Contenders from Past Glory Dominate US Mid-Amateur Tournament - Is It Fair to Allow Them to Compete?
The US Mid-Amateur Championship, a prestigious event in the golfing calendar, has seen a surge of former professional players making a comeback to amateur competition. The question of whether these seasoned veterans should be allowed to participate in amateur championships has been a topic of discussion.
The United States Golf Association (USGA) has a clause in its rules that allows for extension of the six-month waiting period for reinstatement as an amateur, based on individual players' results and the level they played at. This leeway has been utilised by several golfers, including Parker Edens and Bobby Massa, who have nine years of pro golf experience between them.
The stakes are high in the USGA's big amateur events, with spots in the US Open and The Masters up for grabs. In the 2022 US Mid-Amateur Championship, former professionals dominated the tournament, with defending champion Evan Beck, who retired from pro golf in 2017, leading the way.
Not all pro careers are the same, with huge differences in levels. Justin Hueber and Christian Brand, for instance, have played a combined 241 times on the Korn Ferry Tour. Brand quit pro golf in 2019 and Hueber left in 2021. Hueber, who reached the second stage of the PGA Tour's Q School last year as an amateur, made the matchplay portion of a USGA event for the first time.
Brand won $161,259 from 67 events on the Korn Ferry Tour, while Hueber earned $318,092 from his time on the tour, with three top 10 finishes in 87 events. Brandon Holtz, another former pro, played pro golf for six years until retiring in 2015, and regained his amateur status last year. Holtz will face Coughlin in the final.
The success of these former pros has led to calls for a formalization and strengthening of the rules. A suggested approach is a graduated wait time depending on how long and how successful players were on the Korn Ferry Tour or similar. Some even propose a ban on former PGA Tour pros playing in amateur events, as it doesn't quite sit right.
A cut-off point for tournament winners and veterans of say five years or more is also proposed. Kevin Streelman, a two-time PGA Tour winner, is on Jeg Coughlin's bag for the final, adding an extra layer of intrigue to the championship.
As the debate continues, one thing is clear - the US Mid-Amateur Championship is proving to be a breeding ground for former pros looking to make a comeback and challenge the best in amateur golf.
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