Meet The Quarterfinalists

Bandon, Ore. -- Each of the quarterfinalists below is exempt into next year's U.S. Mid-Amateur at Milwaukee Country Club. The winner here will also earned a place in the 2008 Masters field.

Jordan Byrd, 31, Clemson, S.C. – Assistant Golf Coach, Clemson University

Byrd has been the assistant golf coach at Clemson since 2005. He attended Furman University where he was the All-Southern Conference champion in 1997, his junior season. Byrd tried his hand at professional golf for two years, playing on the Hooters Tour and the Tear Drop Tour. He had four top-five finishes. From 2001 through 2004, he worked out of golf as a financial advisor. He was also an accomplished wrestler in high school, finishing as South Carolina runner-up in his weight class. He is the older brother of professional golfer Jonathan Byrd, who has won three times on the PGA Tour. Jordan qualified for the 2006 U.S. Mid-Amateur and the 2006 U.S. Amateur.

Ty Cox, 30, Ft. Worth, Texas – General Contractor

Cox is making the most of his first appearance at the U.S. Mid-Amateur. He played college golf at Texas A&M and was graduated in 1999. He turned professional for five years and won a Tight Lies Tour event before gaining reinstatement as an amateur. Cox picked up the game at a young age, and won three AJGA tournaments in 1993. Only Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and David Duval have won more in a single AJGA season. He is the reigning club champion at Shady Oaks CC, where Ben Hogan was a prominent member. One of Cox’s most memorable moments in golf was meeting Ben Hogan.

Scott Hardy, 31, Pleasant Hill, Calif. – Golf Coach, St. Mary’s College

Hardy reached the semifinals of the 2006 U.S. Mid-Amateur, where he lost to eventual champion Dave Womack. Before that, however, he defeated past champion Kevin Marsh and Alan Bratton, a member of the 1995 USA Walker Cup team. Hardy won two easy matches before needing extra holes to win in the third round. He won the 2007 NCGA Public Links title at Spyglass in Pebble Beach, Calif. This is his fifth Mid-Amateur. He also played in the 1999 U.S. Amateur. He is a four-time West Coast Conference Coach of the Year.

Trip Kuehne, 35, Irving, Texas – Investment Broker

Kuehne is one of the most decorated amateur golfers of the modern generation. He was runner-up at the 1994 U.S. Amateur to Tiger Woods and has been selected for three USA Walker Cup teams. He also has qualified for three U.S. Opens, lastly in 2007. This is his 21st USGA championship, and sixth Mid-Amateur. This is the first time he has reached the quarterfinals. His younger brother, Hank, won the 1998 U.S. Amateur with Trip as his caddie. His younger sister, Kelli, won back-to-back U.S. Women’s Amateurs. He was graduated from Oklahoma State, but attended Arizona State for one year, where he was the roommate of Phil Mickelson. He teamed with Woods on the 1995 Walker Cup team. He also enjoys horse racing and college football. He has a low competitive round of 62, and has seven holes-in-one.

Kevin Marsh, 34, Las Vegas, Nev. – Commercial Real Estate

Marsh won the 2005 Mid-Amateur 10 and 9 over Carlton Forrester at The Honors Course in Tennessee. It is the largest margin of victory since the championship went to a 36-hole final. He was also a quarterfinalist in 2004. In other USGA championships, Marsh advanced to the third round of the 1993 U.S. Amateur after finishing third in the stroke play qualifying. Among his other victories is the 1996 Southern California Amateur. Marsh is a 1996 graduate of Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif., where he played golf. In 1997, he served as assistant coach for the Waves and coached them to the NCAA Men’s Division I team title when head coach John Geiberger was sick with the chicken pox and could not travel to the event. He was reinstated to amateur status in 2002. His father, Don, is a competitive senior golfer.

Tim Mickelson, 30, San Diego, Calif. – Golf Coach, University of San Diego

Mickelson is playing in his first Mid-Amateur and has returned to USGA competition for the first time since the 2000 U.S. Amateur. He also played in the 1998 Amateur and advanced to the round of 16 in the 1999 U.S. Amateur Public Links. He has been head coach of the Torero golf program for five years. He is the younger brother of PGA player Phil and golfer and TV announcer Tina. While his brother is right-handed in all things except golf, he is the opposite. He graduated from Oregon State in 1999 after transferring from Arizona State. “If it’s Oregon State vs. ASU, I root for the Beavers,” he said. He has won his club championship (Farm Club) twice and was the runner-up in the 2000 Pac-10 Championship. He advanced to the semifinals of the Pacific Northwest Amateur at Bandon Dunes in 2000 and lost to the PGA’s Jeff Quinney. In 2007, he finished third at the Pacific Coast Amateur.

Stephen Sear, 41, Washoe Valley, Nev. -- Financial Advisor

Played in the 1984 U.S. Junior Amateur and the 1984 U.S. Amateur at the age of 17… attended University of Southern California and then turned professional. He played on the California State mini tours for two years, and then spent five years as the assistant professional at PGA West. His next stop was working at the Jim McLean Teaching School. “By then, I couldn’t break 80,” said Sear. “I had failed my PGA player’s test. Being with Jim McLean turned everything around.” He tried playing again, and this time won 1999 Player of the Year on the Teardrop Tour after three wins. In 2000, he took eighth at the Buick Invitational after being a Monday qualifier. After 2001, he left golf but didn’t re-gain his amateur status until 2006.

Dan Whitaker, 26, Cle Elum, Wash. – Greenkeeper at Suncadia Resort

He is playing in his first Mid-Amateur but he also qualified for the 2004 U.S. Amateur at Winged Foot Golf Club, which he calls his most memorable moment in golf. He turned heads with a 4-under-par 68 at Bandon Dunes in the first round of stroke play. He shot 67 in qualifying at Whispering Pines Golf Course at McCord Air Force Base in Tacoma. In 2007, he finished second at the Tri-City Amateur and sixth at the Washington State Amateur. He loves to fish more than he loves to play golf. Whitaker has an eye on a professional golf career but says: “If golf doesn’t work out, I’ll be looking to make a living as a fishing guide or something like that.”