2016 Masters Tournament: Amateurs in the Field
Sammy Schmitz is sort of a Tin Cup story. He got his ticket to the 2016 Masters punched when he won the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship.
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The US Mid-Am is a USGA event, the leading amateur championship for golfers over the age of 25. While there is no gender restriction, there has never been a female US Mid-Am Champion. (As an aside, it would be interesting to see if the automatic invitation to the Masters would be extended to a female champion, should there be one in the future.)
The 35-year old from Farmington, Minn., a regional director for a health care services company who played collegiate golf for St. John’s University, made an ace on the 33rd hole of a day-long, 36-hole duel with Marc Dull. He won the hole, of course, and that put him dormie, 3 up and 3 to go. He won the match and the championship by halving the 34th hole.
Getting the invite and paying the bill are two different issues. How does a 35-year old amateur golfer with a family and all that implies cover about $30,000 in expenses for a week at the 2016 Masters? Sammy Schmitz’s wife launched a GoFundMe campaign to pick up the tab! Good for her!
Next: 2016 Masters Betting Guide
"As exciting of a time this is for my family, it has also become a stressful one as we have just learned that in order to make this dream a reality it will cost our family close to an estimated $30,000. Being a father of two beautiful girls and having bills and daily expenses has made it very difficult to find the income to make his dream of playing in the Masters come true. I’m trying to raise money to make this lifetime dream become a reality! – Natalie Schmitz"