Chris Devlin records 14-shot win at Trans-Miss Mid-Amateur

September 12, 2024 | by Justin Golba of AmateurGolf.com

Paul Mitzel (TMGA Photo)

In the Mid-Master division, Paul Mitzel went wire to wire

Chris Devlin of Birmingham, Alabama, and Paul Mitzel of Gig Harbor, Wash., won the Trans-Mississippi Mid-Master and Mid-Amateur Championships at The Club at Brasada Ranch in Powell Butte, Ore. In 2024, the TMGA split its Senior/Mid-Master event into two separate tournaments and added a Mid-Amateur division to the latter.

We have to start with the Mid-Master Division, where Devlin posted a draw-dropping number of 20-under.

Devlin was in a world of his own, finishing 20-under with rounds of 63-67-66 to run away from the rest of the field by a whopping 14 strokes. It's the kind of result that makes the research team at AmateurGolf.com do a "refresh" on the Golf Genius leaderboard to make sure we weren't seeing double.

Carson Pilcher of Atlanta finished in solo second place at 6-under, and Chris Thayer of Golden, Colorado, finished in solo third place at 3-under. Only three golfers to finish under par in the Mid-Master Division.

MID-AMATEUR DIVISION

In the Mid-Amateur Division, Paul Mitzel went wire-to-wire with rounds of 65-71-69 to win the championship by four shots at 11-under.

"Honestly, it was new territory for me," Mitzel said. "I don't think I have really gone wire-to-wire (to win)"

Mitzel added, "I have been working hard on my putting to get ready for the U.S. Mid-Amateur [at Virginia's Kinloch G.C.] next week. I made it to match play last year and got beat up pretty badly in match play. The guy I faced was one of the best putters I have ever seen, so I knew I needed to work on my putting more."

Mitzel's first U.S. Mid-Amateur was last year, and he qualified again this year to make it two trips in a row. He faced the No. 1 seed, Jeronimo Esteve, in the round of 64 match play last year, losing 3 and 2.

"It was a learning experiment for me and a good one, to be quite honest," Mitzel said about going wire-to-wire at the Trans-Miss Mid-Am. "This entire week was meant to be prep for next week and work that competitive muscle. The game is in a good place, and I am really proud of myself."

Mitzel may not have gone wire-to-wire before, but he picked up a big win in 2022 at the Pacific Northwest Golf Association Amateur.

Forbes Collins of Lake Forest in Southern California finished in solo second place at 7-under, and Harrison Moir of Portland, Oregon finished in solo third place at 5-under.

Results: Trans-Miss Mid-Amateur & Mid-Master

Place	Player	Location	Pts	Scores
1	Chris Devlin	Hoover, AL	300	63-67-66=196
2	Paul Mitzel	Quincy, WA	200	65-71-69=205
3	Forbes Collins	Lake Forest, CA	100	70-70-69=209
4	Carson Pilcher	Atlanta, GA	100	70-71-69=210
5	Harrison Moir	Lake Oswego, OR	100	71-70-70=211

View full results for Trans-Miss Mid-Amateur & Mid-Master

About the Trans-Miss Mid-Amateur & Mid-Master

Chris Devlin records 14-shot win at Trans-Miss Mid-Amateur

In 2024 the TMGA split its Senior/Mid-Master event and added a Mid-Amateur division. This championship will be contested over 54 holes of individual stroke play with two divisions: Senior (25+, max handicap 4.0) and Legends (40+, max handicap 5.0). M...