Ijamsville, MD – The 38th playing of the Maryland Mid-Amateur Championship took place on Monday and Tuesday at The Club at P.B Dye, and it was Billy Peel of Columbia Country Club who captured his second consecutive Mid-Amateur title.
The first round on Monday saw 120 players make their way around the golf course with hopes of making the cut that would consist of the top 40 players and ties. Four players in the morning wave led the way with 1-under-par rounds of 69. Zack Miller (Baltimore CC), Ian Patterson (University of Maryland GC), Brian Gibbons (CC of Maryland), and Chris Baloga (Hillendale CC) got themselves into red figures in different ways.
Miller was consistent in his first round as he shot 34 (-1) on the front nine and shot 35 (E) on his back nine. Patterson had a relatively clean front nine with three birdies and one bogey to shoot 33 (-2), but he struggled a little bit on the back nine to shoot 36 (+1). Gibbons had two bogeys and only one birdie on the front nine to shoot 36 (+1), but he had a colorful scorecard on the back nine with four birdies and two bogeys to shoot 33 (-2) on the back nine. Baloga started off with a double bogey, three bogeys, and only two birdies on his front nine to shoot 38 (+3), but he caught fire on the back nine by making four birdies and five pars to shoot 31 (-4). By the end of the day, these four players were tied for the lead.
Billy Peel struggled with his first round as he shot a 4-over-par total of 74. He made four straight pars to start his day, but then he made three bogeys in his final five holes to shoot 38 (+3) on the front nine. After making the turn to the back nine, he settled down by making more pars. He finally made his first birdie of the championship on No. 17, but he gave the shot right back on No. 18 by making bogey to shoot 36 (+1) on the back nine.
The cut this year was at 77 (+7).
As the second round got underway, three of the four leaders dropped out of the lead within the first three holes. Patterson carded a bogey on No. 1, Gibbons made a bogey on No. 3, and Baloga recorded a double bogey on No. 3. Miller was the only player to start off in a positive direction by making birdie on No. 1. He kept a clean card for the rest of the front nine by making eight consecutive pars to shoot 34 (-1).
Peel started his round off by jumping up the leaderboard with the two birdies he made on No. 1 and No. 3. He would go on to make one more birdie but two bogeys to hold him at 34 (-1) for his front nine. At the turn, Peel was still five shots back, and time was running out.
Peel made birdie on No. 11 to get to 2-over-par for the tournament, and he would remain at that mark through No. 15. Miller would also remain at 2-under-par for the tournament through No. 15.
Peel ended up hitting an errant tee shot on No. 16, but he hit a solid approach shot twenty feet past the hole. He would then run in the twenty-footer for birdie and make his way to the tee box on No. 17, the uphill par 3. He shot the yardage at 176 yards, and he pulled his six iron out of the bag. As soon as he hit the shot, he felt good about it, but when he landed, he thought he came up short of the hole. As Peel got up to the green, he saw his pitch mark five feet short of the hole, but he did not see his ball. He checked the hole, and there it was. This ace marked Peel’s fourth hole-in-one, but it was his first one ever in competition. In the span of two holes, Peel went from 2-over-par overall to 1-under-par overall. He would go on to par No. 18 and have the clubhouse lead at 1-under-par.
All eyes were on Miller now as he played No. 16. After missing the green long and into the rough, Miller would not get up-and-down for par and would subsequently drop back to 1-under-par overall. On No. 17, Miller hit a great tee shot that ended up 12 feet away from the hole, but he would miss the birdie putt by leaving it just short of the hole. On No. 18, Miller hit his tee shot into the adjacent fairway. He did not have the best view of the green, and he left his approach shot into the left greenside bunker. He hit a good bunker shot to six feet from the hole, but he missed the putt on the low side to make bogey and finish at even-par for the tournament.
With the help of his ace on the 35th hole of the tournament, Peel went back-to-back at the Maryland Mid-Amateur Championship.
The Maryland State Golf Association would like to thank The Club at P.B. Dye and their staff for being amazing hosts of this MSGA Championship.
