Danny Green

Danny Green, 42, of Jackson, Tenn., won two of the last four holes to defeat Jerry Courville, 40, of Milford, Corm., earning the 1999 U.S. Mid-Amateur title at Old Warson Country Club in St. Louis, Mo., 2 and 1.

Green and Courville, the 1995 Mid-Amateur champion, each birdied four of the first six holes, and the two players were tied after Courville won the par-5 12th with a birdie. However, Green then won hole 14 with a par and closed the match with a birdie from 10 feet on the 17th green.

"I've been trying a long time to be a USGA champion, and I finally got there," said Green, who had also defeated Courville in a semifinal match of the 1989 U.S. Amateur. "I beat a great player. We're good friends.

"I thought I could win, or I wouldn't be here. I knew this golf course was good for my game. You don't get chances like this often."

A former All-America tennis player at the University of Tennessee-Martin who has never taken a golf lesson, Green won holes three and six with birdies. But in between, Courville won holes four and five with birdies. Beginning at hole nine, the two traded the next four holes with Green getting the jump by winning the ninth with a par.

Down the stretch, Courville missed a couple of critical putts; one from 12 feet for a halve on hole 14 and a 4-footer that would have won hole 16.

Green never trailed in his final match after the sixth hole, a stance the 230-pounder more or less enjoyed in his quarterfinal and semifinal matches as well.

He won holes 11 and 18 to pull away from Craig Steinberg of Van Nuys, Calif., in his semifinal match for a 2-up win. Earlier in the day, he jumped out to a 4-up lead over 1988 Mid-Amateur champion David Eger of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., then hung on to win, 2 up.

However, Green, who qualified for match play with a 6-over-par total of 148, needed to come from behind to catch Alan Hill of Spring Branch, Texas, in his third-round match. He took holes 13 through 15 to earn a win, 1 up.

Courville, who qualified at 2-over 144, had just one easy match on his way to the final. That one was a 5-and-4 win over Robby McWilliams of Houston, Texas, in the second round. Otherwise, the long-hitting Courville was extended to the 18th hole in every other match before the final.

The cut for match play came at 9-over 151, with a 22-man playoff to decide the last 12 spots. Ed Brooks of Georgetown, Texas, was the medalist at 3-under 139. He and Duke Delcher of Bluffton, S.C., at 140, were the only two golfers under par in stroke play qualifying.