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Four Players Share Early First-Round Lead At 2009 U.S. Mid-Amateur

Kiawah Island, S.C. – In warm, nearly windless conditions, four players shot 68 to hold the lead after the morning wave of the first day of stroke play at the 2009 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship at The Kiawah Island Club.

Mike McCoy, 46, of West Des Moines, Iowa, and Cameron Mackenzie, 27, of Canada, shot 4-under-par 68s at the 6,964-yard, par-72 Cassique. Taylor Massey, 32, of Carlsbad, Calif., and Derek Berg, 28, of Duvall, Wash., shot 3-under 68s at The River Course (6,908 yards, par 71).

“I started off well,” said McCoy, a semifinalist in 2008. “I hit it close right out of the gate and made a couple of short birdie putts. When I hit it in the rough, I didn’t try to get too much out of it.”

An insurance professional who is playing in his 10th Mid-Amateur, McCoy tempered his reaction and downplayed his expectations.

“I played a lot this summer,” McCoy said. “I am coming in here with my game in good shape. I just try and play. I purposely try not to make it too important. I try about a 4 on a scale of 1 to 10 and I play my best. When I try a little too hard, it’s hard to make it happen.”

Mackenzie, an accountant playing in his first Mid-Amateur, birdied four of his first five holes and finished with six birdies and two bogeys in what he called ‘perfect’ scoring conditions.

“I’m playing well right now,” he said. “I had my fingers crossed that I’d play well. I had a great pairing, the first group out. I knew we could take advantage of perfect greens and no one in front of us.

Mackenzie, a 2005 Oregon State University graduate, cited his iron game as the reason for his success.

“I hit a lot of close short-iron shots,” Mackenzie said. “I birdied all of the par 5s, which was key and all of those were with wedges in my hand. So that was the key to the whole round.”

The other members of Mackenzie’s group – Mark Austry, 31, of Argyle, Texas and Patrick Carter, 41, of Huntington, W. Va., both shot 1-under 71. Also shooting 71 at Cassique were Robert Gerwin, 42, of Cincinnati, Ohio and Tripp Davis, 42, of Norman, Okla. Gerwin aced the fifth hole with a pitching wedge, his first in 27 USGA championships but the eighth of his career. His calculation of the distance was 138 yards.

Massey, a golf clothing company executive who was born and raised in Richmond, Va., was three over par through five holes but managed to steady his game with four consecutive birdies (holes 17, 18, 1 and 2). He played 4-under golf over his last nine holes.

“Coming out today, I knew the scores would be low,” Massey said. “After a couple of bogeys early, I know I had to get it together. I was in the fairway a lot. In fact, I didn’t miss a fairway, which helped a lot.”

Massey, who attended the University of Virginia, started playing golf with PGA Tour player James Driscoll, who was a classmate. Massey caddied for Driscoll for seven months in the early part of his professional career.

Tim Mickelson, 32, of San Diego, Calif., brother of PGA Tour player Phil Mickelson, followed a stroke behind the leaders with a 3-under-par 69 at Cassique.

Story written by Pete Kowalski, manager of championship media relations for the USGA. E-mail questions or comments to pkowalski@usga.org.