Casual golf fans, especially those who live in New England, might not know about the USGA's mid-amateur tournaments, but they certainly should -- especially with the women's edition coming to Boston's backyard starting this weekend.
The USGA will host the 37th annual women's mid-am, starting Saturday, Sept. 7, at Braeburn Country Club in Newton, Mass. The playing eligibility is relatively straightforward: This year's tournament is open to any (amateur) woman golfer who has reached her 25th birthday by Sept. 7 and whose handicap index doesn't exceed 9.4.
That criteria opens the door for a whole lot of players. There were 491 entries accepted, a number that has been cut down 132-player field over the summer with 27 qualifying sites across the country, a process that began in mid-July and wrapped up Aug. 21. Additionally, 31 players in the field are in through various exemptions, including everything from the reigning senior Women's Amateur Open champion to the European mid-am champion.
While golf fans might be used to seeing tournaments that start on Thursday and run through Sunday, the mid-am begins Saturday at Brae Burn. The entire field goes out Saturday and Sunday for two days of stroke play. The field will then be cut down to 64 players who will square off in win-or-go-home match play. Five 18-hole rounds of match play set the stage for an 18-hole final on Thursday.
Saturday: First round, stroke play
Sunday: Second round, stroke play
Monday: Round of 64, match play
Tuesday: Round of 32 and round of 16, match play
Wednesday: Quarterfinals and semifinals, match play
Thursday: 18-hole championship, match play
Any time you have match play to decide a national open, the golf is going to be top-notch. What makes this tournament especially fascinating, though, is the players who make up the field. Yes, these are tremendously talented and fabulously accomplished golfers, whose resumes include more than a club championship or two (although they probably have a handful of those).
Take Melanie Furuta, for example. She's a 43-year-old from Long Beach, Calif., who's competing in her fifth mid-am. That number would probably be higher, but she took 13 years off in the prime of her amateur career to start a family. She's a mother of three, who has three kids between the ages of 4 and 10. She returned to the mid-am last year, and like a badass, she went 70-78 on the weekend to reach the Round of 64 on the North Course at Stonewall in Elverson, Pa.
Then there's Claire Richardson, one of five Massachusetts natives in the field. She's from Milton, Mass., and won the Massachusetts Women's Amateur championship at Brae Burn in 2012. A mother of two, she and her husband moved Australia a few years ago before returning to the Bay State earlier this year.
The age range also lends itself to some compelling stories. There are nine 25-year-olds in the field, including one from Guatemala (Valeria Mendizabal, who played at UTEP and Mississippi State) and one from the Czech Republic (Hana Ryskova, who played at Louisville). There's also a group of women who are competing into their 60s, including 63-year-old Terrill Samuel from Canada, the oldest player in the field.
On top of all that, it's a rare opportunity for local golf fans to get a look at one of the area's most historic golf courses. Brae Burn was founded in 1897 and was eventually redesigned by renowned golf architect Donald Ross, who had a prolific presence in the area. Brae Burn hosted the 1919 U.S. Open where golf legend Walter Hagen took home the trophy. The course has hosted a handful of USGA events, including the U.S Amateur in 1928 as well as the U.S. Women's Amateur on three separate occasions. That tournament will return to West Newton in 2028.
For now, though, the mid-am takes center stage as part of a competitive golf renaissance in New England, that in addition to the annual PGA Tour stop in Connecticut, has included a U.S. Open (in 2022), a U.S. Senior Open this summer and the LPGA's long-awaited return to Boston earlier earlier this month.
Best of all? Admission is free of charge for all six days.
