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Professional golf isn’t for everybody – just ask Brad Tilley.
Tilley, 36, played professionally from July 2006 to June 2014 with limited success, earning just more than $100,000 in his career. Then, with a desire to start a family with his wife, he figured it was time to abandon his lifelong dream of making it to the PGA Tour.
Since becoming reinstated as an amateur in 2017, Tilley has made a name for himself on the mid-amateur circuit – most recently winning three prominent mid-amateur titles in a span of 10 days.
A resident of Easton, Conn., Tilley won the New York State Mid-Amateur on Sept. 29, the Westchester Mid-Amateur on Oct. 4 and the Metropolitan Golf Association Mid-Amateur on Oct. 8.
And he won each tournament in distinct fashion.
At the New York State Mid-Amateur at Tuscarora Golf Club in Marcellus, Tilley went low, shooting 69-66-69 for a seven-shot victory. His 9-under-par 204 total set the tournament scoring record.
“That was a huge win,” Tilley said. “And it was my first win in a while, to get that under my belt put me at ease. It just showed all the things I had been working on really were paying off.”
At the Westchester Mid-Amateur, Tilley carried over his good play in wet and windy conditions at Tamarack Country Club in Greenwich, Conn. He weathered the storm to shoot 68-75 and prevail by three strokes in the weather-shortened tournament.
After those two victories, he captured the MGA Mid-Amateur in a bizarre finish. Tilley hit his tee shot out of bounds on the par-4 17th hole at Wee Burn Country Club in Darien, Conn., leading to a triple-bogey 7. He went from leading the tournament by a stroke to trailing Chester Patterson by two.
On the par-5 18th, Tilley hit another tee shot out of bounds. But he saved par with a 50-foot putt and remained two down before Patterson found the water twice on the 18th hole, leading to a triple-bogey 8 and handing Tilley another victory.
Tilley had a chance for four victories in a row two Sundays ago at the Nassau Invitational in Glen Cove, N.Y., but his good fortune ran out in the final match, in which he fell to Rowan Lester, 2 and 1.
Tilley’s game started to click in late summer after he played with his friend Hugo León of Chile, who plays full time on the European Tour. Tilley got to know León while playing on mini-tours in the United States, Canada and Latin America.
“When he comes off the tour for a few weeks, I make sure I go play with him,” Tilley said. “I try to get into that mindset and get my game in that shape as well. … He keeps my game in shape. I don’t want to get beat up that bad so I’ve got to elevate my game.
To end the season, Brad Tilley will compete as part of a six-man MGA team in the biennial Gov. Hugh L. Carey Challenge Cup matches against counterparts from the Golfing Union of Ireland.
“He saw a couple little things like my putting setup – just the way I was approaching a few shots. I was making things a little more complicated than they needed to be, so we kind of just simplified things. It’s more on the approach and simplifying things that he sees and helps me with – not the fundamentals – but just playing with each other and we just know each other so well, we can say to each other, you know, something looks different.”
After playing with León, Tilley reached match play in the Met Amateur, but his play wasn’t spectacular. But after practicing for a few more weeks, everything came together.
“I had a feeling about these wins,” Tilley added. “Playing well against players of (León’s) caliber, you gain a sense of confidence. I was on the right track, and he definitely pushed me in the right direction.”
To end the season, Tilley will compete as part of a six-man MGA team in the biennial Gov. Hugh L. Carey Challenge Cup matches against counterparts from the Golfing Union of Ireland. The two-day affair starts Tuesday at Arcola Country Club in Paramus, N.J.
“It’s been a fun last few weeks,” Tilley said. “To get to finish this year at the Carey Cup, we have a really good team. A lot of good, young players, so it should be an exciting end to the year.”
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