NOW PLAYING: U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship

September 24, 2024 | by Justin Golba of AmateurGolf.com

Stewart Hagestad will look to join Nathan Smith as the only players to win four U.S. Mid-Amateur titles

We have reached the end of the USGA championship season, and with that comes the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship.

The Mid-Amateur will be held from September 21 to September 26 at Kinloch Golf Club in Manakin-Sabot, Va., and Independence Golf Club in Midlothian, Va.

Both clubs were opened in 2001, with the architects of Kinloch being Lester George and Marvin "Vinny" Giles and the architect of Independence being Tom Fazio, with a renovation by Lester George in 2014. Marvin "Vinny" Giles, a two-time USGA champion that includes the 1972 U.S. Amateur, helped found the club and co-designed the course with Lester George. He also represented the USA in four Walker Cups and captained the 1993 team.

Kinloch Golf Club will play at 7,299 yards and a Par 71, and Independence Golf Club will play at 7,190 yards and a Par 70. The championship is open to any amateur golfer who has reached their 25th birthday as of Sept. 21 and whose Handicap Index does not exceed 2.4.

Check out this course review from AmateurGolf.com on Kinloch Golf Club.

The qualifying took place at 69 sites between July 22 and Aug. 28 and the USGA accepted 6,054 entries to participate, only six shy of the record of 6,060 last year.

2023 championship

Stewart Hagestad, 32, of Newport Beach, Calif., moved into select company by capturing his third U.S. Mid-Amateur title with a 3-and-2 victory over Virginian Evan Beck in the 36-hole final at Sleepy Hollow Country Club in Scarborough, N.Y. Hagestad, fresh off winning a fourth Walker Cup for the USA, joined Nathan Smith (4) and Jay Sigel (3) as the only players with three Mid-Am titles. His other two titles came in 2016 and 2021. Hagestad is the No. 3 ranked player in the AmateurGolf.com Mid-Amateur Rankings.

“There are so many thoughts that come into your head, good, bad, otherwise, not just throughout the day but kind of throughout the week," Hagestad told the USGA after the win. "Evan is such a good player. I know that he's one of the best in the world. He's got a ton of horsepower, and I saw some of his matches, and I kind of had a feeling it might come down to the two of us. Never in my wildest dreams would I have ever thought this was possible. I'm going to need a minute to kind of decompress, but there's a lot of emotions going on right now.”

Notable U.S. Mid-Amateur champions

Jim Holtgrieve (1981); Jay Sigel (1983, 1985, 1987); David Eger (1988); Tim Jackson (1994, 2001); Danny Green (1999); Nathan Smith (2003, 2009, 2010, 2012); Trip Kuehne (2007); Mike McCoy (2013); Scott Harvey (2014), Stewart Hagestad (2016, 2021, 2023); Matt Parziale (2017)

Notable U.S. Mid-Amateur runner-ups

Bob Lewis Jr. (1981, 1984); O. Gordon Brewer (1985); Bryan Norton (2003); Todd Mitchell (2008); Tim Hogarth (2010); Garrett Rank (2012); Scott Harvey (2016), Evan Beck (2023)

Schedule of play

Saturday, Sept. 21 (Stroke Play, Round 1, 18 holes)
Sunday, Sept. 22 (Stroke Play, Round 2, 18 holes)
Monday, Sept. 23 (Round of 64, match play)
Tuesday, Sept. 24 (Round of 32/Round of 16, match play)
Wednesday, Sept. 25 (Quarterfinals/Semifinals, match play)
Thursday, Sept. 26 (Championship Match, 36 holes)

What the winner receives

- a gold medal
- custody of the Robert T. Jones Jr. Memorial Trophy for one year
- exemption into 2025 U.S. Open at Oakmont (Pa.) Country Club
- exemptions from qualifying for the next 10 U.S. Mid-Amateurs
- exemptions from qualifying for the next two U.S. Amateurs
- likely invitation to the 2025 Masters Tournament (must be an amateur)
- name engraved on 2024 USGA champions' plaque that will reside in the Hall of Champions inside the USGA Museum in Liberty Corner, N.J.

Future U.S. Mid-Amateur sites

2025: Troon Country Club, Scottsdale, Ariz./Sept. 13-18; Troon North Golf Club, Scottsdale, Ariz.
2026: Sand Valley Resort, Nekoosa, Wis./Sept. 26-Oct. 1
2027: Jupiter Hills Club, Tequesta, Fla./TBA
2030: Bel-Air Country Club, Los Angeles, Calif./Sept. 14-19

The United States Golf Association contributed to this report

Results: U.S. Mid-Amateur

Place	Player	Location	Pts
Win	Evan Beck	Virginia Beach, VA	1000
Runner-up	Bobby Massa	Grand Prarie, TX	700
Semifinals	Stephen Behr	Atlanta, GA	500
Semifinals	Drew Kittleson	Scottsdale, AZ	500
Quarterfinals	Josh Persons	Fargo, ND	400

View full results for U.S. Mid-Amateur

About the U.S. Mid-Amateur

NOW PLAYING: U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship

The U.S. Mid-Amateur originated in 1981 for the amateur golfer of at least 25 years of age, the purpose of which to provide a formal national championship for the post-college player. 264 players begin the championship with two rounds of sroke play q...