Storylines From The 2007 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship

An Overview

• Eleven USGA individual champions (Bakst, Bell, Eaton, Green, Hogarth, Jackson, Marsh, Podolak, Smith, Womack, Zahringer)
• Seven USA Walker Cup team members (Bratton, Green, Jackson, Kuehne, Marucci, Podolak, Zahringer)
• One Great Britain and Ireland Walker Cup team member (Wolstenholme)
• Two World Amateur Team championships members (Kuehne, Wolstenholme)
• One Copa de las Americas (Eaton)
• Five Men’s State Team champions (Green, Hill, Jackson, Kuehne, Mathias)

Sixteen USGA Champions/Walker-Cuppers

Ken Bakst, New York, N.Y. – 1997 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion

Mike Bell, Indianapolis, Ind. – 2006 USGA Senior Amateur champion

Alan Bratton, Stillwater, Okla. – 1995 USA Walker Cup team member

Austin Eaton, New London, N.H. – 2004 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion, 2005 USA Copa de las Americas team

Danny Green, Jackson, Tenn. – 1999 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion, 2001 USA Walker Cup team member, 2003 USGA Men’s State Team champion

Alan Hill, Spring Branch, Texas. – 2005 USGA Men’s State Team champion

Tim Hogarth, Northridge, Calif., -- 1996 U.S. Amateur Public Links champion

Tim Jackson, Germantown, Tenn. – 1994, 2001 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion, 1995, 1999 USA Walker Cup team member, 2003 USGA Men’s State Team champion

Trip Kuehne, Dallas, Texas – 1995, 2003, 2007 USA Walker Cup team member, 2006 USA World Amateur team member, 2007 USGA State Team champion

Kevin Marsh, Las Vegas, Nev. – 2005 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion

Mike Podolak, Oxbow, N.D. – 1984 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion, 1985 USA Walker Cup

George “Buddy” Marucci, Villanova, Pa. – Walker Cup 1995, 1997, 2007 captain

Nathan Smith, Brookville, Pa. – 2003 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion

Gary Wolstenholme, England –1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005 GB&I Walker Cup team, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, (1998 champion)

Dave Womack, McDonough, Ga. – 2006 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion

George Zahringer, New York, N.Y. – 2002 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion, 2003 USA Walker Cup team member

Four Countries – Players in the field represent Canada, England, Jamaica and the USA.

Forty-two States – Forty-two states are represented, with California having the most at 33 players. Texas has 23, followed by Pennsylvania and Illinois with 15, Georgia 14, New York 12, Florida 11, and Ohio 10.

Seven Oregonians – A total of seven players are from Oregon: Jason Humphrey, Coos Bay; Brandon Kearney, Bend; Michael McKennon, Lake Oswego; Jeff Nielson, Gresham; Thomas Prevost, McMinnville; Tim Tucker, Coos Bay; and Mark Wilson, Oakland.

Local Knowledge – Two Bandon Caddies Qualify

Jason Humphrey, 26, and Tim Tucker, 39, of Coos Bay, Ore., might have a little edge on the field when it comes to reading greens. They are caddies at Bandon Dunes Resort. Humphrey is a full-time caddie at Bandon Dunes while Tucker also works as a club fitter for Edel Putters.

Individual Storylines

Cliff Blanchard, 42, of Tiverton, R.I., played professional lacrosse for seven years. He is currently the assistant lacrosse coach at Bryant University. The president of a medals plating company, he didn’t take up golf until after graduating college. He is playing in his first U.S. Mid-Amateur, after nine failed tries.

Matt Clarke, 46, of Loudonville, N.Y., won the Division IIII 1983 individual title while helping his Allegheny College squad to the team golf title. He is a member of the Allegheny College Hall of Fame. He is an employee benefits consultant who is playing in his sixth U.S. Mid-Amateur.

Michael Cooper, 38, of Austin, Texas, is appreciating his fourth U.S. Mid-Amateur more than any of the previous three. A former college All-American golfer at the University of Texas (1991), Cooper is a kidney cancer survivor as of 2006. He is vice president of marketing for an Austin-based company.

Tripp Davis, 40, of Norman, Okla., who is playing in his fifth U.S. Mid-Amateur, has his own golf course design company. He qualified at Bandon Trails, one of the championship courses, in spite of finishing double bogey-bogey. He was a college All-American at the University of Oklahoma, helping the Sooners to the 1989 national golf title.

Michael Dunham, 35, Concord, Mass., played 10 years as a goalie in the National Hockey League before retiring to become a goalie coach for the New York Islanders. He is playing in his first USGA championship. He played for the University of Maine that won the 1993 NCAA title, and was on the USA team that took home the silver medal at the 2002 Winter Olympics.

Jim Grainger, 51, of Charlotte, N.C., has a link to the U.S. Golf Association that pre-dates his two U.S. Mid-Amateur appearances. He is the grandson of former USGA President Ike Grainger. The USGA presents a Grainger Award annually to volunteers with 25 years of service to the Association.

Randal Hoder, 47, of New Haven, Calif., is a former professional ski racer. He is playing in his second U.S. Mid-Amateur.

Michael Ignasiak, 41, of Saline, Mich., had a short stint in major league baseball with the Milwaukee Brewers. His brother, Gary, played for a time with the Detroit Tigers. Mike now owns a Dairy Queen and is playing in his second U.S. Mid-Amateur.

Charlie Ingram, 53, of Shepardstown, W.Va., was in intensive care for 22 days in 2006 fighting a rare combination of Stevens Johnson Syndrome and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. He spent a total of 35 days in the hospital and thought he’d never play top-level amateur golf again. He is playing in his second U.S. Mid-Amateur. He also qualified in 2001.

Jim Lehman, 49, of Plymouth, Minn., is playing in his eighth U.S. Mid-Amateur. A sports agent/lawyer, Lehman’s two brothers have also played in USGA championships. Tom, a well-known professional golfer, has played in numerous U.S. Opens. And Mark played in the 1983 U.S. Junior Amateur.

Scott Lorenz, 44, of La Canada, Calif., was a member of a high-profile golf team at UCLA in the mid-1980s that featured Corey Pavin, Jay Delsing, Tom Pernice, Steve Pate, Brandt Jobe and Scott McCarron. After college, he didn’t play competitive golf for 20 years, picking up the urge again in 2006 and now qualifying for his first USGA championship. He is a broker for a commercial real estate company.

Craig Looper, 34, of Snoqualmie, Wash., will celebrate his 11th wedding anniversary with a final practice round before playing in his first USGA championship. He and his wife, Jill, have vivid memories of their wedding day. The church caught on fire at the end of the ceremony.

George “Buddy” Marucci, 55, of Villanova, Pa., is playing in his 20th U.S. Mid-Amateur (out of 27 possible). He also has played in 23 U.S. Amateurs, earning a runner-up finish to Tiger Woods in 1995. He has played on two USA Walker Cup teams (1995 and 1997), and in early September captained the USA Walker Cup team to victory over a 10-man amateur team representing Great Britain and Ireland.

Tim Mickelson, 30, of San Diego, Calif., is playing in his first U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship, but he can safely say he isn’t even the best golfer in his family. His older brother is PGA Tour pro Phil Mickelson. The head golf coach at the University of San Diego, Tim took a sabbatical from competitive golf for five years, until this summer. He previously qualified for two U.S. Amateurs (1998 and 2000) and the 1999 U.S. Amateur Public Links.

Michael Podolak, 53, of Oxbow, N.D., won the fourth U.S. Mid-Amateur, back in 1984 at the Atlanta Athletic Club in Duluth, Ga.  Four years earlier he had quit trying to make it on the professional golf circuit and started a career in insurance sales. He’s playing in his 11th Mid-Amateur.

Jason Pridmore, 37, of Ventura, Calif., has raced motorcycles and taught riding classes for the past 17 years.  He will be playing in his first U.S. Mid-Amateur. Ironically, he qualified for the 2006 U.S. Amateur, but had to withdraw prior to the championship due to a broken ankle he suffered in a racing accident.

Deron Reisman, 40, of Columbus, Ohio, is a practicing dentist. He holed a lob wedge for eagle in qualifying en route to winning medalist honors at New Albany C.C. This is his first USGA championship. He did not begin playing golf until he entered dental school at Ohio State. One of his friends played college golf and they “skipped anatomy lab every Monday, Wednesday and Friday to play at the Ohio State Scarlet course,” said Reisman. “I’ve had the bug ever since.”

Mike Riley, 46, of Panama City, Fla., is an engineer in the U.S. Department of Defense and coaches his local high school golf team.

Danny Riskam, 29, of Los Angeles, Calif., is an advertising executive who also runs an aquarium maintenance and design company. He has played in two U.S. Junior Amateurs and two U.S. Amateurs.

Tim Romero, 42, of San Juan Capistrano, Calif., is a retired professional skateboarder. He is playing in his second U.S. Mid-Amateur. He is a Juaneno Indian.

Mike Rowley, 45, of San Luis Obispo, Calif., is the owner of a clothing line. He is playing in his third U.S. Mid-Amateur. His uncle, Fay Coleman, lost to Bob Jones in the quarterfinals of the 1930 U.S. Amateur, the last leg of Jones’ historic Grand Slam.

David Schnider, 37, of Vista, Calif., qualified for the 2004 Buick Invitational in San Diego as an amateur. He is playing in his first U.S. Mid-Amateur.

Jeff Scohy, 30, of Beaver Creek, Ohio, served in the U.S. Air Force for seven years and won the 2004 and 2006 Armed Forces Championships. He is playing in his third U.S. Mid-Amateur.

Dave Segot, 37, of Bethpage, N.Y., is a New York City fireman. He is playing in his third consecutive U.S. Mid-Amateur. In 2003 U.S. Open sectional qualifying, he was grouped with John Daly and Mike Hulbert.

Mike Slosek, 27, of Adams, Mass., is a salesman and delivery driver for the family lumber company.

Alan Small of Florham Park, N.J., is anything but small. The 6-foot 8 inch Small is a vice president of the Metropolitan Golf Association. He is an electrical contractor in his business life. He is playing in his fifth Mid-Amateur but his first since 2001. In his golf career, he has played in the U.S. Amateur, U.S. Senior Open, USGA Senior Amateur as well as the USGA Men’s State Team championships. He was the golf coach at Seton Hall from 1991-1995.

Arthur Starrs, 31, of Dallas, Texas, plays classical violin and viola and is also an avid big-game hunter and bird shooter. He is a CFO for Rave Motion Pictures and shot 67 (one stroke off the course record), the first time he played at Shinnecock Hills (N.Y.) G.C., while playing behind Ray Floyd, who holds the course record.

Keith Stein, 42, of Rose Hill, Jamaica, is a golf course superintendent. He is playing in his second U.S. Mid-Amateur. He was born in Canada and moved to Jamaica in 1992 because he enjoys ‘the slower things in life’ and as a result he avoids ‘cell phones and computers whenever possible.’

Doug Stiles, 47, of Athens, Ga., is a heating and air conditioning contractor. At the 2007 British Mid-Amateur, he holed out from the fairway for eagle on two consecutive holes.

Pat Tallent, 54, of Vienna, Va., is playing in his fifth U.S. Mid-Amateur. He was an All-American basketball player at George Washington University and was drafted by the Washington Bullets in 1976. He is a retired private investigator and was the low amateur at the 2004 U.S. Senior Open, where he registered a hole-in-one.

Jeff Walker, 27, of Pompano Beach, Fla., is from a large family and of Greek descent. His family ran a chicken farm on the land that is now occupied by the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut. He moved to Florida and started a commercial lobster fishing business with his step-father at age 15. He has played golf all over the world and was a two-time All-American at Rollins College.

Stuart Wallace, 37, of Houston, Texas, is playing in his second U.S. Mid-Amateur. Probably a good number for him since he and his wife Susannah have two sets of twins, ages 3 and 5.

P. Chet Walsh, 42, of Wayne, Pa., was the golf coach at Villanova from 1989-91 as well as a high school basketball coach from 1988-91. He is a board member of the First Tee of Philadelphia with fellow qualifier Mike McDermott. He is the 13th of 15 children in his family.

Brian Westveer, 41, of Charlotte, N.C. can probably be undistracted by noise on the golf course. From 1995-97, he worked as a pit crew member on three championship runs for a NASCAR Busch series team. He also played in the 2003 U.S. Mid-Amateur, where he scored a hole-in-one in the first round of match play.

Ken Weixel, 49, of New Albany, Ohio, is playing in his third U.S. Mid-Amateur, but first as a member of the Mid-Amateur Championship Committee. Austin Eaton (2004 Champion) of New Hampshire and Buddy Marrucci of Pennsylvania are the other committee members in the field.