Massa Beats Persons on His Way to U.S. Mid-Am Final

USGA

MANAKIN-SABOT, Va. -- You can be pretty sure that anyone who was out at Hazeltine five weeks ago watching the U.S. Amateur and saw Bobby Massa on his march to the quarterinals -- where he lost to the eventual champion Jose Luis Ballester -- hasn't forgotten him. 

Massa is a 36-year-old personal trainer at SandersFit Performance Center in Dallas. That made him one of the older players in the Am, especially once he got to match play, but Massa's massive club head speed (130 mph) enabled him to blow it past the 20-somethings with his driver on a regular basis. And he hits it pretty straight, as he has been demonstrating once again this week at Kinloch Golf Club in the 2024 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship. As a result, he will be playing the co-medalist and No. 2 seed, Evan Beck, in the 36-hole final Wednesday morning, which is scheduled to begin at 7:10 a.m. (EDT).

Beck made it to the final last year, as well, but lost to Stewart Hagestad. 

One of the players who got in front of the Massa Freight Train at Kinloch was Josh Persons, 40, the former University of Minnesota star from Fargo and the No. 16 seed this week. Massa defeated him 2&1 Wednesday morning in a quarterfinal match between two reinstated amateurs. Persons played on the Candian Tour, and won once out there. Massa didn't have much success playing for money. As a matter of fact, he had the swing yips, was hitting foul balls everywhere and was so discouraged he gave up playing tournaments for several years. Eventually, he regained his swing, and his confidence, got his amateur status back in 2019, and has become a force in Texas amateur golf.

Massa, the No. 8 seed (he shot 68-67--135 in stroke-play qualifying and tied for sixth), took the early lead against Persons, winning the 455-yard, par-4 third hole with a par, but Persons matched Massa's birdie at the fourth, and he pulled even by winning the par-3 fifth with a par. Massa regained the lead by winning the 471-yard, par-4 seventh, also with a par. Both players birdied the par-4 10th, and they tied the next six holes with pars before Massa made a 12-foot birdie putt at the 457-yard, par-4 17th to close out the match 2&1. 

Persons, who won the North Dakota Amateur Stroke Play Championship this summer, played well. He was even par on a tough course for 17 holes. But it could be argued that he caught Massa in something less than his best form, because the big hitter from Dallas is 19-under for his five matches, and he was only 2-under against Persons. 

On Tuesday afternoon, in the Round of 16, Mass and No. 41 Brian Blanchard played what has probably been the best match of the tournament, so far. Massa parred the first three holes, but he eagled the 579-yard, par-5 fourth hole, birdied the fifth and sixth and was 5-under when he made the turn. He was only 3 up, however, because Blanchard was making birdies, too, and he kept making birdies on the back nine. After winning the 10th with a par and losing the 11th to Massa's par, Blanchard was still 3 down, and Massa birdied the par-5 12th. But Blanchard matched that birdie, and he won the next three holes, the 13th with a birdie and the 14th and 15th with pars. 

Suddenly, Massa's lead was gone, and the match was tied. Massa got his nose back in front with a birdie at the 457-yard, par-4 17th, but Blanchard came right back with a birdie at the par-5 18th. Massa wound up winning the match with a birdie, his seventh fo the afternoon to go with the eagle at the fourth. He was 6-under-par, but he had to go 20 holes to advance. 

On a rainy Wednesday afternoon, in the semifinals, Massa was even better, and didn't have to work overtime to win this match, against the No. 52 seed, Drew Kittleson.

Just as he had done the day before, Massa torched the front nine. He birdied the first four holes, bogeyed the fifth, but then drove the green at the 328-yard sixth, made a 20-foot putt for eagle, and birdied the seventh on his way to an outward nine of 6-under-30. Even so, he was only 2-up, because Kittleson, a former U.S. Am runner-up (2008), birdied the first (they tied it) and the ninth, and he won the fifth with a par. Massa won the 10th with a par and the par-5 12th with a birdie. That got him to 7-under for the round, and all he needed from there were three pars for a 4&3 victory.

"He played amazing golf," Kittleson marveled. "There's no scenario where somebody would have beaten him. I gave him everything I had. It was just tough. Then the rain and everything. He drove it so straiight -- and so long! He played flawlessly. Flawlessly. There's nothing he didn't do well."

As for Beck, he is the fourth player to reach the Mid-Am final two years in a row. Among those he joins on that list is Jim Stuart, the son of the late Ev Stuart, who served as the head professional at Northland CC for 34 years. The younger Stuart won the U.S. Mid-Am in 1990 and repeated as champion in '91. Only one other player has won this tournament two consecutive years, and that was Nathan Smith (2009, '10).   

In his five matches thus far, Beck has been no stranger to the 18th hole. He's seen it three times, first in a 1-up victory in the Round of 32 over Jackson Spires, the No. 31 seed. In the Round of 16, Beck needed 21 holes to dispatch Michael Buttacavoli, the guy who had beaten the 2024 MGA Player of the Year, Max Tylke, in the Round of 64 match the day before. Beck eliminated No. 55 seed Connor Doyal 1-up Wednesday morning in the quarterfinals, and the former Wake Forest star finally was able to wrap one up early in the semis, playing 15 holes in 2 under during a 5&3 conquest of Stephen Behr (No. 22). 


U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship

At Kinloch Golf Club -- par 71, 7,250 yards

Manakin-Sabot, Va. 

& Independence Golf Club -- par 70, 7,216 yards

Midlothian, Va. 

Stroke-play qualifying

T1. Segundo Oliva Pinto, Argentiina             68K-65I--133

T1. Evan Beck, Virginia Beach, Va.               68I-65K--133

T3. Parker Edens, Brookings, S.D.                69I-65K--134  

T3. Andy Butler, Philadelphia                         66I-68K--134

T3. Scott Harvey, Greensboro, N.C.              64K-70I--134

T12. Josh Persons, Fargo                           70K-68I--138

T38. Max Tylke, Rosemount                         70K-71I--141

Missed cut -- 142 (14 for 12 playoff Monday morning)

Joel B. Johnson, Hugo                                 73K-71I--144

Bryce Hanstad, Edina                                   72K-73I--145

George Ordway, Charlottesville, Va.            73I-74K--147

Trent Peterson, St. Paul                                74I-75K--149

Nick Jarrett, Rochester                                 79K-76I--155

 
Match play

Round of 64

(1) Oliva Pinto def. (64) Justin Kaplan 1 up

(2) Beck def. (63) Cody Paladino 5&4

(3) Edens def. (62) Andrew Price 3&2

(61)Markus Habelar def. (4) Andy Butlerr 1 up

(16) Josh Persons def. (49) Chad Wilfong 2&1

(15) Michael Butttacavoli def. (50) Max Tylke 3&1


Round of 32

(32) Will Minton def. (1) Oliva Pinto 19 holes

(2) Beck def. (31) Jackson Spires 1 up

(3) Edens def. (30) Matthew McClean 3&2

(15) Buttacavoli def. (47) John Jonas 6&5

(16) Persons def. (48) Adam Barkow 1 up

(36) Derek Busby def. (61) Markus Habeler 21 holes


Round of 16

(16) Persons def. (32) Minton 5&3

(2) Beck def. (15) Michael Buttacavoli 21 holes

(8) Bobby Massa def. (41) Brian Blanchard 20 holes

(46) Will Davenport def. (3) Edens 2 up

(52) Drew Kittleson def. (36) Busby 5&4

(5) Scott Harvey def. (44) Hugh Foley 2 up

(27) Stephen Behr def. (22) Trent Leon 19 holes

(55) Connor Doyal def. (39) Steele DeWald 21 holes 


Quarterfinals

(8) Massa def. (16) Persons 2&1

(2) Beck def. Doyal 1 up

(52) Kittleson def. (5) Harvey 1 up

(27) Behr def. (46) Davenport 4&3


Semifinals

(8) Massa def. (52) Kittleson 4&3

(2) Beck def. (27) Behr 5&3