Ryan Nagy went wire-to-wire at Cutter Creek Golf Club in Snow Hill to win the 29th North Carolina Mid-Amateur Championship finishing with a 7-under-par, 209 total. This is Nagy’s first CGA championship win after several years of playing and competing throughout the Carolinas.
"It feels great," said Nagy. "I have been playing CGA events since junior golf with some close finishes and it's rewarding to finally get one done. The CGA does a great job with all of the events they run and it's awesome to know my name will be a part of the N.C. Mid-Amateur trophy for years to come."
Nagy possessed a three-shot lead after the first round of competition and that lead was cut down to two shots coming into Thursday’s third and final round. A final round score of 2-over-par, 74 was more than enough to get it done for Nagy who ultimately won the championship by a staggering six shots. Cutter Creek’s set up in the final round proved to be a major test for our competitors yielding a scoring average of 77.36. Rounds one and two had scoring averages of 75.1 and 74.43 respectively. Jacob Van Leeuwen of Durham, N.C. was the only competitor to finish under par for the final round shooting a 1-under-par, 71.
"The final round obviously played much tougher than the first two days," said Nagy. "Between some good pin placements and the wind staying up the majority of the day, it definitely made it a little bit harder out there. It was really a day that par was a good score and the more of those you made then the better position you were going to be in coming down the stretch."
Three players including Trey Broome of Raleigh, N.C., Nick Eberhardt of Charlotte, N.C., and Stephen Lavenets of Willow Spring, N.C. finished tied for second place at 1-under-par, 215 total.
Last year’s N.C. Mid-Amateur champion Dan Walters of Winston-Salem, N.C. along with Brandon Reece of Rolesville, N.C. and Mark Olbrych of Raleigh, N.C. finished in a three-way tie for fifth place finishing even par, 216 total.
The N.C. Mid-Amateur is composed of male golfers over the age of 25 whose handicap does not exceed a 9.9. Non-exempt competitors had to qualify through one of the six local qualifying sites held earlier in the year. Often, these golfers competed collegiately, like Nagy who played college golf at UNC Wilmington, and some professionally before regaining their amateur status.
"I think the biggest thing as a mid-am is knowing where your priorities are," said Nagy. "I am lucky and have a great wife that supports me in doing what I enjoy. We are obviously all competitive and enjoy the game of golf but with my career and priorities outside of golf, I know there are more important things on a day-to-day basis. It' s a bit of a balancing act of playing as much as I am able but making sure the most important things in my life are taken care of outside of golf."
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ABOUT THE
North Carolina Mid-Amateur
North Carolina Mid-Amateur Championship is open
to
any male amateur golfer who has reached his 30th
birthday, is a legal resident of North Carolina, is a
member in good standing of a club which is a
member of the Carolinas Golf Association (CGA) and
has an active GHIN® USGA Handicap Index® at a
CGA member club that does not exceed 5.4.
Sectional qualifying is required in the weeks before
the championship unless exemption criteria is met.
54-hole stroke play event with a cut to the low 60
and ties after 36 holes.
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