Argentina’s Segundo Oliva Pinto, who became eligible for the U.S. Mid-Amateur on September 1 and at age 25 was the youngest player in the field, shared medalist honors with eventual champion Evan Beck. They tied at 8-under-par 133 for 36 holes: one round each at Kinloch Golf Club in Manakin-Sabot, Virginia, and at nearby Independence Golf Club.
That score was two strokes off the championship record set in 2021 by Yaroslav Merkulov at Sankaty Head Golf Club and Miacomet Golf Course on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts.
Oliva Pinto, the 2021 Southeastern Conference individual champion from the University of Arkansas, was the second consecutive Latin American to be U.S. Mid-Amateur medalist/co-medalist, following Jeronimo Esteve, of Puerto Rico.
“At some point, I would like to turn pro,” said Oliva Pinto, who won the Colonial Athletic Association individual title in 2019 with North Carolina-Wilmington before transferring to Arkansas for his final three collegiate seasons. “I want to get my game better first… Just keep improving and get more results. I have no rush right now.”
Instead of entering PGA Tour/Korn Ferry Tour Q-School or chasing paychecks on the mini-tour circuit, Oliva Pinto decided to become an entrepreneur with brother Tobias, two years his senior. Tobias, with an industrial engineering background, and Segundo created Hangry King, a barbecue kit that features a variety of tools “to flex and grill in style,” according to its website. The prototypes have been tested, and the two intend to bring the product to Amazon in November.
That venture freed up Oliva Pinto to play as much amateur golf as possible over the past 19 months, including a tie for eighth in the Latin America Amateur Championship in January in Panama. He also qualified for his second U.S. Amateur, missing the cut at Hazeltine National Golf Club. In 2020, he reached the round of 16 at Bandon Dunes before losing to eventual champion Tyler Strafaci, 1-down, when Oliva Pinto’s local caddie committed a costly loss-of-hole rules infraction on the 18th hole.
To prepare for his U.S. Mid-Amateur debut, Oliva Pinto won the Argentina Mid-Am, then flew from Buenos Aires to Virginia and continued his good form. He won in the first round, defeating Justin Kaplan of Houston, Texas, 1-up, but fell in the round of 32 to Will Minton of Raleigh, North Carolina, in a 19-hole thriller.
A key storyline entering the championship was Stewart Hagestad’s chance to make U.S. Mid-Amateur history.
A veteran of 31 USGA championships, Hagestad was bidding to join Nathan Smith as the only four-time winners of the Mid-Am. Hagestad, 33, a native Californian who recently relocated to southeast Florida, comfortably qualified for match play, tying for 12th in stroke play at 3-under 138. He then defeated Tyler McKeever of Atlanta, Georgia, 5 and 4, in the round of 64. His quest ended in the round of 32 when he lost to Will Davenport of Palm City, Florida, 3 and 2.
Perhaps the most interesting player in the field was runner-up Bobby Massa.
The 36-year-old Massa, a personal trainer in Dallas, Texas, who helps golfers of all abilities with speed training, played professionally for eight years before gaining amateur reinstatement in 2019.
Massa competed in his third U.S. Mid-Amateur, having made the quarterfinal round last year.
Earlier this summer, he advanced to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Amateur, where he lost to eventual champion Jose Luis Ballester.
RESULTS
Staff and wire reports