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JULY/AUGUST 2008
Milwaukee CC’s storied past includes serving as host course for a number of major golf championships. In 1988 the private club in River Hills hosted the United States Golf Association’s Senior Amateur Champ-ionship, and in 1969 it played host to the Walker Cup competition.
“Every 20 years or so,” the club’s general manager Chris Boettcher said, “Milwaukee CC likes to do something.”
Even so, when MCC teams up with Brown Deer Park GC in early September to host the U.S. Mid-Amateur Champ-ionship – the two courses, neighbors in Milwaukee County’s leafy northern edge, will share stroke-play qualifying duties, while match-play finals will take place at MCC – a nifty bit of history will be made. It appears to be unprecedented, said Boettcher, “to have a fully private course and a fully public course” work together to host the prestigious event.
“As far as we can tell, and we’ve done a bit of research, it’s never happened before,” he said.
For two courses with such different pedigrees to be chosen for such a tournament is testament to the quality and diversity of golf, both private and daily fee, that can be found in Wisconsin. And when the Mid-Am is played out Sept. 6-11 it will cap what might be called Wisconsin’s magical summer of major tournament golf, following another UGSA championship, the Women’s Amateur Public Links, at Erin Hills in June and the PGA Tour’s U.S. Bank Championship, also at Brown Deer, July 17-20.
But while the schedule includes two USGA championships, said Alli Jarrett, director of the Mid-Amateur, “it’s two very different championships.”
The Women’s Publinks is largely a battleground for the up-and-coming, mostly powerful teens and early-twenty-something college players, many of whom are eyeing potential professional careers in golf. The Mid-Amateur, on the other hand, is for amateur golfers 25 and older who have a USGA Handicap Index below 3.4, and most of those players have no designs on golf beyond the amateur stage. The Mid-Am was created in 1981, in fact, with an eye toward offering post-college players a championship that would not be dominated by college golfers. Last year’s winner, at Oregon’s Bandon Dunes course, was Trip Kuehne, 35, who finished as runner-up to Tiger Woods in the 1994 U.S. Amateur and who finally nailed his first USGA title 13 years – and 27 tries - later.
“It’s a much tighter field at the Mid-Am,” said Jarrett. “They are working men, out working for their families and yet really playing some incredible golf.”
Milwaukee CC’s rich history and past support for amateur golf were among the reasons it was chosen for the event, Jarrett said. Boettcher said the invitation to host a championship was extended to the USGA about four years ago in keeping with the membership’s interest in giving back to the game, even if the role comes with some inconveniences for members.
“We close down the course for a good 10 days for them, 12 days almost,” Boettcher said. “Sure, it’s an intrusion, and something we have to finance (but) the members are glad to do that. It’s certainly a prestigious event in many ways, but that’s not why we do it. It’s to give back to the game.”
And many in the game are eager to take on the challenge. The 2007 championship accepted 4,426 entries (the record was 5,271 in 1997), a number winnowed down through sectional qualifying at 67 sites before a starting field of 264 golfers was selected for the championship. In Milwaukee, qualifiers will play one round of stroke play at MCC and Brown Deer Park before the field is cut to 64 scorers for the match- play finals.
This year’s Mid-Am could have a bit more of a Wisconsin flavor than past competitions. Officials expect more state players to attempt to qualify because of the proximity of the championship and because of the allure of MCC, a course so private that most state golfers would not otherwise ever set their spikes on its hallowed greens and fairways. Of the 68 sectional qualifiers for this year’s competition, two will be held in Wisconsin, at Geneva National GC in Lake Geneva on Aug. 13 and at Tuckaway CC in Franklin on Aug. 15.
“Wisconsin has an opportunity to have 10 or 12 players in the field,” said Jarrett, “because Wisconsin has some good amateur players.”
Boettcher said a few who qualify might have an advantage in course knowledge, because “we’ve certainly gotten a lot of our members who are 3-handicappers or better interested (in playing).”
Jarrett, who was interviewed by telephone a day after inspecting the two courses earlier this summer, said Brown Deer Park would be set up at 6,728 yards and play to a par-70 for the championship, while MCC would stretch to 7004 yards while also playing to par-70. In both cases, she said, it is hoped that conditions will allow for greens that will be fast and firm and that “the players will use every club in their bag.
“To me, Brown Deer is just a little bit tighter in places. With Milwaukee (CC) you can stretch it out and play a little longer, while with Brown Deer you can’t do it as much.”
As an example she cited MCC’s ninth hole, “a really neat short par-4.” For stroke play the tee will be set back so the hole will play at 332 yards, but for match play the hole could be shorted to less than 300 yards in length and create a temptation for risk-reward tee shots.
“I think Milwaukee will ultimately end up being a little more difficult,” she said, “especially the finishing holes.” (Boettcher similarly suggested MCC would be “more memorable,” but pleaded to a bit of home course bias on the issue.)
A small army of volunteers is needed to conduct a tournament with so many players and two separate venues, and as of this writing recruitment was still going strong. One enticement to get involved is that volunteers receive, in addition to the usual hat and shirt perks, an opportunity to play MCC after the championship – a rare opportunity in most cases. In fact, Boettcher said, just the opportunity to walk the highly rated course could help increase attendance for match-play finals.
Fan turnout could additionally be boosted if a number of Wisconsin players make the field, and especially if one or more could advance to the match-play rounds, Jarrett said. But she said that no matter which players advance, fans would get a chance to watch quality golf and view it close up. There is no admission charge for the championship, and better yet, no ropes to keep fans some distance from the action.
“It’s pretty neat,” she said. “The spectators can be right there with the players.”
One player she truly hopes is there is Kuehne, who had indicated earlier in the year that his involvement in amateur competition would end after he played in the 2008 Masters. Kuehne, who passed on the chance to play professional golf, has said he intends to focus his attention on his family and his venture capital business in Texas. but Jarrett is holding out hope he can be persuaded to defend his title.
“You know that’s what he says, but entries haven’t closed,” she said. “I’d love to see Trip play, and I hope he will play. I’d certainly like to see him defend his title, and I will share that with him, as have others.
“He’s a career amateur,” she said, “and that’s what this tournament is about.”
Mid-Amateur on the Web: For scores, groupings and other Mid-Amateur information, check out the championship site at www.usga.org/championships. During the competition, real time scoring will be available at www.usmidam.org.
What: The 28th U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship.
When: Sept. 6-11.
Where: Milwaukee CC in River Hills (7,004 yards; par-70). Nearby Brown Deer Park GC in Milwaukee (6,728 yards; par-70) will be the second course used for the 36-hole stroke-play qualifier.
Who: The championship is open to amateur players 25 and older with handicap indexes not exceeding 3.4. The starting field will be 264 players.
Format: A 36-hole stroke-play qualifier is scheduled for Sept. 6-7, after which the field will be reduced to the 64-player match-play bracket. Matches will be contested beginning on Sept. 8 and ending on Sept. 11 with a 36-hole championship match.
Following the Action: There is no admission fee, and spectators are encouraged to attend. Real-time scoring is available at www.usmidam.org.
Last Year: Trip Kuehne of Irving, Texas, clobbered Dan Whitaker of Cle Elum, Wash., in the final match by the score of 9 and 7 to win his first USGA championship. The tournament was held at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Bandon, Ore.
For More Info: Visit www.usmidam.org. For details on local qualifying, go to www.wsga.org.
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