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2009 U.S. Mid-Amateur Storylines

The Kiawah Island Club

Oct. 3-8

NATIONAL CHAMPIONS – Nine individual USGA champions, including eight past U.S. Mid-Amateur champions, are entered in the 2009 field: Austin Eaton III of N. Sutton, N.H. (2004 Mid-Amateur); Danny Green of Jackson, Tenn. (1999 Mid-Amateur); Tim Jackson of Germantown, Tenn. (1994 and 2001 Mid-Amateur); Kevin Marsh of Henderson, Nev. (2005 Mid-Amateur); George “Buddy” Marucci Jr. of Villanova, Pa. (2008 USGA Senior Amateur); Nathan Smith of Pittsburgh, Pa. (2003 Mid-Amateur); Steve Wilson of Ocean Springs, Miss. (2008 Mid-Amateur); Dave Womack of McDonough, Ga. (2006 Mid-Amateur); and George Zahringer of New York, N.Y. (2002 Mid-Amateur). Smith and Sean Knapp of Oakmont, Pa., (2009), and Jackson and Green (2003) were members of USGA State Team Championship squads for Pennsylvania and Tennessee, respectively. Keith Decker of Martinsville, Va., competed on the 1995 Virginia Men’ State Team Championship squad.

WALKER CUP TEAM MEMBERS – Green (2001), Jackson (1995 and 1999), Marucci (1995, 1997), Smith (2009) and Zahringer (2003) played for the USA in past Walker Cup Matches.

SON OF CHAMPION – Steve Irwin, 35, of Golden, Colo., is the son of five-time USGA champion Hale Irwin. He is the vice president of his father’s golf business – Hale Irwin Golf Services. He advanced to the round of 32 in 2003 and the round of 16 in 2004 and is playing in his fourth Mid-Amateur.

BROTHER OF CHAMPION – Tim Mickelson, 32, of San Diego., Calif., is the younger brother of 1990 U.S. Amateur champion Phil Mickelson. A right-hander, Tim is the head men’s golf coach at the University of San Diego. He is playing in his third Mid-Amateur and advanced to the quarterfinals in 2007.

BROTHERS – Joey Behrstock, 33, of Beverly Hills, Calif., and Tony Behrstock, 42, of Los Angeles qualified at the same site, their home course – Hillcrest Country Club.  They will be rooming together for the Mid-Amateur. Joey, who works as a life insurance and estate planning professional, is ‘passionate’ about community service. Tony also makes his living in the insurance industry. Both are playing in their first Mid-Amateur.

THE RIGHT NAME – Robert W. Jones, 51, of Centerville, Ohio, is playing in his fourth Mid-Amateur and trying to win the trophy that bears most of his name. An attorney by trade, he says he “gets the Bobby Jones stuff all of the time. We do have some similarities (except health and ability!): law degrees, married a Mary, were named after our grandfathers…”

SOUTH CAROLINA PARTICIPANTS – Bert Atkinson, 51, of Charleston; Jordan Byrd, 33, of Pendleton; Mike Cobb, 34, of Charleston; Nash Elliott, 28, of Estil; Robert Godfrey, 35, of Seneca; Kyle Milner, 34, of Spartanburg; William Nisbet, 26, of Pawleys Island; Blair Scurlock, 32, of Greenville; Tre Sheppard, 39, of Mount Pleasant are the nine South Carolina residents in the field.

STATE REPRESENTATION – A total of 43 states are represented in the field. California (32), Texas (20), Illinois (16), Pennsylvania (12), Florida, Georgia, New Jersey and New York (11) and Ohio (10) have the most players.

OLDEST AND YOUNGEST – John Lindholm, 64, of Grand Blanc, Mich., is the oldest player in the field. He is making his fourth appearance at the Mid-Amateur. He has played in five different USGA championships – Senior Open, Amateur, Senior Amateur, Mid-Amateur and State Team. The youngest is Andrew Rice, of Baltimore, Md., who turned 25 on July 6.

BIRTHDAYS – Two players celebrated birthdays on the eve of the championship on Oct. 2 – Andrew Diramio , 27, of Duxbury, Mass., and Bill Zylstra, 58, of Plymouth, Mich. Robert Gerwin, of Cincinnati, Ohio, turns 43 on Oct. 8.

MOST APPEARANCES – Buddy Marucci, the 2008 USGA Senior Amateur champion and a two-time Walker Cup captain and two-time player from Villanova, Pa., is making his 18th appearance at the Mid-Amateur. Following Marucci are: Tim Jackson, a two-time champion from Germantown, Tenn., at 17; Danny Green, the 1999 champion from Jackson, Tenn., at 16;

George Zahringer, the 2002 champion from New York, N.Y., at 15; and Bert Atkinson, of Charleston, S.C at 14.

INTERNATIONAL – Canada is the only other nation, aside from the USA, represented in the 264-player field. Five Canadian players are in the field.

INDIVIDUAL STORYLINES

John Adams, 42, of San Clemente, Calif., played college golf at Saddleback (Calif.) Junior College with European Ryder Cup team member Paul McGinley. Adams, playing in his fourth Mid-Amateur, is in the schools Hall of Fame.

Herbie Aikens, 27, of Plympton, Mass., is the owner of Lighthouse Electrical Contracting, which he founded in 2002 and his first job was for $267.

Matt Amis, 27, of Stamford, Conn., spent 10 days hiking the Alps this summer with college friends. The Harvard graduate is playing in his first Mid-Amateur.

Bert Atkinson, 51, of Charleston, S.C., was the runner-up at the 1991 Mid-Amateur. He was the medalist at the Mid-Amateur in 1997 and shot 29 on the first nine in the second round and got to 10 under par through 15 holes before carding a 64. He is playing in his 13th Mid-Amateur.

Mark Austry, 31, of Lantana, Texas, qualified for his first Mid-Amateur in 2008 but had to withdraw because the championship date conflicted with this brother’s wedding. This year Austrey was an alternate but made the field when an exempt player withdrew.

Frank Babusik, 44, of Pompano Beach, Fla., served nearly 13 years in the Air Force and was deployed in the Desert Storm and Desert Shield operations. He was a flight engineer and logged more than 3,200 hours of flight time in more than 32 countries. He is playing his fourth Mid-Amateur.

A.J. Balulis, 25, of Chicago, is playing in his first Mid-Amateur but as a fledging stand-up comedian, he says: “If you think competing in a USGA event will cause you to get nervous or the jitters, you haven’t stood up in front of 200 rowdy spectators!”

John Bearrie III, 40, of Arlington, Texas, was a caddie from late 1991 through 1992 for Joel Edwards on the PGA Tour. Bearrie is playing in his fourth Mid-Amateur.

Nick Biesecker, 33, of Staunton, Va., is a player manager for professional golfers including Stuart Appleby. He took lessons from two-time U.S. Amateur champion E. Harvie Ward and is playing in his first USGA championship since the 1993 U.S. Junior Amateur.

T.J. Brudzinski, 48, of Columbus, Ohio, is playing in his fourth Mid-Amateur and is the brother of Bob Brudzinski, who played on the Miami Dolphins ‘Killer Bees’ defense in the 1980s.

Jordan Byrd, 33, of Pendleton, S.C., is an assistant men’s golf coach at Clemson University. The older brother of Jonathan Byrd, a three-time winner on the PGA Tour and a past USA Walker Cup member. Jordan Byrd advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2007 Mid-Amateur. He is playing in his fourth Mid-Amateur.

John Capra, 45, of Martinsville, N.J., is playing his second Mid-Amateur as a left-hander. In 1995, he qualified as a right-handed player and again in 2000 as a lefty. He has two holes-in-one right-handed and one left-handed.

Pat Carter, 41, of Huntingdon, W.Va., is playing in his 10th Mid-Amateur and he has advanced to the quarterfinals three times (1996, 1997, 2003). He has won the West Virginia State Amateur 12 times.

Jimmy Chestnut, 27, of Grand Blanc, Mich., was a quarterfinalist in 2008 but his mind might wander during the 2009 championship. As he states: “I suppose it’s rather unusual that a law student would be taking a week off from law school in the middle of the semester…” He attends Michigan State Law School.

Robert Cotten, 43, of Brewton, Ala., shattered his elbow in 2003 in a scooter accident. He had two major surgeries but his left arm remains at a 45 degree angle. He was a two-time Division II All-American in golf at Troy State.

Robert Crockett, 31, of Louisville, Ky., is a seventh generation direct descendent of Davy Crockett. He shot 60 on July 4 this year in Evansville, Ind., and missed a 10-foot putt for 59. This is his first Mid-Amateur.

Brian Csipkes, 38, of Gretna, Neb., was a professional bowler in the early 1990s and has bowled six 300 games and four 800-pin series. He is playing in his first Mid-Amateur.

Arnold Cutrell, 45, of Greensburg, Pa., was named after legendary golfer Arnold Palmer. He grew up three miles from Palmer’s Pennsylvania hometown of Latrobe. Cutrell is playing in his sixth Mid-Amateur.

Craig Cyr, 25, of Austin, Texas, wears one black golf shoe and one white to “keep the mood light and not take myself or my golf too seriously.” This is his first Mid-Amateur.

Mike Damron, 47, of Zephyrhills, Fla., is the brother of Robert and Patrick Damron, who are professional golfers. This is his first Mid-Amateur.

Tripp Davis, 42, of Norman, Okla., is a golf course architect who calls playing in his sixth Mid-Amateur  “good research.” He was the medalist in 2003 and advanced to the quarterfinals in 2005. He played on the University of Oklahoma’s NCAA championship team in 1989.

Packard Dewitt, 45, of Germantown, Tenn., qualified for the 1994 U.S. Open and the 2003 U.S. Amateur at Oakmont (Pa.) C.C. He is playing in his second Mid-Amateur. He was a college teammate of John Daly at the University of Arkansas.

Brett Egge, 26, of Sioux Falls, S.D., is a full-time caddie on the Champions Tour. He caddied for past U.S. Senior Open champion Graham Marsh and is now on the bag of Gene Jones. He is playing in his first Mid-Amateur.

Josh Fosdick, 35, of Edmond, Okla., an assistant coach for both the men’s and women’s teams at Oklahoma State University is playing in his first Mid-Amateur.

Erik Hanson, 44, of Kirkland, Wash., played 14 seasons of major league baseball (Seattle Mariners, Cincinnati Reds and Boston Red Sox) and was an All-Star Game selection in 1995 for Boston. He lived in the Arnold Palmer dormitory at Wake Forest University with Billy Andrade, Jerry Haas and Len Mattiace but did not play golf until he played for the Reds. He is playing in his first Mid-Amateur.

Scott Hardy, 33, of Pleasant Hill, Calif., is the head men’s golf coach at St. Mary’s College and is playing in his seventh Mid-Amateur. He was a semifinalist in both 2006 and 2007.

Michael Horwitch, 50, of Highland Park, Ill., playing in his second Mid-Amateur, was a member of the 1977 U.S. Junior Davis Cup tennis team and won four Big Ten singles and two Big Ten doubles titles while playing at the University of Michigan.

Jack Kearney, 54, of Peachtree City, Ga., is an airline pilot and his son, Patrick will serve as caddie. They normally work together in a different fashion – Patrick is an air traffic controller at Atlanta’s Hartsfield Airport which is Jack’s home port. The elder Kearney is playing in his ninth Mid-Amateur.

Scott Linklater, 29, of Moorpark, Calif., will be joined by twin brother, Jeff, who will serve as his caddie. The twins played college golf together at the University of California-Santa Barbara. Both wives are expecting the respective couples’ first child. This is Scott’s first Mid-Amateur.

John Madden, 50, of Deer Park, Ill., and his wife, Amy have six children, including a set of quadruplets. He is playing in his first Mid-Amateur.

Bill Moore, 35, of Syracuse, N.Y., is the executive director of the New York State Golf Association. He was a Big East individual while playing golf for Notre Dame in 1995. This is his first Mid-Amateur.

Jason Novascone, 29, of Dallas, Texas, who is playing in his first Mid-Amateur, works in the ticket office for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association. He was a three-time all-Missouri Valley Conference choice in golf at Wichita State University.

Harry Rudolph III, 39, of La Jolla, Calif., is playing in his first Mid-Amateur but has played in the Junior Amateur (medalist in 1987 and advanced to the quarterfinals) and the Amateur (round of 16 in 1987). He played professional golf from 1992-2000 and has not played competitively since. He owns Harry’s Coffee Shop, which was established in 1960. He was a member of the University of Arizona’s NCAA title winning team in 1992 with Rob McIver, David Berganio, Manny Zerman and Jim Furyk.

Blair Scurlock, 32, of Greenville, S.C., is playing in his first Mid-Amateur but he, his father, Greg and his brother, Brian, have all played in the USGA championships. Father, Greg, played in a Senior Amateur and Brian played at the Amateur. Blair also played in the 1997 Amateur.

Stephen Summers, 35, of Dallas, Texas, was co-captain of his Highland Park High School team with two USGA champions – Hank (1998 Amateur) and Trip Kuehne (2007 Mid-Amateur).  His wife, Elisa, is pregnant and due in mid-November.

Pat Tallent, 56, of Vienna, Va., was an All-American basketball player at George Washington University and was drafted by the Washington Bullets in the sixth round. He was the low amateur at the 2004 Senior Open and is playing in his sixth Mid-Amateur.

Bill Tyner, 54, of Enterprise, Ala., is a helicopter instructor and a pilot at Fort Rucker. He survived a helicopter crash in 1984.This is his first Mid-Amateur.

Don Walsworth, 46, of Leawood, Kan., played at the U.S. Open in 1994 (making the cut) and 1995. A reinstated amateur, he runs a printing company and is playing in his second Mid-Amateur.

Chris Williams, 43, of Carmel, Ind., is affiliated with Indy Car Racing. He owns an Indy Lights  team that races in North America and is planning on running a car in the 2010 Indianapolis 500. This is his fourth Mid-Amateur.

Matt Williams, 30, of Albuquerque, N.M., is the executive director of the Sun Country Amateur Golf Association. He is playing in his third Mid-Amateur.

Jeff Wilson, 46, of Fairfield, Calif., has been the medalist at the Mid-Amateur three times (2000, 2001, 2004), a semifinalist twice (2001, 2002) and a quarterfinalist three times (2000, 2001, 2002). Wilson is playing in his seventh Mid-Amateur and has been the low amateur at the U.S. Open (2000) and the medalist at the U.S. Amateur (2001).

Bill Zylstra, 58 on Oct. 2, of Plymouth, Mich., has played in six different USGA championships – two Mid-Amateurs, two Amateurs, one Senior Open, one Junior Amateur, three Public Links and two Senior Amateurs.