Hyland Seeks Repeat At 33rd Mid-amateur At Spring Lake
Just eight months after winning the 32nd NJSGA Mid-Amateur Championship , Mike Hyland of Little Mill has a chance to repeat as the winner when the 33rd Mid-Am is conducted May 10-12, at Spring Lake Golf Club.
Last September, Hyland fired six birdies in 16 holes and won his first NJSGA championship since winning the State Amateur as a 19-year-old in 1998, besting Matt Finger of Darlington, 3 and 2, in the final of the on Thursday, Sept. 10, 2015, at Arcola Country Club in Paramus.
The NJSGA Mid-Amateur was played in September for three years on a trial basis. For the first 29 years of the event, it had taken place in the spring. A group of competitors suggested the September trial, but it turned out it that May is the more fortuitous time for the championship.
The field includes former champions Harris Podvey of Rolling Greens (2001), Tom Gramigna of Tavistock (2002, '03, '05), Mike Deo of Black Oak (2007), Mike Stamberger of Spring Lake (2008) Kevin McSorley of Rockleigh (2011), Brian Komline of Black Oak (2012), and Trevor Randolph of Arcola (2013-14). Jack Skirkanich of Rumson ad Niall Handley of Essex Fells each won medals at qualifying.
“Already, entries for the Mid-Amateur are up significantly,” said Mike McAneny, NJSGA Tournament Director. “There seem to be too many conflicts for the golfers in the later part of the season, such as club invitationals, USGA events, kids going back to school, religious holidays, etc.
“A number of players came to us and preferred returning the event to the spring. We all examined the pros and cons and it just made more sense to return the Mid-Amateur to the spring,” McAneny said.
A total of 64 golfers will tee it up for stroke-play on Tuesday, May 10, with the top 16 moving on to compete in match-play that takes place with the Round of 16 and quarterfinals on Wednesday, May 11, and the semifinals and final on Thursday, May 12.
“My game is not as sharp as it could be, but I plan on practicing hard this weekend. The last time I played at Spring Lake was in the State Open, two months after I won the State Amateur in ‘98. I remember it as a short course with fabulous greens and I know you have to keep the ball in play,” Hyland said.
“I’m not playing great right now. I’m playing okay, but if I can get hot on my putter, I do like my chances of repeating. I’ve been in the Mid-Am semifinals three times and I really like the event. I’m a huge fan of match play,” Hyland, 35, added.
When Hyland returned to the winners circle, he acknowledged it had been a long time since he won a NJSGA championship. He also had some time in between winning the Philadelphia Amateur (2000 and 2011). Last summer, he added Metedeconk Invitational title a week after winning the NJSGA Mid-Amateur.
“I can’t believe it. It’s been such a long time since I won a big tournament in New Jersey. To get your name on any state trophy is great. And to do it on a course I love, plus it was one of the better fields this time. I had to qualify for the U.S. Amateur to get into the field,” said Hyland, who resides in Medford.
His shot of the day was an 8-iron approach from 181 yards on the par-5 501-yard No. 15 that landed on the green. His two-putt from 40 feet resulted in a birdie victory for a 2-up lead.
“I was coming off an 8-iron on 12 that I blocked when I started getting tired. But I made real good contact on the shot on 15. That was a big hole for me,” said Hyland, who works in real estate. Two days earlier, his father, Tom, qualified for the U.S. Senior Amateur that was played Sept. 26-30 at Hidden Creek in Egg Harbor Twp., N.J.
Both players won their morning semifinal matches during intermittent rain at Arcola. Finger, who is a native of nearby Oradell, located 10 minutes away, had the luxury of sleeping in his boyhood bed in his mother’s home there on Wednesday night.
He advanced by defeating John Browndorf of Deal, 3 and 2.
Little Mill’s Hyland, who commuted from Burlington County, said he left his home shortly after 4 a.m. for the 7 a.m. tee time and went on to beat Nick Desai of Baltusrol, 3 and 1. Desai had ousted defending champion Trevor Randolph of Arcola in the quarterfinals, 1 up. Randolph was seeking to become the first to win three straight Mid-Amateur championships.
Finger, 38, a graduate of Bergen Catholic H.S., last summer qualified for the U.S. Four-Ball championship with Michael Korcuba .
“My goal was to shoot even par, and that’s exactly what I did. I had one birdie and one bogey. This is my third time in the Mid-Amateur and my first time in the finals after making the semifinals the other times,” said Hyland, who was 19 when he won the 1998 State Amateur championship at Baltusrol.
Randolph had just won his fifth club championship at Congressional in Maryland the previous week.
“I made so many mental mistakes. I missed putts. He made putts,” Randolph said.
