Michael McDermott plays his approach on No. 4 (par 4, 395 yards).

McDermott’s marvelous #USMidAm march ends in quarterfinals

  ELVERSON, Pa. — A promising start turned into a disheartening end for Michael McDermott in the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship at Stonewall (Old) Wednesday. After taking four of the first five holes in his quarterfinal match against Stewart Hagestad of Newport Beach Calif., the Merion Golf Club member, tormented by tee trouble, struggled and suffered a 2-up defeat.

  “I hit all good shots and made the putts. It was sort of cruise control,” McDermott, 41, of Bryn Mawr, Pa., said. “I knew Stewart was going to come and bring it. He chipped away at it quickly. It just wasn’t a good ball-striking day. It’s tough to win against a great player when you hit it like I did today. That’s just not going to get it done in a national championship. I struggled with my driver all week but I was able to get it done around a challenging tee game. This one I couldn’t do it. Even with a lead, it was too much trouble for me.”

  A birdie-birdie opening masked any signs of tee turmoil. On No. 1 (par 5, 507 yards), McDermott knocked a wedge 85 yards to 12 feet and drained a downhill breaker. Wedge in hand on the next hole (par 4, 427 yards), he knocked it 135 yards to nine feet. An unforced error by Hagestad on No. 3 (par 5, 562 yards) gave McDermott a 3-up edge in a hurry.

  Then came the tee travails. McDermott, who only registered four fairways on the day, flailed a 2-iron right on No. 4 (par 4, 395 yards). A challenging angle into the green created an awkward stance above it for his third shot. McDermott, a three-time BMW Philadelphia Amateur Champion, eventually made 6 and lost the hole.

  “Unfortunately, from that point forward, I just couldn’t keep the ball in play. It really cost me,” he said.

  McDermott did take the par 3, 176-yard 5th hole after Hagestad found the hazard, but a hooked drive on the next (par 4, 435 yards) proved penal and seemingly swayed the match’s momentum. McDermott again lost with a score of 6 after sending his tee shot into the hazard left.

  “I’m not quite sure what happened,” he said. “The sun was right in our eyes. I made a swing that didn’t feel terrible. I hit it right a lot this week on No. 6, so I was probably in my own head. Stewart wasn’t playing his best at that point. If I just played those holes solid, I could’ve been 4 or 5-up. I just didn’t get it done. I didn’t put the pedal down and take advantage.”

  McDermott’s 2-iron, a “go-to” club throughout the week, sputtered on No. 8 (par 4, 417 yards), spearheading a 5 to Hagestad’s 4. His mid-range putting, a key factor in his prior performances at Stonewall, also fizzled in the quarterfinals. McDermott missed a pair of five-footers to force halves on Nos. 9 (par 3, 213 yards) and 13 (par 4, 460 yards), the latter of which afforded Hagestad a 1-up lead. The par 3, 177-yard 15th hole offered McDermott a prime chance to draw even. After Hagestad missed the green left, the five-time William Hyndman, III Player of the Year stopped an 8-iron 15 feet above the hole location.

  “He hit a shot that was in a spot where you don’t want to miss it. I was thinking it was going to be a tough 3 for him,” McDermott, the tournament’s No. 45 seed, said. “I hit a solid shot right where I wanted to. He hit just a great chip but still had a six-footer. My putt hung on the high lip and looked like it could just turn in. It just didn’t.

  “Credit to him. He made his six-footer. Those are the turning points in matches. If he misses that, who knows where we go.”

  “Mike’s obviously a great player in the area, and I knew that he was going to be a lot to handle. He’s got a lot of experience out here,” Hagestad, 25, the reigning Metropolitan Golf Association Amateur Champion, said. “I’m really proud of the way I kind of stayed in the moment and grinded. Match play is so much about momentum. Even if it’s a little bit of pressure, everyone feels it.”

  By virtue of his run to the quarterfinals, McDermott received an exemption into next year’s U.S. Mid-Amateur, set for Oct. 7-12 at Capital City Club (Crabapple Course) in Atlanta, Ga.

  “I’ve never stared down a couple more wins away from going to The Masters and things like that. I’ll take a lot of positives from it,” he said. “It’s hard to compare a good showing to a win. That’s always a tough thing to do, but this certainly ranks up there as a great experience. To do it like this in my hometown is special.”

Golf Association of Philadelphia
  Founded in 1897, the Golf Association of Philadelphia (GAP) is the oldest regional golf association in the United States and serves as the principal ruling body of amateur golf in its region. Its 153 Full Member Clubs and 57,000 individual members are spread across parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. As Philadelphia’s Most Trusted Source of Golf Information, the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s mission is to promote, preserve and protect the game of golf.