Kittleson Falls in Round of 16, But No. 64 Seed Brown Makes Semis at Mid-Am

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SIASCONSET, Mass. -- Hayes Brown, the last man to make it into match play at the 2021 U.S. Mid-Amateur, continued his march through the rounds on Wednesday, and on Thursday he will play former Mid-Am champ Stewart Hagestad in the semifinals at Sankaty Head Golf Club.

Meanwhile, Drew Kittleson, a 32-year-old former U.S. Amateur runner-up (2008) who lives in Scottsdale but spends part of the summer at Gull Lake, made it through the Round of 32, but he was beaten in the Round of 16. Kittleson, the No. 24 seed, was 1 under par for 16 holes in his 3&2 victory over No. 56 Arnell Garza.

He then took on Colby Harwell, the No. 57 seed, but seedings don't mean all that much. After all, Harwell's 36-hole total in the stroke-play qualifying was 141 (70-71), only two shots higher than the 139 (72-67) posted by Kittleson. Harwell fell 2 down when he made bogeys at the second and third holes, but he played the next nine holes in 3 under to pull even.

Harwell took the lead with a birdie at the 380-yard, par-4 16th, lost the par-5 17th with a bogey, and then birdied the 380-yard, par-4 18th to claim a 1-up victory.

Kittleson was 2 under in the loss. 

Brown, also 32, was Harwell's next opponent, in the quarterfinals, and he was 6 under in a 6&5 conquest. There were no 5's on the No. 64 seed's card, and he made eight 3's in the 13 holes that were required to dismiss Harwell.

With the victory, Brown claimed a spot in the semifinals opposite Hagestad, the No. 13 seed, who won this tournament in 2016. (In 2017, he became the first Mid-Am champ to make the cut at the Masters. He tied for 36th.). Hagestad, a three-time Walker Cupper who is also No. 13 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, was 2 under in his quarterfinal match, and birdied the 18th hole to seal his 2-up quarterfinal victory over No. 21 Christian Sease.

The other semifinal match will pit No. 59 Nicholas Maccario, the 2020 Massachusetts Player of the Year, against No. 23 Mark Costanza, the 2020 New Jersey Player of the Year. Maccario was 2 under par and didn't lose a hole in his 5&4 quarterfinal victory over No. 30 Gregor Orlando. Costanza was 1 under and lost only one hole in a 5&4 victory over No. 15 Andrew Bailey. 

 
U.S. Mid-Amateur

At Sankaty Head Golf Cluib, Par 70 (6,645 yards)

Siasconset, Mass.

& at Miacomet Golf Course  (Par 70, 6,782 yards)

Nantucket, Mass.

Stroke-play results (top 64 qualify for match play)

1. Yaroslav Merkulov, Rochester, N.Y.          66-65--131

T2. Garrett Rank, Canada                             66-67--133

T2. Harvin Groft, Berwick, Maine                  66-67--133

4. Michael Muehr, McLean, Va.                     67-67--134

T5. Daniel Campbell, Bellingham, Wash.      68-67--135

T5. Dan Walters, Winston-Salem, N.C.         69-66--135

7. Andrew Paysse, Temple, Texas                 67-69--136

T16. Drew Kittleson, Scottsdale, Ariz.        72-67--139

Missed cut -- 142 (13-man playoff for 7 spots)

Andrew Pallanante, Fargo                           74-74--148

Geoff Klein, Mankato                                    76-75--151

Shane Barnes, Minnetrista                           72-80--152

Sammy Schmitz, Farmington                         75-DQ


Match Play (all matches played at Sankaty Head)

Round of 64

(64) Hayes Brown, Charlotte, N.C. def. (1) Yaroslav Merkulov 1 up

(24) Drew Kittleson def. (41) Joe Ryon, Carlsbad, Calif. 2&1

(57) Colby Harwell, San Antonio def. Derek Busby, Choudrant, La. 1 up

(4) Michael Muehr def. (61) Jimm Chestnut, Royal Oak, Mich. 2&1

(5) Dan Walters def. (60) Cole Willcox, Malvern, Pa. 1 up

(2) Garrett Rank, Canada def. (63) Cody Paladino, West Hartford, Conn. 2&1

(7) Andrew Paysse def. (58) Thomas Owen, Fayetteville, N.C. 2&1

(62) Brady Shivers, Seminole, Texas def. (3) Harvin Groft 3&2

(59) Nicholas Maccario, Haverhill, Mass. def. (6) Daniel Campbell


Round of 32

Brown def. (33) Sam Straka, Valdosta, Ga. 5&4

Harwell def. (40) Patrick Duffy, Omaha 2&1

Kittleson def. (56) Arnell Garza, Kennewick, Wash. 2&1

(29) Stephen Behr, Atlanta def. Muehr 3&2

(13) Stewart Hagestad, Newport Beach, Calif. def. (20) Marc Dull, Winter Haven, Fla. 5&4

(28) Devon Hopkins, South Africa def. Walters 5&4

Rank def. (34) Matthew Galloway, Tampa, Fla. 5&3

(26) Brett Viboch, Sacramento, Calif. def. Paysse 2&1

(12) Mark Costanza, Morrisrtown, N.J. def. (10) Nathan Colson 2&1

(30) Gregor Orlando, Haverford, Pa. def. Shivers 1 up

Maccario def. Jay Moore, Lincoln, Neb. 5&4


Round of 16

Brown def. (17) Richard Berkmeyer, St. Louis 4&2

Harwell def. Kittleson 1 up

Hagestad def. Behr 23 holes

Hopkins def. (21) Christian Sease, Mt. Pleasant, S.C. 1 up

(15) Andrew Bailey, Cleveland def. Rank 2&1

Costanza def. Viboch 4&3

Orlando def. (14) Hunter Hawkins, Fort Payne, Ala. 6&4

Maccario def. (54) Brad Nurski, St. Joseph, Mo. 3&2



Quarterfinals

Brown def. Harwell 6&5

Hagestad def. Sease 2 up

Costanza def. Bailey 5&4

(59) Nicholas Maccario, Haverhill, Mass. def. Orlando