Former Pros Dominate US Mid-Amateur Championship - But Should They Be Allowed To Play?

There was a theme to this year's US Mid-Amateur Championship with the quarter-finals dominated by 30-something former professional golfers - and one of them making the final.

Six of the eight players that made it through to the quarters at Troon North Golf Club in Scottsdale had substantial spells as former professionals who have ben reinstated as amateurs.

Defending champion Evan Beck played pro golf for four years until retiring in 2017, but the trend was taken up a notch this year with two 37-year-olds with a wealth of Korn Ferry Tour experience making waves in Scottsdale.

Justin Hueber and Christian Brand teed it up 154 times on the Korn Ferry Tour between them - Brand played 67 times and quit pro golf in 2019 while Hueber made 87 starts and only left the paid ranks in 2021.

And the pair have only just rejoined the amateurs, with Brand getting his status back last year and Heuber only just receiving his, and has not yet got a World Amateur Golf Ranking.

Parker Edens, 35, and 37-year-old Bobby Massa had nine years of pro golf between them but have also returned to being amateurs and came close to earning a spot in next year's US Open and Masters courtesy of winning the US Mid-Amateur.

Five of the six in question failed to make the final though, but one did, that being 38-year-old Brandon Holtz - who played basketball at Illinois State before playing pro golf for six years until retiring in 2015.

Holtz, who also regained amateur status just last year and is a real estate agent during his day job, will face Jeg Coughlin in the 36-hole final.

Coughlin had just a brief spell as a pro and reached the second stage of the PGA Tour's Q School last year as an amateur - but this is his first time making the matchplay portion of a USGA event.

And now the 28-year-old has the chance to win, which may have something to do with the fact he has two-time PGA Tour winner Kevin Streelman on his bag.

“What does he bring? He brings 20 years of PGA Tour experience. He's just such a calming presence," Coughlin said of Streelman.

Having a professional on the bag helps, but it seems that is also helps having some experience of playing in the professional ranks, but is that fair?

Analysis - Should former pros play in amateur championships?

This is proving divisive among golf fans in the USA but there's a ton of nuance beyond the simple question of professionals regaining amateur status.

There's an argument that having older former pros returning to the amateur game could stifle the progression of younger amateurs.

They are prestigious amateur events after all, and throughout golfing history we've seen young US Amateur champions such as Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau and Matt Fitzpatrick win the event before embarking on Major-winning professional careers.

Many want to keep it that way, with these big USGA amateur events more for showcasing the up and coming young talent rather than 30-somethings who have tried the pro ranks but for one reason or another not progressed.

The flip side is that golf's a game for all, right? And if former pros apply for reinstatement as an amateur, and are approved by the USGA, then why should they be denied?

Rules for amateur status need changing

What makes this important is that places at the US Open and The Masters are up for grabs in these big amateur events, so the stakes are high.

And this could be seen as a back door route into Majors for pros that didn't quite make it, and with only "a minimum waiting period of at least six months" according to the USGA website before being reinstated as an amateur, players could in theory make the swicth quickly.

I don't think there should be a blanket ban on pros from returning to the amateur ranks, as not all pro careers are the same - there's huge differences in levels.

At the current Mid-Amateur we're not talking about huge stars but players with plenty of experience - Heuber played 87 events with 3 top 10s and earning of $318,092 from his time on the Korn Ferry Tour, with Brand winning $161,259 from 67 events.

That's not enough to make a career of it, let alone make the field in a Major, yet beating a field of amateurs could provide a gateway into the US Open or Masters which would otherwise require rocketing up the pro rankings or getting through tough qualifying.

So perhaps a tweaking of the criteria is required here. There's already a clause built into the rules that gives the USGA leeway to extend that six-month waiting period based on the results individual players had and the level they played at.

This should be formalized a bit more and strengthened, with graduated wait times depending on how long and how successful players were on the Korn Ferry Tour or similar, with a cut-off point for tournament winners and veterans of say five years or more.

So that would include a ban enforced if you make it to the PGA Tour, as we have to draw the line somewhere, and having a former PGA Tour pro playing in amateur events doesn't quite sit right does it?