Brandon Holtz won the U.S. Mid-Amateur last month for the biggest win of his career, but his title, and a resume of players who have advanced deep into championships, has created a buzz in the golf world.
Should former professional golfers be allowed to regain amateur status?
The newest Mid-Am champion was a guest on this week’s episode of Golf’s Subpar Podcast, and part of the conversation focused on that controversial topic.
The US Mid-Am is one of the USGA’s signature championships and is open to amateurs age 25 and older with a handicap index of 2.4 or less. Any professional may reapply for amateur status as long as it is approved by the USGA. However, not everyone was satisfied with the fact that 14 of the final 16 players in this year’s mid-round competition were former professionals.
But Holtz wants to give a voice to those who don’t think former pros should be given amateur status.
“In my opinion, US Mid-Am was basically built for this. … I’m a working guy, I’ve got some kids, I’ve got a wife. For me, as far as competition goes, what else am I going to play for?” Holtz said. “A normal city event in Bloomington, a town of 160,000 people? Don’t get me wrong, it’s fun and great, but what else could you play if you didn’t have mornings?”
Holtz, 38, played college basketball at Illinois State University and spent six years aiming to play professional golf before regaining amateur status in 2024. He is currently a real estate agent and lives in Bloomington, Illinois.
“From 2010 to 2014, I played full-time, definitely if you want to call it full-time. I worked, traveled on my own, and did everything on my own with a little help from my dad,” he said. “But we’re losing money. I’ve maintained my (professional status), but I’ve had to have the flexibility of my job to be able to go out and say, ‘Hey, wife, I’m going to go out this weekend and hopefully I can bring home a few bucks.'”
However, there are no universal rules for all professionals seeking to regain amateur status. The USGA reviews each application and makes decisions based on factors such as length of career and success.
However, Subpar co-host Drew Stoltz said it’s not a perfect system either.
“There comes a point where what you did 10 years ago for a job no longer matters,” Storz said. “There’s a point where it’s almost irrelevant. I’m not saying you should be able to play amateur events the first year after playing professionally, but once you start working and have kids and start playing once a week, I played a lot of golf nine years ago, but it feels like a lot has happened since then.”
Holtz added, “Rules are rules, right? Follow the rules and they stay that way.”
