Keith Humerickhouse of Gypsum and David Delich of Colorado Springs are friends who have each won multiple CGA championships over the years.
And on Monday, they shared more than the 3-under-par 69s they shot at Valley Country Club in Centennial.
They each qualified for their fourth U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship — for players 25 and older — and they both did so with some medical issues hanging over their heads.
Delich, 58, faces heart surgery on Sept. 14. Humerickhouse, 39, has been battling yet-to-be-identified problems in his “gut” which have limited the four-time CGA Mid-Amateur champion to a handful of 2015 tournaments instead of the usual 15 or so he normally would have competed in by this time of year.
But those issues didn’t keep them from earning two of the five spots at stake Monday for the U.S. Mid-Am, which will be contested Oct. 3-8 in Vero Beach, Fla.
“I’m stoked. I can’t tell you how excited I am,” said Humerickhouse, who has twice made match play in the U.S. Mid-Am, advancing as far as the round of 16. “I’m the most proud of this one because I haven’t been playing, I haven’t been competing, I haven’t been able to practice. So this is awesome. This means so much to me — that I battled it out and got it done.”
As for Delich, who earlier this year won the CGA Senior Match Play and qualified for the U.S. Senior Open, he hopes to have recovered well enough from his heart surgery in mid-September to be competing in his 11th USGA championship come early October.
“I’m excited to make it,” said the former Colorado College hockey standout. “As long as the procedure goes well, I’ll have a couple weeks of rest and I think I’ll be fine. If it interferes with playing in the (CGA) Senior Stroke Play or the U.S. Mid-Amateur, it’ll interfere. I will argue with the doctor, but at the end of the day you’ve got to listen to what they say.
“Hopefully I’ll be able to go back. It’s always a great experience even if I don’t get into match play. I look forward to it. I’m glad to be going one more time. It feels good.”
In all, five Coloradans, including two left-handers, qualified for the U.S. Mid-Am out of a field that originally numbered 82 at Valley CC.
Andrew Tapia, a longtime resident of New Mexico who recently moved to Castle Rock, earned medalist honors with a 4-under-par 68. Humerickhouse and Delich had their 69s. And Barry Erwin of Aurora — a southpaw like Humerickhouse — and Alan Boyko of Denver fired 70s and survived a playoff to advance.
(Pictured above are the top three qualifiers, from left: Delich, Tapia and Humerickhouse.)
Tapia, a former New Mexico state high school champion who played college golf at Colorado State University-Pueblo, will be playing his second U.S. Mid-Am and his third USGA championship overall. Both Tapia and Humerickhouse competed — with different partners — in the inaugural U.S. Amateur Four-Ball this spring.
“Once you play in one USGA event, you always want to go back because they treat you so well and the venues are absolutely fantastic,” said Tapia, 36. “It’s a treat to play.”
Tapia made five birdies and a bogey to claim the medal on Monday.
Meanwhile, it will be the first U.S. Mid-Am for Erwin and Boyko. In fact, this will be the first USGA championship of any sort for the two.
“It’ll just be amazing just to have that experience,” said Erwin, 34, a lifelong Coloradan who grew up in Montrose. “I’ve really never played outside of Colorado competitively, so it’ll be awesome.”
As for Boyko (left), 35, he’s looking forward for the chance to re-introduce himself to Nathan Smith, the four-time U.S. Mid-Am champion against whom he played college golf in Pennsylvania about 15 years ago.
“It means a lot to me” to qualify, Boyko said. “I work pretty hard on my golf game as a weekend golfer. I used to play against Nathan Smith in college. He’s the kind of guy everyone wants to model themselves after. It would be nice to see him again and shake his hand since I haven’t seen him in close to 20 years now.”
Erwin and Humerickhouse are former pros who regained their amateur status. They both competed on Monday without ever having played Valley CC before.
Delich and Humerickhouse were both coming off poor performances by their standards in their last tournaments. Delich shot a 78 at the U.S. Senior Amateur qualifier on Friday at Flatirons Golf Course in Boulder, while Humerickhouse (left) went 83-76 in a tournament at Eagle Ranch.
“I’m trying to change my swing a little bit. I’m kind of halfway between where I used to be and where I should be,” said Delich, who made six birdies on Monday en route to his 11th USGA championship berth. “Today was the first time I hit a golf ball since Boulder, but I just felt right on with the set-up and the position on the range. I drove it beautifully all day.”
Said Humerickhouse: “I came into this thing with no confidence. My caddie said you have the game to be there. You need to go. I wasn’t even going to come down.
“It’s been a rough summer. For me to even get through is awesome. I was in control all day. I hit the ball great tee to green, really solid. Hopefully we can figure this (medical) thing out and get on the road to recovery.”
U.S. Mid-Amateur Qualifying
At Par-72 Valley CC in Centennial
ADVANCE TO NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Andrew Tapia, Castle Rock, N.M., 34-34–68
David Delich, Colorado Springs, Colo., 32-37–69
Keith Humerickhouse, Gypsum, Colo., 36-33–69
Barry Erwin, Aurora, Colo., 35-35–70
Alan Boyko, Denver, Colo., 35-35–70
ALTERNATES (in order)
Michael Larson, Longmont, Colo., 38-32–70
Jeff Chapman, Centennial, Colo., 36-35–71
FAILED TO QUALIFY
Tom Krystyn, Denver, Colo., 37-34–71
Derek Brown, River Oaks, Texas, 33-38–71
Joel Perez, Denver, Colo., 37-34–71
Steven Irwin, Arvada, Colo., 34-37–71
Jon Lindstrom, Broomfield, Colo., 37-34–71
Chris Carlson, Highlands Ranch, Colo., 35-37–72
Jason Vedadi, Williston, N.D., 38-34–72
Jason Poppenhagen, Aurora, Colo., 34-38–72
Alex Kephart, Colorado Springs, Colo., 33-39–72
Kyle Sullivan, Parker, Colo., 35-37–72
Michael Passananti, Fort Collins, N.Y., 34-38–72
Kent Moore, Cherry Hills Village, Colo., 36-36–72
Danny Riskam, Broomfield, Colo., 36-36–72
Ryan Axlund, Denver, Colo., 38-35–73
Damon Dageenakis, Erie, Colo., 35-38–73
Troy Anderson, Scottsdale, Ariz., 36-37–73
Tony Bagneschi, Scottsdale, Ariz., 39-34–73
David Harris, Avon, Colo., 35-38–73
Christopher Wilson, Colorado Springs, Colo., 36-37–73
Jeremy Lederer, Eagle, Colo., 38-36–74
Owen Ellis, Boulder, Colo., 39-35–74
Michael Glaesel, Arvada, Colo., 36-38–74
Thomas Roos, Centennial, Colo., 36-38–74
Clint Miller, Englewood, Colo., 32-42–74
Jonathan Kuzava, Littleton, Colo., 40-34–74
Christopher Thayer, Denver, Colo., 35-39–74
Michael Slutzky, Littleton, Colo., 37-37–74
Gary Driber, Castle Pines, Colo., 40-35–75
Jeff Tyrrell, Casper, Wyo., 37-38–75
James Kackley, Denver, Colo., 38-37–75
John Luoma, Parker, Colo., 38-37–75
Doug Manske, Littleton, Colo., 37-38–75
Mark Zbrzeznj, Edwards, Colo., 38-37–75
Wesley Martin, Denver, Colo., 36-39–75
Brodie Hullinger, Denver, S.D., 40-36–76
Scott Shore, Littleton, Colo., 35-41–76
Jay Orris, Boulder, Colo., 40-36–76
Mark Mance, Whitefish, Mont., 38-38–76
Anthony Komatz, Eagle, Colo., 36-40–76
Adam Pladson, Aurora, Colo., 40-36–76
Michael Young, Cheyenne, Wyo., 39-38–77
David Yergert, Thornton, Colo., 39-38–77
Brian Harris, Denver, Colo., 40-37–77
Chase Chaldekas, Lakewood, Colo., 37-41–78
Dustin Box, Fort Collins, Colo., 39-39–78
John Sostman, Littleton, Colo., 39-39–78
Nick Burns, Denver, Colo., 39-39–78
Brian Dorfman, Denver, Colo., 40-38–78
Zachary Warner, Littleton, Colo., 40-38–78
Ben Von Drehle, Denver, Colo., 37-42–79
Jonathan Marsico, Denver, Colo., 40-39–79
Rob Glucksman, Denver, Colo., 42-37–79
Scott Brozena, Denver, Colo., 39-40–79
Jim Broderick, Jackson, Wyo., 40-39–79
Pete Mangold, Denver, Colo., 36-43–79
Shane Unfred, Windsor, Colo., 37-42–79
Jason Owenby, Birmingham, Ala., 39-40–79
Tristan Sanders, Denver, Colo., 43-37–80
Ryne Scholl, Breckenridge, Colo., 41-39–80
Nathan Wilson, Sheridan, Wyo., 42-39–81
Brett Housman, Pueblo, Colo., 38-43–81
Ryan Bent, Evergreen, Colo., 38-43–81
Pat Diaz, Parker, Colo., 41-40–81
Andrew Kennedy, Denver, Colo., 41-41–82
Brian Key, Louisville, Texas, 42-40–82
Zach Florence, Denver, Colo., 40-45–85
Jared Polivka, Denver, Colo., 42-45–87
William Veith, Larkspur, Colo., 39-50–89
Kwasi Lee, Aurora, Colo., 48-41–89
Bryan Cannon, Columbine Valley, Colo., WD
Chris Strouse, Greenwood Village, Colo., WD
Ross Liggett, Fort Collins, Colo., NS-NS
Dewey Burke, Denver, Colo., WD
Zac Frazier, Las Vegas, Nev., WD
Sean Crowley, Littleton, Colo., WD
