Greg Puga

Greg Puga, 29, of Los Angeles, Calif., became the youngest champion in the 20-year history of the U.S. Mid-Amateur with a 3-and-1 victory over Wayne Raath, 25, of South Africa at the 2000 championship at The Homestead's 6,657-yard, par-70 Cascades Course in Hot Springs, Va.

Puga, at 29 years, 10 months and 29 days, is younger than Bill Loeffler, who won the 1986 championship, and was the youngest previous champion at 30 years and two months.

"You can't explain it," said Puga, a caddie at Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles, of winning the title. "It's like when you hear other athletes tell you they've won the World Series or the Super Bowl. It's like you're in a fog. I haven't digested it yet. I'm sure, when I get home, it'll hit me."

In addition to exemptions to the 2001 U.S. Mid-Amateur and U.S. Amateur, Puga won an invitation to the next Master tournament.

Raath, a graduate assistant golf coach at Florida Southern University where he was a four-time college All-American, held a 2-up lead after nine holes of the 18-hole final match.

On the 10^th hole, Puga holed a 10-foot par-saving putt, which he called "the most important point in the match."

He won the next two holes to erase Raath's advantage and square the match, with a 5-foot birdie putt on the par-3 11^th and a par on the long and narrow par-4 12^th, when Raath hit his tee shot into a lateral water hazard.

Puga, who hit 9 of 13 fairways and 11 of 17 greens, was the equivalent of two under par on his eight holes of the inward nine. In fact, he hit all five fairways on the back nine and 6 of 8 in greens in regulation.

"It seems like I owned the back nine all week, except for my match with (defending champion) Danny Green, " Puga said.

After both players parred the 13^th, Puga won the par-4 14^th and par-3 15^th with pars to build a 2-up lead. The par-5 16^th was halved with pars and Puga won the par-5 17^th and the championship when Raath three-putted for bogey.

Raath, who was playing in his first USGA championship, birdied the par-4 7^th and won the 9^th with a bogey after Puga flew the green with his approach shot, then overshot the putting surface with his recovery pitch.

"When I stepped on the No. 7 tee and hit a great drive and hit my second shot right at it, I thought, 'Now, I've got it,'" said Raath. "After that, my legs were never in my swing. It kind of started (Wednesday) afternoon and I didn't quite get it from that time on."

Puga defeated defending champion Green in the third round and co-medalist Jeff Wilson in the quarterfinals.

For the first time in the history of the championship, four players shared medalist honors at 3-under-par 138 - Jeff Wilson of Suisun, Calif., Jim Wilson of Chico, Calif., Darryl Donovan of Gilroy, Calif., and Dale Fuller of Raleigh, N.C. The cut came at 6-over-par 147 with a 17-for-14 berths playoff.