The 'reinstated amateur' debate rages on after former pro wins U.S. Mid-Am

With his victory at the U.S. Mid-Am last week, Andrew Bailey became the latest posterchild of the reinstated amateur debate. Bailey, 34, is a former professional, as was his opponent in the final match, Nate Smith.

This battle of former pros in an amateur tournament came on the heels of Mike Sposa's win at the U.S. Senior Am last month. Sposa, 57, made over 170 starts on the PGA Tour and notched a victory on the Korn Ferry Tour in 1998. A former pro taking the Senior Am and another former pro taking the U.S. Mid-Am in the span of a month was all Golf Twitter needed to grab their torches and pitchforks.

But Bailey's reinstatement story is a bit more understandable than Sposa's, or Colt Knost's, for that matter. Knost, who made nearly 200 starts on the PGA Tour, revealed that his bid for reinstatement was put on hold by the USGA as the governing body re-evaluates its reinstatement guidelines. A prudent move considering criticisms of the process have reached a fever pitch of late. 

Bailey made a grand total of zero starts on the PGA Tour, and the only reason he has a profile page on the PGA Tour's website is because he earned "the most conditional of conditional status" at Mackenzie Tour Q-School back in 2015. He quickly learned the tour pro life was not for him, and went through the reinstatement process soon after. Bailey, who now works for men's golf apparel company Holderness and Bourne, is a "former pro" in name only.  

Just five days after his win at Sand Valley's Lido Course, Bailey joined us on The Loop podcast and explained his reinstatement timeline. He also called for more transparency when it comes to each reinstated amateur's case. Please, have a listen below, and like and subscribe to The Loop wherever you get your podcasts: