In battle of former pros, Andrew Bailey tops Nate Smith to claim U.S. Mid-Amateur
Andrew Bailey catches a golf ball on the 11th hole during the championship match of the U.S. Mid-Amateur against Nate Smith at Sand Valley Resort in Wisconsin.
Logan Whitton
Ex-pros playing, and winning, big amateur events has made headlines over the past few months. The topic of reinstated amateurs mostly was reignited though when CBS Sports golf broadcaster and former amateur standout Colt Knost made it known that the USGA turned down his bid to give up his professional status.
Early last month, Mike Sposa, who made over 170 starts on the PGA Tour, won the U.S. Senior Amateur. The two men who played in the 36-hole championship match of the U.S. Mid-Amateur Thursday won’t do anything to quell the continued discussion.
Reinstated amateur Andrew Bailey handled Nate Smith, 5 and 4, to win at Sand Valley Resort's Lido Course in Nekoosa, Wis. As for Smith … yes, he’s a former pro, too. (Last year six of the final eight competitors in this championship once were professionals.)
In the championship match, Smith was 2 up as late as the 16th hole in the morning portion, but he lost the 17th and 18th holes and the match was tied at the lunch break. It was all Bailey in the afternoon where he turned a close match into a virtual runaway when he won the 23rd, 24th and 25th holes to go from tied to 3 up with 11 holes remaining. Bailey won the 28th hole and then the 30th to put it out of reach. He played his last 18 holes without a bogey.
“I have no words,” Bailey said. “It's cliché to say it hasn't sunk in yet, but it hasn't sunk in yet. I still think I'm trying to prepare for the next shot and there is going to be a match tomorrow that I don't know about."
Logan Whitton
Bailey, 34, of Cleveland, was a standout player at Cleveland State and was the Horizon League Player of the Year from 2012-14. He turned pro shortly after leaving college and muddled around on both the Korn Ferry Tour and PGA Tour Americas for a few years before regaining his amateur status in 2017. This was his fifth Mid-Amateur appearance, he’s won two Ohio Amateurs over the past few years and he’s now a sales manager at golf apparel brand Holderness & Bourne.
Smith, 43, is a native Californian who played college golf at Duke and now lives in Idaho. He turned professional 20 years ago and played mini-tours for three years before finding his way to the Nationwide Tour (now Korn Kerry) in 2009, when he won the WNB Golf Classic in Texas by shooting a final-round 66. He earned a PGA Tour card through Q-School for 2011 and played in 24 tour events, making only eight cuts and earning $154,000. Smith was reinstated as an amateur just four years ago and works as a homebuilder.
“I feel happy," Smith said. "I'm disappointed I didn't win, but at the same time, I didn't do anything to lose. He just played an exceptional round of golf this afternoon. My hat is off to him. I'm super stoked for him. It's amazing to be able to play that well and win this championship. That's so difficult. I'm just fortunate to be here, and I had a great time.”
Bailey earned an exemption into the U.S. Open next year at Pebble Beach and an invite to the Masters as long as he remains an amateur. He also is guaranteed a spot into the next 10 U.S. Mid-Amateurs and the next two U.S. Amateurs.
“I’ve got to talk to the bosses about PTO,” Bailey said about all the new opportunities he has for next year. “But I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.”