Kiwi Jones in Contention as Rain Wreaks Havoc

Wisconsin, United States: Mother Nature continues to wreak havoc on the 41st US Mid-Amateur Championship. Sunday’s storm dumped four inches of rain on Erin Hills and 5.3 inches at stroke play co-host Blue Mound Golf & Country Club in Wauwatosa, nearly 30 miles to the southeast, requiring a massive clean-up effort.

This was especially the case at Blue Mound, where 20 pumps were utilised to extract standing water from bunkers and fairways. Staffers from nine nearby facilities aided in the herculean task of making the course playable.

Round two of stroke play, which was completely wiped out on Sunday, resumed at 11:30 am on Monday at Erin Hills and 30 minutes later at Blue Mound, with the morning wave completing 36 holes. Those in the afternoon wave started Round two – two groups at Blue Mound didn’t start – but won’t finish until Tuesday, when the field will be trimmed to the low 64 scorers for match play at Erin Hills. Any necessary play-off would take place on Tuesday at Erin Hills, starting on number 10.

The lengthy weather suspension led 12 competitors from the starting field of 264 to withdraw either Sunday night or Monday so they could return to their jobs and families.

“You’ve got to go hats off to the grounds crew and the USGA, and everybody who probably hasn’t slept,” said American Jake Shuman, who carded a bogey-free, four-under-par 66 at Blue Mound to share the clubhouse lead for medallist honours at seven-under 134. “I haven’t seen rain like that in probably ever. The greens were perfect. [They were] still fast and still pretty firm. It’s pretty impressive.”

Shuman, a financial planner who regained his amateur status in March after retiring from professional golf in 2020, was joined at the top by fellow 26-year-old Sam Jones, of New Zealand, who shot a four-under 67 at the 7,309-yard, par-71 Erin Hills, site of the 2017 US Open. Jones came to Wisconsin after helping New Zealand finish joint 34th in last week's World Amateur Team Championship in France.

Winner of the 2019 New Zealand Amateur and 2022 New Zealand Stroke Play Championship, Jones posted six birdies against two bogeys.

“[It] was just getting the driver in play,” said Jones, who will take part in next month’s Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship at Thailand’s Amata Spring Country Club. “I hit a lot of fairways, was hitting wedges in, and was hitting it relatively close, inside of 10 feet for my birdies. My best one was on number six, the long par-three. I hit a good five-iron in there from 217 to 12 feet and rolled that one in.”

Asked about his New Zealand roots, Jones said: “We have a pretty little country course down there. Manaia is the name of it. It’s 6,000 yards long and we’ve got one greenkeeper that works up to 40 hours a week. Humble beginnings, I guess, but playing on a track like this (Erin Hills) is amazing.”

Among those with late tee times were first-round leader and defending champion Stewart Hagestad who opened with a 64 at Blue Mound, one stroke better than Singapore’s James Leow.

Alex Beson-Crone, the Superintendent at Blue Mound, had sent out a text when he arrived on property at 3:15 am on Monday: “There is zero chance we are playing golf today.”

Eight hours later, Beson-Crone, his Senior Assistant Dan Vater, and their team of 19 had Blue Mound ready for round two.

“They had a really good approach,” said John Petrovsky, Manager of Education for the USGA Green Section, who spent 20 years in golf maintenance before joining the Association last December. “They knew where they needed to move water so that other areas would begin draining.”

A similar scenario took place at Erin Hills, where Zach Reineking, the Director of Course Maintenance, said his staff of 18 began pumping water at 2 am and overcame some early morning rain.