Mid-Amateur Championship

Thad Hudgens captures 33rd Mid-Amateur

Thad Hudgens defeated Don Bell, 2 & 1, in the final match to win the 33rd Mid-Amateur Championship held at The Loxahatchee Club, in Jupiter, October 9-12.

Thad Hudgens, of Longwood, earned the 8th seed after 36-holes of stroke play qualifying to advance to match play. In the first match, Hudgens went head to head against number 25 seed, Derek Camps. Hudgens defeated Camps 6 & 5 and continued to the Round of 16 matches where he would win again over Michael Weeks. In Hudgens’ third match he faced two time Champion, Steve Carter and once again moved forward to the Semifinals. In the Semifinals, Hudgens played strong against Mike Riley and posted a 6 & 5 win. Hudgens, last year’s Mid-Amateur runner-up, moved onto the Final match ready for redemption.

Don Bell, number one in the points rankings for Player of the Year, moved on to match play from the qualifying stroke play as the 6th seed.  In the Round of 32, Bell, of Port Orange, stuck out a tough match of 21 holes to defeat Greg Eckels, of Tampa. Bell’s second match was against Edward Ortega where he moved forward with a 3 & 2 win. Bell defeated Rick Woulfe in the Round of 8 and went to the Semifinals to face Jon Alfieri, the 1999 Mid-Amateur Champion. Bell fired two birdies to seize the win over Alfieri and move straight into the Final match against Thad Hudgens.

The Final Match started with Hudgens 2 up after nine holes. Bell struggled through the front nine with three bogeys, which were defeated by Hudgens’ pars. Hudgens posted a strong birdie on hole number 10 to gain one on Bell, but fell back to 2 up after struggling with a double bogey on hole 11. After Hudgens’ double bogey, Bell went on a winning streak by winning three out of the next four holes to move the match to all square. Hudgens fought back and stood on the par three, 197 yard, number 17 tee box, 1 up. With a five iron in hand, Hudgens landed his shot three feet from the hole and with a trickle forward made a hole-in-one.  Bell, having to make a hole-in-one to halve Hudgens, stuck his shot ten feet to the right of the hole, giving Hudgens’ a 2 & 1 victory.

The Mid-Amateur Championship marks Hudgens’ first individual Championship title. He has won several Four-Ball Championship titles, but was never named an individual champion. Hudgens’ Mid-Amateur runner-up finish in 2013 was followed by a Championship victory in 2014.

Full Story

Stroke Play Recap

Entries Close Wednesday, August 27, 2014

$85 per competitor ($75 with GHIN handicap)
Carts are included, and mandatory, at qualifying and the championship

Championship Format

• 84 player field size
• 36 holes of individual stroke play
• There will be a hole by hole play-off to determine the last qualifier's place in the Championship immediately - All other ties for seeds will be broken randomly
• The match play round of 32 will begin Friday afternoon while the match play
• The round of 16 will be played on Saturday morning and the quarter-finals will begin Saturday afternoon
• Semi-finals will be played on Sunday morning and Championship match will be played on Sunday afternoon.

Eligibility 

• Male amateurs must be age 25 or older as of October 9, 2014, and be a member of the FSGA.

Entry Fees

• Qualifying Fee: Qualifying Fee includes Entry Fee and cart fee.
• Championship Fee: Fee paid by those individuals who advance to the Championship through qualifying. Includes tee gifts, course fees, and range balls for each competitive round.
  
• Exempt Fee: Exempt Fee includes Championship Fee and Entry Fee for those individuals eligible for exemption.

Late entries will be accepted subject to a $10 late entry fee should the entrant gain acceptance into the qualifying field. 

Pre-Registration

Those individuals who advance to the Championship through qualifying must pre-register and remit an additional $125 online at www.FSGA.org under the "My Account" section, which can be located in the top right hand corner of the web-page.  Payment must be received by Thursday, October 2 by 3:30 pm, or the individual will be withdrawn from the Championship.

To Pre-Register:

• Log on to the FSGA website at www.fsga.org using your email address and password
• Click on "My Account" in the upper right hand corner of the homepage
• Under "My Tournaments", click on the "Pre-Register" button to the right of the tournament name

  

• Enter your credit card information and then click the "Charge My Card" button on the bottom right hand corner of the page

Course Set-Up

The golf course will be set-up at approximately 6,800-7,100 yards.

Qualifying

Qualifying rounds are 18 holes of stroke play at 7 qualifying sites.  During qualifying, each player must use a golf cart.  Caddies are acceptable, but he/she may not ride in a golf cart or carry the player's clubs.  Players are responsible for cart fees for all practice rounds.

Defending Champions

Jon Veneziano, of Mount Dora, defeated Thad Hudgens, of Longwood, in the final match to claim the Player-of-the-Year title and win the 32nd Florida State Mid-Amateur Championship held at the historic Mountain Lake Golf Club in Lake Wales, on October 10-14.

Practice Round Cart Fees

Players are responsible for practice round cart fees at qualifying sites.

Championship Practice Rounds and Practice Facilities

Practice rounds are available on one week prior to the championship and after 12:00 PM the weekend prior on a space available basis.  The cost of a practice round is $30 plus tax.  Starting times for your practice round can be arranged by calling the club.  You may not make your practice tee time before groupings are made.  Groupings will be made shortly after the final qualifier and faxed to the club. The Loxahatchee Club telephone number is (561) 744-5533.

Exemptions

Players in the following categories will be eligible for exemption provided they meet all entry and eligibility requirements.

• Last five year's Mid-Amateur Champions

• Last year's Mid-Amateur Championship Semifinalists

• Last five year's Amateur Champions

• Current year's top five and tied Amateur Championship finishers

• Current year's Mid-Amateur Stroke Play Champion

• Current year's Senior Amateur Champion

• Current year's Amateur Public Links Champion

• Current year's Amateur Match Play Champion

• Current year's Mid-Senior Champion

• Current year's Florida Open Low Amateur

• Current year's final Winter Series Senior (55-64 Age Division) Points Leader 

• Current year's players selected to the USGA State Team (even years only)
• Players qualifying for the current year's US Mid-Amateur Championship

Exemptions Earned from this Tournament

Winner

• Next five Mid-Amateur Championships
• Next three Amateur Championships
• Next three Amateur Match Play Championships
• Next year's Florida Open

Semi-Finalists

• Next year's Mid-Amateur Championship
• Next year's Amateur Championship
• Next year's Amateur Match Play Championship

Players making match play

• Next year's Senior Amateur Championship

Other Policies

• Spectators and Spectator Cart Policy - Click here.
• Caddies - If a player employs a caddie, the caddie MUST walk and player's clubs must remain on the golf cart.
• Championship Pace of Play Policy - Click here.
• Local Rules and Conditions of Competition - Click here.
• Championship Policies - Click here to read the withdrawal, dress code, and other policies.
• Procedures for Alternates - Click here for information on how alternates may gain entry into this Championship.
• Conditions/ Schedule - The FSGA Championships Committee/on-site Rules Committee reserves the right to alter any of the conditions, provisions and/or schedules. The decision of the Championships Committee/on-site Rules Committee in any matter will be final.

Host Hotel and Accommodations

Currently, there is no host hotel for this event.

Directions

The Loxahatchee Club
1350 Echo Drive
Jupiter, FL 33458
(561) 744-5533

Click here for directions