Former Korn Ferry Tour Pros Lead Mid-Amateur Quarterfinals
Two 37-year-old former Korn Ferry Tour players are making waves at the 44th U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship, where they’re now just three wins away from earning coveted spots in next year’s Masters and U.S. Open.
Justin Hueber and Christian Brand, who have a combined 154 Korn Ferry Tour starts between them, have reached the quarterfinals at Troon Country Club in Scottsdale, Arizona. They’re part of a surprising trend – five of the eight quarterfinalists are reinstated amateurs who previously played professionally.
Hueber, from Fort Wayne, Indiana, advanced by defeating Grant Smith and Michael Buttacavoli on Tuesday. He’ll face Brandon Holtz in Wednesday morning’s quarterfinal match. What’s remarkable is that Hueber’s amateur status was reinstated so recently that he doesn’t even have an official World Amateur Golf Ranking yet.
Brand’s path to the quarterfinals has been particularly impressive. The Hurricane, West Virginia native overcame 2-down deficits against both Nahum Mendoza and Marc Dull to advance. He’ll now face defending champion Evan Beck. Brand, who played collegiately at Marshall, turned pro in 2012 and made 67 Korn Ferry Tour starts before his pro career ended in 2019. He regained amateur status last year and reached the Round of 16 at the 2024 U.S. Amateur.
The other reinstated amateurs in the quarterfinals include:
• Bobby Massa, 37, last year’s runner-up to Beck. The Dallas-based performance coach played five years of professional golf before walking away in 2015 due to driver yips. Reinstated as an amateur in 2019, Massa defeated Matt Liston and Ryan O’Rear on Tuesday and will face Christian Cavaliere in the quarters.
Cavaliere, who owns soft-goods company Tremont Sporting Co., has been on a roll this year with wins at the Azalea Invitational and New York State Open. He pulled off the tournament’s biggest upset by taking down three-time U.S. Mid-Amateur champion Stewart Hagestad in the Round of 16.
• Parker Edens, 35, currently serves as the head men’s golf coach at South Dakota State. Edens spent four seasons as a pro, including a stint as a conditional Korn Ferry Tour member in 2017, before transitioning to coaching in 2018. After victories over Stephen Behr Jr. and Chris Kamin, he’ll face Jeg Coughlin III in the quarterfinals.
• Brandon Holtz, 38, took an unusual path to golf. He played basketball at Illinois State before pursuing professional golf after graduating in 2009. Holtz retired from pro golf in 2015 and regained his amateur status just last year.
The stories of these former professionals highlight the unique nature of the U.S. Mid-Amateur, which has become a second chance for many talented players who found that life on pro tours wasn’t sustainable long-term. Now they’re competing for one of amateur golf’s most prestigious titles – and a chance to tee it up at Augusta National next April.
