For the Love of the Game

In two years, the golf world’s best “true amateur” golfers will compete in Colorado for the U.S. Mid-Am Championship—and a spot in the Masters.

By Ed Mate

By now, most golfers are aware that the 2018 U.S. Senior Open will be played at The Broadmoor Golf Club. But were you aware that Colorado will host another national championship the following year? That’s right, Colorado—specifically, Colorado Golf Club in Parker and CommonGround Golf Course in Aurora—will play host to the 2019 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship on Saturday, September 21st through Thursday, September 26, 2019.

While amateur championships don’t garner the same level of attention as the USGA’s Open Championships, there are myriad reasons to be excited that Colorado will host the 2019 Mid-Amateur Championship. Here are the “front nine”:

1. Spectating: Admission to amateur championships is complimentary. And with no rope lines, you can walk “inside the ropes” and get much closer to the action.
2. The Masters: The 2019 U.S. Mid-Amateur Champion will be invited to participate in the 2020 Masters Tournament. (Note: This year, Stewart Hagestad, winner of the 2016 USGA Mid-Amateur, earned low-amateur honors at the Masters and became the first Mid-Amateur champion to make the cut since Augusta National started inviting them to play in 1989.)
3. History: The only other time Colorado hosted the U.S. Mid-Amateur was 1983, when the great Jay Sigel won at Cherry Hills Country Club. In the 36-year history of the event, Sigel is the only player ever to win both the U.S. Mid-Amateur and and U.S. Amateur in the same year.
4. True Amateurs: Let’s be honest. The U.S. Amateur is dominated by college players who are honing their skills for a future on the PGA Tour. That is cool, but the Mid-Amateur showcases the talents of “true amateurs” who lead regular lives and just happen to be extremely talented golfers. The Mid-Amateur competitor reflects the true spirit of amateur golf—playing the game for love, not for money.
5. Colorado Golf Club: Designed by Bill
   Coore and Ben Crenshaw, Colorado Golf Club is one of the state’s most spectacular venues. The U.S. Mid-Amateur will mark the third time the club has hosted a major golf event (CGC hosted the 2010 Senior PGA Championship and the 2013 Solheim Cup). The 2019 Mid-Amateur will provide an opportunity to see it up close and personal.
6. CommonGround Golf Course: The CGA-owned CommonGround Golf Course once again will co-host the stroke-play portion of the championship—similar to the role the course played in 2012, when Cherry Hills hosted the U.S. Amateur.
7. Local Talent. Every year the Colorado Golf Association conducts qualifying for the U.S. Mid-Amateur with two to three players earning their way to the national championship. 2019 will be a home game for the state’s best mid-amateur players and will provide a great storyline if their local knowledge can get them deep in the tournament.
8. Match Play. The U.S. Mid-Amateur is a Match Play championship where the top 64 players from the 36-hole stroke play qualifying are seeded into a single-elimination bracket. There is no more exciting form of play than match play as the mano-a-mano drama plays out.
9. Volunteer Opportunity. Hosting national championships allows the local community to get involved as volunteers, and the Mid-Am presents numerous opportunities to interact with the players. Who knows, maybe you will meet the next Masters low-amateur champ or make a new friend who’ll invite you to play his home course in Scotland!

Ed Mate is executive director of the Colorado Golf Association.

This article appears in the August/September 2017 issue of Colorado AvidGolfer— the state’s leading resource for golf and the lifestyle that surrounds it, publishing eight issues annually and proudly delivering daily content via coloradoavidgolfer.com.

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