Qualifying is underway for the 41st U.S. Mid-Amateur, contested over 18 holes at 68 sites across the United States.
A record 5,708 entries were accepted for the championship, to be held at Erin Hills Golf Club in Erin, Wisconsin. 41 players, including the defending champion Stewart Hagestad, are exempt into the championship, with the remainder of the 264-player field coming from sectional qualifying.
Highlights from qualifying include:
August 11
Three qualifying events are underway Wednesday across the United States. Click each of the links below for live scoring.
Avon Oaks C.C. - Avon, Ohio
Chattanooga G. & C.C. - Chattanooga, Tenn.
Chena Bend G.C. - Fairbanks, Alaska
August 10
While Joel Alexander and
Mitchell Ford medaled at 4 under 68, it was Tulsa's
Austin Schmidt winning a five-hole playoff over Zachary Campbell to secure the third and final qualifying spot at Pleasant Valley Country Club in Little Rock, Arkansas. The co-medalists finished a shot ahead of Schmidt and Campbell, with the advancing Schmidt closing with an eagle and two birdies in his last six to reach extra holes.
Qualifiers: Joel Alexander (Florence, Ala.) 68, Mitchell Ford (Little Rock, Ark.) 68, Austin Schmidt (Tulsa, Okla.) 69 >
Results
Robert Mitchell's 6-under 66 at Glen Eagle Golf Club in Syracuse, Utah featured no bogeys and a hole-out for eagle at the 450-yard par-4 4th. He medaled by a stroke over a group five players to fire 67 and feature in a 5-for-1 playoff, in which
Yaroslav Merkulov was victorious to earn his spot at Erin Hills.
Qualifiers: Robert Mitchell (Utah) 66, Yaroslav Merkulov (Penfield, N.Y.) 67 >
Results
Brett Young already had his qualifying ticket in the bag as he teed off on the par-3 8th at Bridgeport Country Club. He was 7 under through 16 holes at the Bridgeport, W.V. qualifying site, plenty clear of the rest of the field. He put the cherry on top of a 63 with birdies at 8 and 9 to medal by five shots to tie Ohio's
Bill Williamson for the lowest U.S. Mid-Amateur qualifying score of this year.
Qualifiers: Brett Young (Bethel Park, Pa.) 63, Casey Schrader (Chagrin Falls, Ohio) 68, Ryan Greer (Knoxville, Tenn.) 69 >
Results
Bellavista Golf & Country Club, Mexico City, Mexico
Qualifiers: Diego Munoz de Cote (Mexico) 70, Cesar Abis (Mexico) 71 >
Results
August 8
Cody Paladino earned his third USGA medalist title in the last two years, qualifiyng for the second straight time at Connecticut National Golf Club in Putnam. He fired 68 on Monday to punch his ticket to Erin Hills. Earlier this summer, he medaled at U.S. Open Local Qualifying where no one broke par at Oxford Greens.
Qualifiers: Cody Paladino (West Hartford, Conn.) 68, Bradford Valois (Warwick, R.I.) 69, Ryan Coughlin (Rye, N.Y.) 69 >
Results
Daniel Wittlinger took advantage of Diablo Country Club's five par-5s, making birdie on four of them en route to a 5-under 67 and a one-stroke medalist victory.
Qualifiers: Daniel Wittlinger (Truckee, Calif.) 67, Garett Wagner (Brentwood, Calif.) 68, Jeremy Gearhart (Atascadero, Calif.) 70 >
Results
Former Harvard golfer Seiji Liu posted 67 at Spanish Trail Country Club in Las Vegas to qualifiy for his first USGA championship. His unlikely birdie at the nearly 500-yard par-4 7th helped put him a stroke ahead of the field before closing with pars at 8 and 9.
"I've got to thank the SNGA and the staff at Spanish Trail," Liu told Bill Bowman of Las Vegas Golf Insider. "They put on a great event and really treated us phenomenally."
Qualifiers: Seiji Liu (Philadelphia, Penn.) 67, Brian Prouty (Tucson, Ariz.) 68, Michael Riechmann (Irvine, Calif.) 68 >
Results
Delray Dunes Golf & Country Club, Boynton Beach, Fla.
Qualifiers: Thomas Birdsey (Jupiter, Fla.) 68, Joseph Latowski (Port St. Lucie, Fla.) 69, Scott Turner (Stuart, Fla.) 70, Chip Brooke (Altamonte Springs, Fla.) 70 >
Results
Interlachen Country Club, Winter Park, Fla.
Qualifiers: Brad Knight (Sarasota, Fla.) 68, Christopher Anderson (Maitland, Fla.) 69, Michael Barbosa (Vero Beach, Fla.) 71 >
Results
Country Club of Oxford, Oxford, Miss.
Qualifiers: Michael Morrow (Oxford, Miss.) 68, Rhett Pooley (Babson Park, Fla.) 70, Matt Cooper (Memphis, Tenn.) 70 >
Results
Blackhawk Country Club, Madison, Wis.
Qualifiers: Brandon Cloete (Madison, Wis.) 65, Sam Van Galder (Janesville, Wis.) 67, John Wright (Oswego, Ill.) 68 >
Results
August 4
Keney Park Golf Course, Hartford, Conn.
Qualifiers: Jason Longo (Fairfield, Conn.) 67, Harvin Groft (Berwick, Maine.) 68, Seth Jainchill (Hartford, Conn.) 69 >
Results
August 3
The round of the U.S. Mid-Amateur qualifying season so far is the 9-under 63 posted by
Bill Williamson of Cincinnati, Ohio. The 2013 U.S. Mid-Amateur runner-up racked up 11 birdies at the Heritage Club in Mason, Ohio to clear the field by a whopping 7 shots.
Qualifiers: Bill Williamson (Cincinnati, Ohio) 63, Austin Gutgsell (Mandeville, La.) 70, Ben Fuqua (Lexington, Ky.) 71 >
Results
August 2
A trio of co-medalists emerged from The Wilds Golf Club in Prior Lake, Minnesota. Rounds of 3-under 69 helped the group secure all three available spots and a trip to Erin Hills.
“I’m stoked [for Erin Hills],”
Max Tylke told the Minnesota Golf Association. “They say you’re not supposed to look ahead, but that gave me more motivation than anything. I was excited to see that, and I really wanted to go."
It's Tylke's fourth USGA championship, second for
Bryce Hanstad, and first for Robert Newbold.
“It means so much—I’m looking forward to the experience. When you get to this age, you never know if you’ll get to play in one of those,” Newbold told the Minnesota Golf Association. “That’s always been a goal, to make it to a USGA championship before the kids start getting older and life gets in the way."
Qualifiers: Bryce Hanstad (Edina, Minn.) 69, Robert Newbold (Plymouth, Minn.) 69, Max Tylke (Rosemount, Minn.) 69 >
Results
Bowling Green Country Club, Bowling Green, Ky.
Qualifiers: Alex Turner (Prospect, Ky.) 66, Rosario Falzone (Nashville, Tenn.) 67, Taylor Thompson (Louisville, Ky.) 67 >
Results
August 1
David Combs and Michael Canfield advanced out of a four-for-two playoff at Geneva Golf & Country Club in Muscatine, Iowa after four players shot 3-under 68. The pair parred the first and second playoff holes to qualify for their first USGA championship.
"I haven’t played in a qualifier in a while," Combs told the Iowa Golf Association. "So early in the round, I had to put myself in the position to go get it."
Qualifiers: David Combs (West Des Moines, Iowa) 68, Michael Canfield (North Liberty, Iowa) 68 >
Results
In Oregon at Lake Oswego Country Club, brothers
Jack and
Chris Dukeminier were two of three medalists at 2-under 68, alongside Ray Richards who finished the day without a bogey on his scorecard. Jack earned his second USGA medalist title of the year following a 9-under performance at Arrowhead Golf Club back in July for U.S. Amateur qualifying.
Qualifiers: Jack Dukeminier (Beaverton, Ore.) 68, Chris Dukeminier (Portland, Ore.) 68, Ray Richards (Lake Oswego, Ore.) 68, Landon Banks (Tualatin, Ore.) 69 >
Results
Matthew Lowe medaled at a USGA qualifier for the second time this year, and fourth time in the last five years. The Farmingdale, N.Y. native went bogey-free with six birdies at Mohawk Golf Club to finish atop the leaderboard by four over a pair of qualifying 69s.
Kyle Downey of Fairport, N.Y., who also finished the day without a bogey, and
Jared Mactas of Woodcliff, N.J. both shot 2-under 69 and will join Lowe at Erin Hills.
Qualifiers: Matthew Lowe (Farmingdale, N.Y.) 65, Kyle Downey (Fairport, N.Y.) 69, Jared Mactas (Woodcliff, N.J.) 69 >
Results
Former Canadian Tour player
Creighton Honeck fired 65 at Comanche Trace to punch his ticket to Erin Hills. He birdied his final hole of the day, the par-5 9th, to finish one stroke ahead of Casey Carnes.
Qualifiers: Creighton Honeck (Bee Cave, Texas) 65, Casey Carnes (San Antonio, Texas) 66, Drew Evans (Dallas, Texas) 67 >
Results
Down in Houston, five qualifiers advanced from the Pine Forest Country Club site, including co-medalists
Shaun Helmle and
Broc Haymon. With 4-under-par rounds of 68, the pair finished a shot clear of 12 other players in red figures. Haymon had it to 6 under with four holes to play but doubled six and bogeyed seven. He finished the day with a comforting birdie at the 9th to join Helmle at the top.
Qualifiers: Shaun Helmle (Seabrook, Texas) 68, Broc Haymon (League City, Texas) 68, Toby Zeringue (Katy, Texas) 69, Joseph Gullion (The Woodlands, Texas) 69, William Aybock (The Woodlands, Texas) 70 >
Results
Former Cal Poly golfer
Jimmy Castles made birdie on four of his last six holes at Serrano Country Club to quickly climb the leaderboard and medal by a stroke.
Qualifiers: Jimmy Castles (Cupertino, Calif.) 68, Jeff Butler (Folsom, Calif.) 69, Stephen Hale (Bakersfield, Calif.) 70 >
Results
The Whippoorwill Club, Armonk, N.Y.
Qualifiers: Ben Cooley (Phoenixville, Pa.) 65, Derek Barribeau (Royal Oak, Mich.) 68, Ty Zebrowski (Verona, N.J.) 69, Sam Weiss (New York, N.Y.) 69, Ryan Gabel (Beacon, N.Y.) 69, Blake Barribeau (Pompano Beach, Fla.) 70 >
Results
San Jose Country Club, Jacksonville, Fla.
Qualifiers: Nathan Bertsch (Bradenton, Fla.) 68, Toby Ragland (Jacksonville, Fla.) 70, Graham Nichols (Jacksonville, Fla.) 72 >
Results
Univ. of New Mexico Golf Course, Albuquerque, N.M.
Qualifiers: Devon Horne (Hendersonville, N.C.) 68, Trent Leon (Fort Worth, Texas) 69 >
Results
July 27
The first U.S. Mid-Amateur qualifier was effectively over after 7 holes.
Jesse Rhymes, a special agent in the U.S. Army stationed in Wahiawa, Hawaii, went 6 under over his first 7 holes and cruised to a 7-under 64 and a 7-shot win to take the only qualifying spot at Ko Olina Golf Club in Kapolei, Hawaii.
Qualifier: Jesse Rhymes (Copperas Cove, Texas) 64 >
Results