ARDMORE, Pa. — At 63, Mike McCoy is the oldest player in the field at this week’s U.S. Amateur, exempt thanks to his victory last year in the U.S. Senior Amateur.
To help put this into context, consider that both his playing partners during stroke-play qualifying the last two days, 18-year-old U.S. Junior champ Noah Maclauchlan and 39-year-old U.S. Mid-Amateur champ Brandon Holtz, weren’t alive when McCoy played in his first U.S. Amateur in 1984 at Oak Tree. (The average age of the 312 players in the field this week is 22.85.)
Merion marks the West Des Moines, Iowa, native’s 21st start in the U.S. Amateur and 74th in a USGA championship, easily the most of any competitor in Pennsylvania. He’s also the only golfer among the 312 qualifiers to have played in the U.S. Amateur the last time it was held at Merion in 2005 (also before Maclauchlan was born).
Unfortunately for McCoy, experience alone wasn’t enough to make it to match play, 75 and 74, having him calling it a tournament on Tuesday.
But that didn’t stop McCoy from having more fun than arguably anyone. USGA cameras caught him during a practice round, Pine Valley hat, Seminole polo, enjoying a cigar.
It’s a moment that captured the fancy of Golf Twitter.
“It’s an honor to be here. You don’t turn down a chance to play in the U.S. Amateur,” McCoy said. “I knew it was going to be hard coming in, but I wanted to give it my best.”
His last appearance was 2019 at Pinehurst, where he played in the field along with his son Nate. At that point, he figured his days competing in the USGA’s oldest championship were over, something he was content with.
A retired insurance agent, McCoy has been a fixture in amateur golf for decades, earning his status back in the late 1980s after a brief pro career. He’s won the Iowa Amateur six times (and been the Iowa GA player of the year 11 times), the Iowa Mid-Am six times, the Coleman Invitational at Seminole three times and the Crump Cup at Pine Valley (where he is a member) four times. His play earned him a selection on to the 2015 U.S. Walker Cup team and his résumé resulted in captaining the victorious U.S. squad at St. Andrews in 2023.
How has the amateur game changed over time? The answer seems obvious but McCoy is direct with his observation.
“Younger and better. Stronger, too. There’s much more power in the game. They’re much younger and much more seasoned players. They’ve got all the shots already at 18, 19, 21 years old. They’re ready. Some of these kids will probably win Tour events within the next two or three years. You’re seeing it.”
McCoy still loves playing and practicing. And with his victory at the U.S. Senior Amateur, he became the first player to win that title and the U.S. Mid-Amateur in his career. Plus, it also comes with a two-year exemption into the U.S. Amateur, which means McCoy already has a spot saved for next year at Oak Hill.
“I’m looking forward to it.”
Why wouldn’t he be?
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
