Crane Cup gets underway with top Mid-Am & Senior fields
November 13, 2014 | by Conner Penfold of AmateurGolf.com
see also: Brady Exber, Crane Cup Invitational, Floridian National
Tournament that began in 2012 already one of the the premier mid-amateur/senior events in the United States
Tournament director Kevin Marsh, who began the event in 2012, struck a chord with course owner Jim Crane and the two meticulously crafted what has quickly become one of the premier invitationals in the United States.
"[Crane] wanted to create a national membership with a lot of good players," Marsh said, "and I said, 'Why don't we host a tournament and get all the best mid-amateurs and senior amateurs in the country to come down?
"'Some of them will join, and the rest will tell everybody how great it is,'" Marsh said.
Marsh will be feeling good about his own golf game, having just won the Southern California Four-Ball Championship with playing partner John Pate. Marsh tied for sixth in the 2013 Crane Cup, finishing 12 shots back of Colby Harwell, who won by nine.
Crane, who also owns Major League Baseball's Houston-based team the Astros, is an avid golfer and will be in the field as well in the senior division.
"It's a place that sells itself," Marsh said of the host course Floridian, that Marsh mentioned was in a relatively secluded and quiet part north of West Palm Beach.
"It's kind of hidden, not in the hustle-and-bustle of Jupiter or West Palm," Marsh said. "It's really special."
TaylorMade/Adidas has been a sponsor of the event from day-one, and by providing the players with gear, along with the treatment of Floridian's five-star resort-like amenities, players get treated like tour professionals.
Here's a look at the 2013 Crane Cup results.
SIX PLAYERS TO WATCH
Mid-Amateur
 |
BRADY EXBER - view profile
This
accomplished Nevada player, who is playing in
the Mid-Amateur division in 2014, is a member
of the Southern Nevada Golf Association Hall of
Fame and is a seven-time SNGA Player-of-the-
Year. His spectacular 2014 includes wins at the
British Senior Amateur, Senior Azalea,
Yeamans
Hall, and Stocker Cup, as well as a runner-up
finish at the Canadian Senior Amateur. In
October
the Southern Golf Association named Exber the
SGA National Amateur
of the
Month, based on his three wins. He is the
only
senior player to earn that honor in 2014.
 |
COLBY HARWELL - view profile
The
defending champion helped his home state of
Texas win its record fourth USGA State Team
Championship in October, along with Zach
Atkinson and Aaron Hickman (also in the field).
Harwell also has individual top-fives at the
USGA
State Team and at the Harvey Penick
Invitational.
 |
MIKE MCCOY - view profile
The
perennial mid-amateur talent is having a nice
follow-up season after his 2013 U.S. Mid-
Amateur win with victories at the 2014 Lupton
Invitational and George C. Thomas Invitational.
The Iowa native finished in a tie for 15th last
year and will be looking for a better finish at
Floridian.
Senior
 |
DOUG HANZEL - view profile
The 2013
U.S. Senior Amateur champion is coming off a
victory at the newest Society of Seniors
tournament — The Vinny. A native of
Savannah,
Ga., Hanzel also captured the 2014 Jones Cup
Senior Invitational, winning by two over fellow
Georgian Jack Hall.
 |
PAT TALLENT - view profile
The Virginia
resident traveled west to Newport Beach and
returned to the
east coast with a U.S. Senior
Amateur title. Tallent rolled the rock with his
long
putter in his final
match win over Bryan Norton, including a 30-
plus footer on the 17th hole. Tallent also tied
for
eighth at the British Senior.
 |
CHIP LUTZ - view profile
Lutz not only won the Crump Cup senior division, but completed something maybe more special to him in 2014 — the "career circle" of the Golf Association of Philadelphia. Having already won the GAP's Junior, Amateur, and Mid-Amateur titles, Lutz completed the circle with a win at the 2014 GAP Senior Amateur. The Reading resident also won the National Senior Hall-of-Fame and tied for second at the Coleman Invitational.
About the Crane Cup
**Will not be held in 2019 54-hole scratch stroke play event with Mid-Amateur and Senior Divisions, hosted by the recently redesigned (Tom Fazio) Floridian in Palm City, Florida. Tournament Director Kevin Marsh is a USGA Mid-Amateur champion and has ...
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