tupelo, Miss., on his mindset for the 36-hole championship match

“Winning always feels good. There’s a lot of guys who are good, but it’s tough to win at any level, especially as you get older. As you go from high school to college, you win less and less. So [winning the events I have this year] has definitely carried momentum over [to this week].” – Deraney on how his strong 2019 summer has carried over to the U.S. Mid-Amateur

“I’m super bummed to be that close. I mean, I really like this golf course. I played great the whole week, had a lot of confidence going into it. I played great the whole week. I knew that this would be my toughest match, especially after the way I played this morning. Tough to kind of back it up after you go out and pretty much go lights out (shoot 5 under in beating Nick Geyer). The only thing to say is [I’ve] just got to play better.” – 2016 champion Stewart Hagestad, of Newport Beach, Calif., on losing in the semifinals for the second consecutive year

“Adrenaline does a lot, so I didn’t feel it as much (fatigue) as I was thinking I was. I kind of paced myself a little bit, too. Probably wasn’t the fastest round of golf that I’ve ever played, but I felt like I just kind of took it as a stroll and see what would happen.” – Jason Schultz, of Allen, Texas, on playing his fifth match in three days

“It was great. Awesome. Obviously, I would’ve loved to get one more, two more wins, but I don’t play much golf, so this is a lot of fun. It’s fun to be competing and actually have a little bit of success.” – Schultz on reaching the semis in his first USGA championship

David Shefter is a senior staff writer for the USGA. Email him at dshefter@usga.org.

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