Around the Green

Texas Mid-Amateur Set for Sept. 13-15

DALLAS – Maridoe Golf Club in Carrollton will host the 36th playing of the Texas Mid-Amateur from Sept. 13-15.
 
From the earliest planning stages, Maridoe was envisaged as an ideal ‘players’ course’ complete with world-class facilities, including a sprawling two-ended driving range, a three-acre short game area and indoor facilities with state-of-the-art hitting bays.
 
After two years of meticulous work, the Steve Smyers-designed course opened for play in the summer of 2017 on a verdant 214-acre property that was the former site of The Honors Club of Dallas and before that Columbian Club. Recognized in 2018 by Golf Digest as one of the best new courses in the country, Maridoe is a masterpiece in challenge, aesthetics and experience. The course has five sets of tees and measures 7,834 yards from the tips with a rating of 80.5 and a slope of 155. The next set of tees is 7,311 yards with a rating of 76.7 and a slope of 150.
 
Maridoe already has a well-earned reputation as a comprehensive test of skill for elite amateur players. In its short existence, the club has hosted two previous TGA championships, the 2017 Texas Shootout and 2018 Texas Four-Ball, this year’s 116th Trans-Mississippi Amateur and the annual Maridoe Collegiate Invitational. Maridoe is also slated to host the 2020 Southern Amateur Championship.
 
The Texas Mid-Amateur is open to male amateurs with a GHIN Handicap Index of 8.4 or less, have reached the age of 25 by Sept. 13 and are current Texas residents.
 
The TGA accepted 450 entries for this year’s championship at Maridoe, with 32 players fully exempt from qualifying based on past performance. To determine the remaining 100 spots in the 132-player starting field, 18-hole qualifiers were held at 13 sites across the state from July 15 – Sept. 4.
 
The tournament format is 54 holes of individual stoke play. All contestants will play 18 holes Sept. 13-14. After 36 holes, the field will be cut to the low 54 players and ties heading into the final round. In addition to the overall champion, an award will be given to the low Mid-Master (40-plus years of age).
 
At the 2018 championship hosted by River Oaks Country Club in Houston, Colby Harwell of San Antonio became the first person in more than 20 years to successfully defend the Mid-Amateur title. The last person to accomplish the feat was John Grace of Fort Worth who won four-in-a-row from 1991-94.
 
Harwell has cut an impressive path in the age 25-plus division in recent years. In addition to his back-to-back Texas Mid-Amateur victories, Harwell has also won the 2017 and 2019 Texas Mid-Amateur Match Play Championship.
 
Though Harwell is undoubtedly riding high, there will be plenty of other decorated mid-ams on hand determined to make their own history, including three past champions looking to etch their names on the trophy for a second time. They are Josh Irving of Dallas (who won in 2016) Clay Hodge of Bryan (2013) and Rob Couture of Dallas (2008).
 
Several Texas Mid-Amateur Match Play champions will also gather at Maridoe in search of another TGA statewide title. They are Anthony Estorga of Dallas (who won in 2018), Zach Atkinson of Colleyville (2016) and Jess Bonneau of Houston (2011). Bonneau finished runner-up in last year’s Texas Mid-Amateur at River Oaks and earned special recognition as low Mid-Master.
 
The exceptionally strong field this year also includes Christopher Wheeler of Addison and Jacob Davis of Cibolo, the respective 2018 North and South Regional Players of the Year, and Lewis Stephenson of Mansfield, the 2018 Senior Player of the Year.
 
Admission to the 36th Texas Mid-Amateur is free and spectators are encouraged to attend.
 
Live scoring updates and daily recaps, as well as tee-times and pairings, will be available at txga.org once the action gets underway from Maridoe. To learn more about this year’s championship please contact the Texas Golf Association main office at (214) 468-8942.
 
ABOUT THE TGA: Founded in 1906 as the governing body of amateur golf in Texas, the TGA is an official representative of the United States Golf Association and the only licensed distributor of USGA GHIN Handicaps. We serve all golfers across Texas with elite competitive championships and recreational playing opportunities for men, women, seniors and juniors. The TGA is represented by hundreds of public and private facility Member Clubs throughout the state. It is our honor and responsibility to promote, protect and grow the game of golf on all levels. To learn more, click here.