Devil's Elbow: A strong field of Mid-Amateurs set to compete for PGA Tour exemption
The fourth Devil's Elbow will start on Thursday, November 7 at the Puntacana Resort & Club in the Dominican Republic. The Mid-Am event, which launched in 2021, has been slowly growing and pulling in more and more talent as the field size also grows.
What makes this event rather rare is that it offers the field of Mid-Am golfers the opportunity to compete in the PGA Tour. The winner of the 54-hole stroke play event is granted an invite to the Corales Puntacana Championship in March of 2024. The Corales Course is the host of both the Devil's Elbow and the Corales Punta Cana Championship on April 17-20, 2025.
There is also a Senior Division, and the winner will receive a spot in the 2025 PGA Tour Corales Pro-Am.
How did the tournament get such a unique name? The 16th, 17th, and 18th on the Corales course are named The Devil's Elbow, hence the name of the event. The three-hole stretch offers stunning views and, as the name suggests, a tough finish. The 16th is a 416-yard par 4, the 17th is a 214-yard par 3, and the 18th is a 501-yard par 4.
One of the tournament's organizers and founders, Erick Morales, wants the tournament to stand out not only for the berth on the PGA Tour, but also for the quality of the week the players have. They stay on property, and many players bring their families down with them to enjoy the Caribbean sun for the week.
Joe Deraney won last year’s championship, holding off Matt Parziale by two shots. A second round 68 was the difference for Deraney who also won the 2023 Canadian Mid-Amateur. In his appearance in the Corales Puntacana Championship, Deraney shot 71-74.
This year's field includes two the last two Massachusetts Golfers of the Year - Matt Parziale and Ricky Stimets. The two-time New York Mid-Amateur champion (2022 and 2023) Billy Hanes, four-time Rhode Island Amateur champ Bobby Leopold 2024 U.S. Mid-am semi-finalist Will Davenport, and the inaugural 2021 champion Jeronimo Esteve along with his co-founder Erick Morales.
ABOUT THE
Devil's Elbow Invitational
Introduced in 2021, this 54-hole invitational
stroke play
event
for mid-amateurs will offer the winner a chance
to play
in the PGA Tour event held at Punta Cana. The
tournament aims to draw an international field
and
invitations may be requested on the
tournament
website. Minimum age 25, maximum handicap
3.4.
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