US Mid Amateur - Summary

Following two solid rounds of strokeplay (68, 73), Derek moved on to match play having finished T3 for the strokeplay portion of the tournament! The rain caused delay after delay on day 3 (first day of matchplay), forcing the USGA to suspend play for the day after 6 hours of sitting in the clubhouse. So, day 4 consisted of 2 matches back to back. In the first match (round of 64), Derek won his match 5&4! In the afternoon round, Derek lost the match to Tim Spitz (2&1), however played solid golf. When he got on the 16th tee box, he was down 3 with 3 to play. In order to stay alive he had to win the next 3 holes to keep the match going. So Derek stepped up to the tee box with a bit more aggression in hopes to birdie the hole to stay alive. The aggression paid off and he won the hole. The par 4, 430 yard dog leg right hole 17 was playing from the further up tee boxes, which it hadn't all week, allowing for a slight possibility to drive the green. To the gallery's and my surprise, Derek stood up on the tee box and aimed over the marsh and killed a drive toward the green! His ball landed on the green, leaving him with a 50 foot eagle putt. Tim hit a solid drive to the middle of the fairway and then stuffed his second shot 4 feet from the hole for a birdie chance. So, knowing that making the eagle putt would be his only chance to win the hole and carry the match to 18, Derek gave it a roll. It was a great putt, with the perfect speed and had us all in awe as it made its way across the green on the perfect line. Then, it grazed the right side of the hole and stopped 6 inches behind the cup, leaving Derek with a disappointing birdie. Tim made his birdie putt to close out the round and move on to his next match. He went on to the final match against Nathan Smith, who took the title for the US Mid Amateur.