Crump Cup: A hole-in-one shoots Hayes Brown into the lead with a 68

September 12, 2024 | by Sean Melia of AmateurGolf.com

Pine Valley is hosting the 99th Crump Cup. (Sean Melia)

A star-studded top ten including Stewart Hagestad and Evan Beck sets up a thrilling weekend

Hayes Brown recorded an ace and two birdies in the opening round of the 99th Crump Cup to shoot a 68, an impressive showing as he recorded the only round under par.

The 14th hole relinquished the hole-in-one to the Atlanta native. Brown was a semi-finalist in the 2021 U.S. Mid-Amateur; he holed out for an eagle on the second playoff hole to grab the No. 64 seed before making an impressive run.

A trio of players carded even-par 70: Brad Tilley (Easton, Conn.), Drew Kittleson (Scottsdale, Ariz), and Garrett Rank (Canada).

It’s a star-studded top ten. As Evan Beck, Stewart Hagestad, and Andrew Bailey are lurking. Jimmy Ellis, the 2024 U.S. Amateur stroke-play medalist and 2022 Crump Cup runner-up, shot a 73.

Hagestad is ranked No. 3 in the AmateurGolf.com Mid-Amateur Rankings, and Beck is ranked No. 6.

After Friday’s round, the field will be cut into 16-player flights. After round 1, nine players shot 75 and sit in a tie for 14th place and a spot in the coveted Championship Flight. That should make for a dramatic day tomorrow, as a massive number of players still have a chance to earn a spot in the Championship Flight.

In the senior division, Dave Nelson (Littleton, Colorado) made four birdies and shot 71 to lead the Senior Division. Tommy Brennan (Covington, Louisiana ) is one back at 72. Brennan won the 2022 Crump Cup Senior Division.

Open Division:

Hayes Brown: 68

Bradford Tilley: 70

Drew Kittleson: 70

Garrett Rank: 70

Evan Beck: 71

Andrew Bailey: 72

Stewart Hagestad: 72

Jimmy Ellis: 73

Kris K. Mikkelsen: 73

5 players with 74

Senior Division:

David Nelson: 71

Tommey Brennan: 72

Rupert Kellock: 73

Dave Ryan: 74

Arnold Cutrell: 75

Results: Crump Cup

Place	Player	Location	Pts
Win	Andrew Price	Lake Bluff, IL	500
Runner-up	Jimmy Ellis	Venetia, PA	400
Semifinals	Bradford Tilley	Easton, CT	300
Semifinals	Stewart Hagestad	Newport Beach, CA	300
Quarterfinals	Hugh Foley	, Ireland	200

View full results for Crump Cup

About the Crump Cup

Crump Cup: A hole-in-one shoots Hayes Brown into the lead with a 68

The George A. Crump Memorial Tournament -- named for the hotelier and course architect most famous for building Pine Valley -- is arguably the premier mid- amateur event in the United States. The invitational field is made of of top players from arou...