5 are Locked for Kinloch and the U.S. Mid-Amateur
Farmington, MO - It was a beautiful, hot summer day at Crown Pointe Golf Course for the U.S. Mid-Amateur Qualifier. The field began with 120 players at the close of entries, resulting in an allocation of five qualifying spots and 2 alternate spots. Play began at 7:30am for the morning wave and 12:30pm for the afternoon wave. Both waves went off of both Holes 1 and 10 simultaneously. Play concluded and qualifiers were set by 6:30pm. The course played to a par 70.
The morning wave came to play today with 4 of the qualifiers coming out of this group. Sean Brennan of St. Louis, MO and Joshua Rhodes of Paducah, KY set the bar at three-under (-3) par early. Brennan was in the third group of the day and had an up and down front nine, but a bogey free back nine with four birdies placed him on top. Rhodes saw a similar fate except he started on Hole 10. Rhodes' bogey free front nine with three birdies gave him the push to meet Brennan at the top of the leaderboard. Trey Howell of Hernando, MS and Sam Migdal of St. Louis, MO were next to file in after the morning wave. Both Howell and S. Migdal kept a clean sheet on the front nine and would find themselves tied for third at two-under (-2) par. Tommy Hurst of Miramar, FL claimed the first solo spot on the leaderboard at one-under (-1) par. A common theme, Hurst carded a bogey-free front nine to get his score under par. Rounding out the top five from the morning were Tyler Sharpe of Greensburg, KY and Chad Niezing of Manchester, MO at even (E) par.
With the bar set, the afternoon wave set off with a goal in mind and the heat to battle. And battle they did. Many tried to get their name in the mix, but few were able to break through. Aaron Ingalls of Jackson, TN was the first of the afternoon to put his name close to the top and move the cut line. Ingalls fought throughout his round to get to one-under (-1) par and tie Hurst to knock the even par players out of a qualifying spot. Andrew Pranger of St. Louis, MO and Bryan Bohme of Ballwin, MO came in just outside of the cut at even (E) par. This put the pair in a tie for seventh with Sharpe and Niezing.
When all scores had been posted we had a tie for fifth and a tie for seventh, which would mean playoffs for the qualifier and the alternates. Roll call was made and only Pranger and Bohme were present from the seventh place tie. The pair set off down Hole 1 to determine who would get the second alternate position. Bryan Bohme won the playoff on the second playoff hole. As for the qualifier and first alternate, only Ingalls was present for the roll call. This meant Ingalls would claim the qualified spot and Hurst would be left as the first alternate.
At the end of the day, Sean Brennan and Joshua Rhodes are co-medalists, qualifying at three-under (-3) par. Also qualifying are Trey Howell and Sam Migdal at two-under (-2) par, and Aaron Ingalls at one-under (-1) par. Should someone be unable to attend, Tommy Hurst is the first alternate at one-under (-1) par and Bryan Bohme is the second alternate at even (E) par. The fice qualifiers will compete in the 43rd U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship at Kinloch Golf Club in Manakin-Sabot, VA on September 21-26.