Jerry Courville, Jr.

It was quite a golf season for Mid-Amateur champion Jerry Courville, Jr. First, the Norwalk, Conn., native advanced through local and sectional qualifying to secure a spot in the U.S. Open, one of only two amateurs to master these hurdles. He played well at Shinnecock, too, missing the cut only because of a triple bogey on the 18th hole of the second round.

Next, Courville played in the U.S. Amateur at Newport, R.I., earning medalist honors along the way. Third, he was selected for and played on the U.S. Walker Cup team that competed in Wales in early September. Finally, Courville became a USGA champion when he bested a field of 312 to win the 15th Mid-Amateur.

This year's event was held at Caves Valley Golf Club and Woodholme Country Club, located near Baltimore, Md. The lowest 64 scorers after 36 holes of stroke play advanced to the match-play portion at Caves Valley, the home course of USGA President Reg Murphy.

Courville faced a tough test in the semifinal round, beating 1989 Mid-Amateur champion James Taylor by a convincing margin of 6 and 4. His final round opponent was Warren Sye, a two-time national amateur champion in his native Canada. Courville never led in the final until the 18th green, when he prevailed by a score of 1 up.

The path to victory, though, was anything but smooth. Sye grabbed a 3-up lead after six holes, and remained 2 up through the 12th hole. Courville took advantage of Sye's errant third shot on the par-5 13th to trim the deficit to one. Some poor putting caused Sye to drop the next hole as well, squaring the match. They proceeded to the final hole, where both players faced match-winning birdie putts. Both missed, but Courville holed his next putt for par and secured his first USGA championship.