TAMPA, Fla. – The 38th Mid-Amateur Championship is set to begin on Thursday at Quail Valley Golf Club in Vero Beach. Players will compete in 36 holes of individual stroke play on Thursday and Friday, with the low 32 scores advancing to match play.
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Scott Turner |
Here are five things to know before the championship begins.
63 Qualifiers in the Field
Over 350 mid-amateurs attempted to qualify for this year’s championship at seven sites around the state, with 63 players advancing to the championship, joining 21 exempt players.
Rick Woulfe, the four-time Florida State Golf Association Amateur Player of the Year and eight-time Senior Player of the Year, qualified for the 2019 championship at Spring Run Golf Club with a 2-over 74. Woulfe will be the most experienced player in the field at 69 years old. The Fort Lauderdale resident won the 2012 Mid-Amateur Championship and finished tied for second at the Senior Amateur Championship earlier this year.
Dustin Dingus fired a 3-under 69 to qualify at Buckhorn Springs Golf & Country Club. Dingus, the youngest player in the field at 25 years old, won the 2011 Junior Match Play Championship and was a semifinalist at the 2017 Amateur Match Play Championship.
The 2004 Amateur champion, Brad Quiri, also qualified at Buckhorn Springs Golf & Country Club with a one-over 73.
Quail Valley Plays Host to Another FSGA Championship
Quail Valley Golf Club will play host to its eighth FSGA Championship and its first Mid-Amateur Championship. The Tommy Fazio and Nick Price course will offer numerous tee pads and fast undulating greens, and will be shown off with a variety of setups over match play rounds.
The Vero Beach club hosted the 2014 Amateur Championship and two Florida Open Championships, as well as the U.S. Open Sectional Qualifier in 2011 and 2014.
Two-Time Champions Back for More
Two-time Mid-Amateur champions, Steve Carter and Jon Veneziano will both be in this year’s field. Carter, the current FSGA President, won Mid-Amateur titles in 2004 and 2009, while Veneziano was victorious in 2005 and 2013. Both players will look to become the first player in championship history to capture three Mid-Amateur titles.
Including Carter and Veneziano, there are eight past Mid-Amateur champions in the field: Joe Alfieri (1999), Robert Bechtol (2017), Chip Brooke (2016), Thad Hudgens (2014), T.J. Shuart (2015) and Rick Woulfe (2012).
The 2018 Mid-Amateur Stroke Play Champion, Scott Turner, will be in this year’s field and will look to improve on his Round of 32 appearance at last year’s championship. Also in the field is Derek Hurwitch, who won the Two-man Shoot-Out earlier this month, with partner Douglas Schneider. Hurwitch will look to capture his first individual FSGA championship.
Senior Open Low Amateur in the Mix
Matt Avril secured Low Amateur honors at the Florida Senior Open earlier this month, finishing tied for second place at 4-under 212. Avril, who is a member at Quail Valley Golf Club, also qualified for the 2018 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship.
Mid-Amateur Boosts Strong Field
Eleven players in this year’s field competed in the 2018 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship at Charlotte County Club.
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While Joe Alfieri and Devin Hernandez qualified for the 2018 U.S. Amateur Championship at Pebble Beach Golf Links.
