Trans-Miss Am: McCoy Wins Second Title
DES MOINES, Iowa (July 13, 2008)--Mike McCoy and Byron Shumate both cruised through the stroke play portion of the 105th Trans-Mississippi Championship, held at the Wakonda Club in West Des Moines, as well as the latter portions of the match play bracket.
McCoy, a local golfer who was the 2000 Trans-Miss champ, was the co-medalist, and cruised through match play until the Round of 16 and the quarterfinals, where he met another pair of local golfers in JD Anderson and Gene Elliott.
He was able to prevail 1-up and 2 & 1, his closest matches of the tourney.
Shumate, of Fort Smith, Ark., topped another Forth Smith golfer in Mark Graham 5 & 3 to make it into the finals.
He had some dicey situations early in match play, prevailing 1-up over Neal Barfield in the first round, in 19-holes over Tommy Brennan in the second round and in 20 holes over Gary Young in the third round.
The pair squared off Sunday in the 18-hole final, with McCoy taking the title by a margin of 5 & 4.
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amateurgolf.com Note:
Mike McCoy has been a member of amateurgolf.com since 2006. In addition to his two Trans-Miss titles, he has won the prestigious Crump Cup at Pine Valley in New Jersey three times since 2004.
ABOUT THE Trans-Miss Championship
The Trans-Miss is one of the oldest and
most storied golf tournaments in the United
States.
For 106 years the championship
was played in a match play format.
Past champions include Jack Nicklaus (1958
and 1959), Charles Coe (1947, 1949, 1952 and
1956), Deane Beman (1960), George Archer
(1963), Ben Crenshaw (1972), Gary Koch
(1973), Bob Tway (1978), Mark Brooks (1978)
and other professional tour notables. In
1987 the championship was changed to a mid-
amateur age requirement, and a senior division
was also added. Starting in 2010, the Trans-
Mississippi Championship, returned to its roots
as an
open amateur tournament, and immediately
established itself as a "must-play" among
top collegiate and mid-am players, while
changing to
a 72-hole stroke play format. The field size
starts at
144 players from Trans-
Mississippi Golf Association member clubs (or
players receiving a special invitation from the
Championship Committee). After 36 holes, a cut
is
made to the low 54 and ties who play the final
two
rounds.
View Complete Tournament Information