Last Thursday in Snow Hill, N.C., Danny Evelyn of Charlotte earned medalist honors and qualified for the U.S. Mid-Amateur that Charlotte Country Club will host Sept. 22-27.
The next day in North Palm Beach, Fla., friend Robbie Wight of West Palm Beach punched his ticket to the national Mid-Am.
With that, the two golfers were subsequently in contact with Matt Evelyn of Denver, Danny’s brother and Wight’s friend. “They’re like, ‘We’re making a practice round (plan for the U.S. Mid-Am) for a threesome and you’re the third so you’ve got to get in,'” Matt Evelyn noted.
And on Tuesday at Lone Tree Golf Club, Matt did just that, living up to his end of the bargain. The 33-year-old who plays out of Bear Creek Golf Club shot a 2-under-par 70 and scored one of the four spots available for the national championship that is limited to players 25 and older.
“It’s awesome,” he said of making the grade, particularly under the circumstances. “I’m ecstatic I got in. I’m looking forward to this.”
Out of a field that orginally numbered 84, all four qualifiers on Tuesday were from Colorado. Joining Evelyn were medalist Chris Thayer of Golden (2-under-par 68 at Lone Tree), Brian Dorfman of Denver (71) and Michael Harrington of Colorado Springs (71). (The qualifiers are pictured, from left: Thayer, Evelyn, Dorfman and Harrington.)
It will be the fifth U.S. Mid-Amateur — and 12th USGA championship — for Harrington, the second Mid-Am for Thayer, and the first for both Evelyn and Dorfman. Thayer is a two-time and Harrington a one-time CGA Mid-Amateur champion. Dorfman won the CGA Match Play in 2012 and was a semifinalist in that event this year.
Thayer, playing in the final group of the day on Tuesday, made five birdies, with the only blemish on his card being a bogey on No. 18, where he missed a 5-foot par putt.
Indeed, all of the qualifiers stumbled a bit coming in on Tuesday. Evelyn bogeyed the 17th hole before parring 18. Dorfman double bogeyed 17 but birdied 18. And Harrington hit a ball out of bounds and triple bogeyed 17 before parring 18. But it didn’t change the bottom line — qualifying for the national championship — for any of them.
For Thayer, it’ll be his second U.S. Mid-Am since 2016, and he advanced to the match play round of 64 two years ago. He’s also competed in a U.S. Amateur and a U.S. Junior Am.
“It feels really good,” the 38-year-old said of qualifying for another national championship. “I think I’m going to feel more comfortable at it after making match play two years ago. I got beat in the first round but played well. That’s kind of how it goes. It’s good to play in these. … There’s obviously a ton of good players at the Mid-Am.”
Thayer has been named the CGA Mid-Amateur Player of the Year each of the past three seasons, while Harrington was both the overall CGA Player of the Year and the Mid-Am POY in 2014.
Now 46, Harrington last competed in a USGA championship in 2015 as he played very little golf in 2016 and ’17 due to elbow surgery and a job change. But the Colorado Springs resident is 100 percent now and has proven he can make noise at the U.S. Mid-Am, having advanced to match play in each of his previous four trips to the event, and making it as far as the quarterfinals once and the round of 16 on another occasion.
“I feel like I’m just as good today as I was years ago,” he said. “My wedge play is better. I’m a better driver of the ball. I’m hitting my irons good. My short game is probably not quite as good as it was back then, but I feel like it’s coming around. I went two years without playing very much. I’m just a little bit off.
“But I really feel like my game is in good shape and I feel I have room for improvement. I’ve shot some very low rounds recently, but I feel like I could have been a couple lower. So I know there’s still more room there.”
On Tuesday, Harrington carded six birdies and was 4 under par through 16 before his problems at 17.
“For me, my mind was pretty solid for 16 holes today,” he said. “You have that charging mentality in your head. ‘Go make birdies, go make birdies, go make birdies.’ That’s a fun way to play. I’d make a par and be a little bit disappointed.”
While Harrington’s six birdies on Tuesday were impressive, Dorfman really went to town, making birdie eight times without ever having seen the course before Tuesday. Playing in the same threesome as Evelyn and 2017 U.S. Mid-Am qualifying medalist Ryan Axlund of Denver, Dorfman shot under par despite two double bogeys and three bogeys.
“I’d never played the golf course before, so I was a little bit lost,” the 28-year-old from Cherry Creek Country Club said. “But it helped having Matt playing really well so I could kind of feed off of him.
“I’m so excited. I’ve never played in a Mid-Am. Playing golf with mid-ams is one of my favorite things. I’m really looking forward to go play.”
Tuesday marked just the second tournament Dorfman has competed in in 2018, following the CGA Match Play.
“I play once a week” in casual rounds, he said. “I wish I could more. Now I may have an excuse to play a little more. I’m going to gear it up a little — definitely.”
Evelyn, meanwhile, went birdie-eagle on the fourth and fifth holes on Tuesday to spark his round. On the 554-yard fifth hole, he hit an 8-iron second shot from 197 yards to 40 feet and sank the eagle putt. But he also three-putted four times, accounting for all of his bogeys and keeping him from potentially claiming medalist honors.
Nevertheless, Evelyn is headed for his first USGA championship after losing out in a playoff in this qualifying tournament last year and being the first alternate.
“This is something I’ve always wanted to do,” said Evelyn, who has won a couple of club championships at Bear Creek Golf Club. “It’s really special.”
On Tuesday, Jeff Chapman of Lone Tree eagled the fifth hole of a three-man playoff to earn the first alternate position after bogeying his final hole of regulation to shoot 72. Jason Browder of Gunnison bogeyed the seventh hole for the second alternate spot.
Amazingly, Chapman was also in the first alternate in U.S. Mid-Am qualifying in 2016 and 2013 and was the second alternate in 2015. He qualified for the national Mid-Am in 2012.
Next year’s U.S. Mid-Amateur will be played at Colorado Golf Club in Parker.
U.S. Mid-Amateur Qualifying
At Par-72 Lone Tree GC
ADVANCE TO U.S. MID-AM
Chris Thayer, Golden 34-34–68
Matt Evelyn, Denver 35-35–70
Brian Dorfman, Denver 36-35–71
Michael Harrington, Colorado Springs 34-37–71
ALTERNATES (In Order)
Jeff Chapman, Lone Tree 35-37–72
Jason Browder of Gunnison 38-34–72
For all the scores from Tuesday, CLICK HERE.
