In deepest run by a longtime Coloradan at U.S. Mid-Am since 2014, Parker Edens falls in quarterfinals to 2-time champ Stewart Hagestad
By Gary Baines – 9/13/2023
Former Greeley resident Parker Edens has gone where few longtime Coloradans have in the U.S. Mid-Amateur. But Wednesday afternoon he encountered one of the really big dogs in the 25-and-older amateur set.
After coming back to win his Wednesday morning round-of-16 match in Scarborough, N.Y., Edens met two-time U.S. Mid-Am champ Stewart Hagestad of Newport Beach, Calif., in the quarterfinals.
Hagestad has not only won the event in 2016 and ’21, but he came into the quarters owning a 25-4 match-play record at the Mid-Am. He recently returned from St. Andrew in Scotland, where for the fourth time he helped the U.S. win the Walker Cup against the best amateurs from Great Britain & Ireland.
The 32-year-old is ranked 16th in the world among amateurs — of any age.
For all his very good play during this Mid-Am, Edens found this too big a hurdle to overcome, which leaves him in some good company. Hagestad broke a tie with birdies on the 16th and 17th holes to defeat the former Colorado State University golfer 2 and 1 on Wednesday afternoon to reach the Mid-Am semifinals for the fifth time. That includes an appearance in the semis four years ago at Colorado Golf Club in Parker, where he lost to eventual champion Lukas Michel.
“(Edens) played really well,” Hagestad said. “Wow, what a great ball striker he is. Thankfully, it was just enough to get the job done.”
Still, Edens advanced further in the Mid-Am than any longtime Coloradan since Michael Harrington of Colorado Springs also made the quarters in 2014. Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Rick DeWitt also qualified for the final eight, in 2006.
Bill Loeffler had the best run ever by a Coloradan in the U.S. Mid-Am, winning the national title in 1986.
This year’s Mid-Amateur started with a 264-player field.
Hagestad never trailed in Wednesday’s match, but after he held a 2-up lead through 13 holes, Edens won Nos. 14 and 15 with birdies to knot the match. But Hagestad turned the tables by winning the following two holes, with a birdie on 16 and a victory-clinching par on No. 17.
Edens, a reinstated amateur who needed to survive a playoff to make match play, was under par once again on Wednesday afternoon, finishing 2 under for 17 holes.
“It just proves to me that I’m doing all the right things to get better, keep improving and being able to be out here and belong,” Edens said.
The run to the quarterfinals caps a summer in which Edens finished runner-up in the Inspirato Colorado Open and won the South Dakota Golf Association Match Play and the CGA Four-Ball (with Jimmy Makloski).
After only briefly trailing in either of his first two matches at the Mid-Am, Edens had to rally in the round of 16 to advance. He was 2 down after nine holes against Jason Bataille of Bridgewater, N.J. But Edens came back in a big way, winning four consecutive holes (10-13), all with birdies, and would remain 2 up for the rest of the match in a 2-and-1 victory. He finished 4 under par for 17 holes.
As for Edens’ day job, the men’s golf head coach at South Dakota State should be back for his team’s next college tournament, at the Kansas State Wildcat Invitational in Manhattan, Kan., Sunday and Monday. SDSU opened the season with a tournament Sept. 3-4.
Results of players with strong Colorado ties at the U.S. Mid-Amateur in Scarborough & Scarsdale, N.Y.:
MATCH PLAY QUARTERFINALS WEDNESDAY
Stewart Hagestad, Newport Beach, Calif., def. former Greeley resident Parker Edens, 2 and 1
MATCH PLAY ROUND OF 16 WEDNESDAY
Former Greeley resident Parker Edens def. Jason Bataille, Bridgewater, N.J., 2 and 1
MATCH PLAY ROUND OF 32 TUESDAY
Former Greeley resident Parker Edens def. Preston Dembowiak, Kernersville, N.C., 2 and 1
Nick Maccario, Haverhill, Mass., def. former CSU golfer Bryce Hanstad, Edina, Minn., 2 up
MATCH PLAY ROUND OF 64 MONDAY/TUESDAY
Former CSU golfer Bryce Hanstad, Edina, Minn., def. Justin Bryant, St. Louis, 2 and 1
Nate McCoy, Ankeny, Iowa def. Charlie Soule, Denver, 1 up
Former Greeley resident Parker Edens def. Brady Shivers, Lubbock, Texas, 5 and 3
Preston Dembowiak, Kernersville, N.C., def. Cole Nygren, Longmont, 3 and 1
STROKE PLAY SATURDAY, SUNDAY AND MONDAY
Advance to Match Play
16. Former CSU golfer Bryce Hanstad 73-66—139
42. Cole Nygren, Longmont 76-67—143
51. Former Greeley resident Parker Edens 69-75—144 (via playoff)
51. Charlie Soule, Denver 70-74–144 (via playoff)
Failed to Advance to Match Play
MC. Jon Lindstrom, Denver 69-77—146
MC. Pat Grady, Westminster 71-77—148
MC. Nicklaus Baines, Denver 76-73–149
MC. Pete Mangold, Denver 75-77—152
MC. Former UCCS golfer Jon Olson 78-76—154
MC. Jimmy Cartwright, Berthoud 81-77—158
For all the results, CLICK HERE.
About the Writer: Gary Baines has covered golf in Colorado continuously since 1983. He was a sports writer at the Daily Camera newspaper in Boulder, then the sports editor there, and has written regularly for ColoradoGolf.org since 2009. He was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 2022. He owns and operates ColoradoGolfJournal.com