Persons and Hanstad Bow out of U.S. Mid-Am; Medalist Is Gone, too

Josh Persons was 3 up on Mark Costanza after nine holes in their Round of 64 match at the 2023 U.S. Mid-Amateur. Persons, who made it to the semifinals of this tournament last year, lost the par-4 ninth and par-3 10th holes to Costanza's pars, but he was still 1 up going to the 11th tee, and he played the last eight holes in 3 under par. When you do that, you're supposed to win the match.

But that wasn't what happened Tuesday morning at Sleepy Hollow Country Club in Scarborough, N.Y. Costanza, who finished second in the 2021 Mid-Am and is the No. 19 seed this year, eagled the 531-yard, par-5 12th hole, to beat Persons' birdie and level the match. And after both players went par-par-birdie-par from the 13th through the 16th holes, Constanza won the 17th with a birdie to go 1 up. Persons, a 39-year-old former North Dakota State Amateur champion from Fargo who was a regular on what is now the Korn Ferry Tour before regaining his amateur status, made a valiant attempt to tie the match. The No. 46 seed birdied the 424-yard, par-4 18th -- but Costanza maatched Persons' birdie and escaped with a 1-up victory. 

Bryce Hanstad, 36, was also a semifinalist in last year's Mid-Am. The former Minnesota State Amateur champion -- and reigning two-time MGA Mid-Players champion -- came back from first-round 73 in stroke-play qualifying with a second-round 66 at Sleepy Hollow and got the No. 17 seed. He was 3 under for 17 holes in his Round of 64 match, which he won 2&1 over the No. 48 seed, Justin Bryant. Hanstad was 1 down with seven holes to go, but he won the par-5 12th with a birdie. He pulled ahead by winning the 14th with a par, matched Bryant's birdie at the par-5 15th, and won the 17th with a par to go 2 up and end the match.

Going into the Round of 32, he was in a position to play the medalist, Jeronimo Esteve, in the Round of 16. But neither of them got that far. Hanstad was 3 down in his Round of 32 match against No. 16 Nick Maccario after five holes, and although he battled back and cut the deficit to 1 down twice, first with a birdie at the par-3 10th, and again with a birdie at the par-3 16th, Hanstad could never get back to all square, and Maccario birdied the 424-yard, par-4 18th to close out a 2-up victory.

Meanwhile, Esteve, who was 6 under for 36 holes in qualifying, with a 67-68--135 at Fenway Golf Club and Sleepy Hollow, was making six bogeys in the first 10 holes of his Round of 32 match against the No. 33 seed, Brett Patterson. Not surprsingly, he was 6 down. He birdied the 11th and 12 holes, but it was too little, too late, and Patterson beat him 5&4.

As for Costanza, he took on Stewart Hagestad in the Round of 32. The 32-year-old Hagestad is a four-time Walker Cupper, and it was he who beat Costanza in the Mid-Am final two years ago, 2&1. That was an epic match, and they were no less impressive on Tuesday. Hagestad  bogeyed the first hole and lost it to Costanza's birdie. They were both 2 under for the next eight holes and halved them all. Hagestad won the par-3 10th with a birdie, and he went 1 up when he won the par-5 12th with a birdie. He matched Costanza's birdie at the par-5 15th and ended the match by winning the 17th with a birdie, thereby making the score 2&1, the same as it was in the 2021 final. 

The weather in the New York City area was much improved on Tuesday. No rain. No lightning. No stoppages of play. Nevertheless, the Men's Mid-Am, which will get to the Round of 16 on Wednesday, is still a day behind the Women's Mid-Am, which is being played on the North Course at Stonewall in Elverson, Pa., and has had benign weather since it began on Saturday.

As a result, the women are down to the quarterfinals. 

There is no one left who was seeded below No. 16, but only two from the top 10 are still around. There were three co-medalists at 139. Courtney Dow, who set course and tournament records with a first-round 64, got the No. 1 seed, Jackie Rogowicz the No. 2 and Jessica Spicer the No. 3. Dow and Spicer both lost in the first round, Dow to No. 64 Sarah Lebrun Ingram (3&2) and Spicer to No. 62 Katrin Wolfe (19 holes). Taylor Ledwein, the former Minnesota state high school champion and two-time MGA  Women's Player of the Year, was the No. 4 seed after shooting 141 (69-72) in qualifying, but she, too, lost in the first round, on the 20th hole to the No. 61 seed, Erin Houtsma. 

Houtsma then lost in the Round of 32, to No. 29 Isabella Dilisio (5&3), and Dilision, in turn, was dismissed by No. 13 Judith Kyrinis (1 up). Of all the players who made it through stroke play into the matches, Kyrinis was the oldest, at 59. Buit she has credentials. She won the 2017 Senior Women's Am, and she was the low amateur at this year's U.S. Senior Women's Open. She is the oldest quarterfinalist in the 36-year history of the Women's Mid-Am.

The one survivor from among the three co-medalists, Rogowicz, has had an easy time of it so far. She blitzed No. 63 Tara Joy-Connelly 5&4 in her first match, then dispatched No. 34 Jacqueline Setas 5&3, and she smoked No. 47 Catherine McEvoy 6&5 in the. Round of 16. So she's only seen the 15th tee once since the stroke-play qualifying, and she hasn't seen the 16th tee at all, except maybe from a distance.  

There is a good. chance, however, that things will get a lot tougher for Rogowicz on Wednesday, because her quarterfinal opponent will be 2015 Mid-Am champ Lauren Greenlief, the No. 10 seed. She beat 2021 champ Blakesly Brock 4&2 in the Round of 16.

Greenlief is one of two former winners of the Mid-Am who have made it to the quarterfinals. Kelsey Chugg, the No. 14 seed, is the other. Chugg, who claimed the Mid-Am title in 2017, beat Katrin Wolfe (she was the one who upset No. 3 seed Spicer in the first round) 1 up on Tuesday in the Round of 16. Chugg grabbed the lead against Wolfe by winning the first hole with a par, and never surrendering that lead. Chugg will face No. 11 Taryn Walker in the last of the four quarterfinal matches Wednesday morning, beginning at 8:30 EDT. 



U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur Championship

At Stonewall's North Course

Par 71, 5,953 yards

Elverson, Pa. 

Stroke play

Final results (the top 64 players qualify for match play)

T1. Courtney Dow                   64-75--139

T1. Jessica Spicer                   69-70--139

T1. Jackie Rogowicz               71-68--139

4. Taylor Ledwein                  69-72--141

T5. Julia Potter-Bobb              70-72--142

T5. Lindsay Gahm                   73-69--142

T5. Celine Manche                  72-70--142

T5. Blakesly Brock                   74-68--142\

Failed to advance (3-for-8 playoff at 154)

 Emma Groom                         80-76--156

Olivia Herrick                           80-77--157


Match play

Round of 64

No. 64 Sarah Lebrun Ingram def. No. 1 Courtney Dow 3&2

No. 2 Jackie Rogowicz def. No. 63 Tara Joy-Connelly 5&4

No. 62 Katrin Wolfe def. No. 3 Jessica Spicer 19 holes 

No. 61 Erin Houtsma def.. No. 4 Taylor Ledwein 20 holes

No. 5 Celine Manche def. No. 60 Martha Leach 2&1

No. 59 Lauren Gebauer def. No. 6 Lindsay Gahm 1 up

No. 7 Blakesly Brock def. No. 58 Brenda Corrie Kuehn 3&2

No. 57 Shannon Johnson def. No. 8 Julia Potter-Bobb 2&1

Round of 32

No. 33 Aideen Walsh def. No. 64 Ingram 1 up

No. 2 Rogowicz def. No. 34 Jacqueline Setas 5&3

No. 62 Wolfe def. No. 30 Alena Oppenheimer 5&4

No. 29 Isabella Dilisio def. No. 61 Houtsma 5&3

No. 5 Manche def. No. 37 Taylor Kay 4&2

No. 59 Gebauer def.. No. 38 Jessica Mangrobang 4&3

No. 7 Brock def. No. 39 Alyssa Burritt 3&2

No. 25 Alyssa Roland def. No. 57 Johnson 4&3

Round of 16

No. 16 Kimberly Dinh def. No. 33 Walsh 4&3

No. 2 Rogowicz def. No. 47 Catherine McEvoy 6&5

No. 14 Kelsey Chugg def. No. 62 Wolfe 1 up

No. 13 Judith Kyrinis def. No. 29 Dilisio 1 up

No. 12 Gretchen Johnson def. No. 5 Manche 1 up

No. 11 Taryn Walker def. No. 59 Gebauer 2&1

No. 10 Lauren Greenlief def. No. 7 Brock 4&2

No. 9 Alexandra Austin def. No. 25 Roland 1 up



U.S. Mid-Amateur (Men's)

At Sleepy Hollow Country Club

Par 71, 6,850 yards

Scarborough, N.Y. 

& at Fenway Golf Club

Par 70, 6,578 yards

Scarsdale, N.Y. 

Stroke play (the top 64 players advance to match play)

Final results

1. Jeronimo Esteve              67F-68SH--135

2. Scott Harvey                     67F-69SH--136

T3. Sam Jones                      68SH-69F--137 

T3. Nate McCoy                    69SH-68F--137

T3. Harry Bolton                    70F-67SH--137

T3. Blair Hamm                     69F-68SH--137                 

T16. Bryce Hanstad             73F-66SH--139

T43. Josh Persons               70SH-72F--142

Failed to advance (16-for-14 playoff at 144)     

George Ordway                    73SH-75F--148

Jesse Larson                        72SH-76F--148

Ben Greve                             73SH-76F--149

Sammy Schmitz                    72F-77SH--149

Jesse Bull                              75SH-79F--154


Match play (all matches are being played at Sleepy Hollow)

Round of 64

No. 1 Jeronimo Esteve def. No. 64 Paul Mitzel 3&2

No. 2 Scott Harvey def. No. 63 Trey Cassity 2&1

No. 3 Nate McCoy def. No. 62 Charles Soule 1 up

No. 4 Sam Jones def. No. 61 Conor O'Brian 3&2

No. 60 Brice Wilkinson def. No. 5 Blair Hamm 2&1

No. 59 Jason Bataille def. No. 6 Harry Bolton 2&1

No. 58 Keith Guest def. No. 7 Chris Devlin 20 holes

No. 57 Bobby Massa def. No. 8 Derek Smith 3&2

No. 17 Bryce Hanstad def. No. 48 Justin Bryant 2&1

No. 19 Mark Costanza def. No. 46 Josh Persons 1 up

Round of 32

No. 33 Brett Patterson def. No. 1 Esteve 5&4

No. 34 Joe Du Chateau def. No. 2 Harvey 2 up

No. 3 McCoy def. No. 30 Andy Sajevic 1 up

No. 4 Jones def. No,. 36 Daniel Wittlinger 3&2

No. 28 Evan. Beck def. No. 60 Wilkinson 3&1

No. 59 Bataille def. No. 38 Todd White 2&1

No. 26 Torey Edwards def. No. 58 Guest 1 up

No. 57 Massa def. No. 40 Bradford Tilley 2&1

No. 16 Nick Maccario def. No. 17 Hanstad 2 up