Three-time champ Muehr among Crump Cup semifinalists

After two rounds of match play at Pine Valley Golf Club, just four players remain in the chase for the 96th Crump Cup. Michael Muehr (McLean, Va.), the three-time champion who is defending the title he won when the Crump Cup was last played in 2019, rode his experience to a pair of convincing wins over stroke play medalist Jeronimo Esteve and Kris Mikkelsen (Atlanta, Ga.). No one in the field has played more championship match play rounds than Muehr, who is in the top bracket for the ninth straight year. It was a tough draw for Esteve, who medaled by four shots and more remarkably, shot the low round in each of the two stroke play rounds. Muehr's semifinal opponent will be John Sawin, the Vice President and Director of Golf at Pebble Beach in California. The two-time Stocker Cup champion defeated former U.S. Mid-Amateur champion Kevin Marsh (Las Vegas, Nev.) and Matthew Mattare. The other semifinal will bring two more Californians together, as three-time Walker Cupper and former U.S. Mid-Amateur champ Stewart Hagestad (Newport Beach, Calif.) will face Jason Anthony (Fairfield, Calif.). Anthony has won many championships in his native Northern California and is looking for his first mid-amateur major. In the Senior Division, one set of matches was played on Saturday, leaving four still in contention. U.S. Senior Amateur champion Gene Elliott (W. Des Moines, Ia.) will face a familiar foe (and friend) in fellow Iowan and now fellow USGA champion Mike McCoy (Norwalk, Iowa). The two have paired many times in four-balls, have both racked up an impressive number of Iowa state titles, and have faced off against each other many times, most recently in the second round of match play during Elliott's run to the U.S. Senior title just a few weeks ago. Elliott held off two-time Walker Cupper Marty West, who shot the round of the tournament in qualifying by beating his age by three shots with an even-par 70. McCoy played great golf in beating Roger Hoit (Delray Beach, Fla.) in only 11 holes. McCoy, a four-time Crump Cup champion, is trying to join Elliott as just the fifth player in Crump Cup history to win both the open and senior titles. Elliott is going for his third-straight Crump senior win. The other semifinal features a pair of Crump Cup runners-up, as Michael Kelley (Westerville, Ohio) will face Matthew Sughrue (Arlington, Va.). The semifinals in the three mid-amateur flights and the two senior flights will tee off starting at 7:30am on Sunday, followed by the finals on Sunday afternoon.