Lake Charles, LA — August 16, 2021
Hank Shaheen of Singer, Louisiana fired a five-under par 66 on Monday at Contraband Bayou Golf Club to earn medalist honors in the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship Qualifier. Shaheen, fresh off a runner-up finish in this past weekend’s Louisiana Mid-Amateur Championship, continued his impressive streak of golf this summer. His stellar 66 included five birdies on holes #5, #7, #9, #10, and a fantastic finish with a birdie on the par 4 18th finishing hole. Shaheen was the only player in the field without a bogey. It was a Louisiana sweep on Monday as fellow Lake Charles Country Club member Matt Nicholas grabbed the other qualifying spot in a sudden death playoff over Jacob Walsh of Spring, Texas. Nicholas and Walsh carded rounds of three-under par 68 to get into the playoff, and Nicholas won the playoff with a par at the par 4 2nd hole. Second alternate is Mike Stackus of Zachary, Louisiana who shot a two-under par 69 in the qualifying round.
Shaheen and Nicholas now advance to the 40th U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship, to be conducted at Sankaty Head Golf Club in Siasconset, Massachusetts, September 25-30. The stroke play co-host venue is Miacomet Golf Course in Nantucket. Sankaty Head Golf Club opened in 1923 and was designed by Emerson Armstrong (bunker revisions by Eugene “Skip” Wogan in 1928; revisions by A.W. Tillinghast in 1928; renovations in 2017 by Jim Urbina and C.J. Penrose). Sankaty Head will play to a par 70 at 6,652.
The USGA accepted a record 5,339 entries for this championship and a field of 264 will compete in Massachusetts. LGA Member Derek Busby of Ruston is exempt from qualifying.
The Tom Fazio designed Contraband Bayou course, which hosted the Louisiana Golf Association Mid-Amateur Championship this past weekend, played to a par of 71 at 6,704 yards on Monday. The golf course took on ten inches of rain in the past 48 hours and course conditions were soft, making the course play longer than the listed yardage.
Click here for final results.