Joseph Deraney won the 2023 Canadian Mid-Amateur Championship
The Algonquin Golf Course continued to test some of the best Mid-Amateur golfers for the fourth consecutive day, but nothing could stop Joseph Deraney as he rose to the challenge and finished at 10-under to capture the 2023 Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur title.
Starting his day tied for first, Deraney of Belden, Miss., got off to a hot start by making a birdie on the par-4 first hole. From there the 40-year-old never looked back, recording a total of six birdies for the day, shooting a final round 4-under 68.
“It’s so hard to win, it’s nice to be able to fall back on your experiences a couple times but its just always difficult to win. Getting out there today I hit a great first shot on the first hole to about two feet and got off to a quick start by making a birdie. I steadied the ship and made a solid 15-footer on four for birdie, then really just had a lot of good quality golf shots. I got another birdie on nine, about a five-footer and so I was able to just grab a lead, there were some struggles on six and seven for some of the other guys, so I knew I was able to grab a two-shot lead.
I played really solid on the back, three par fives and I thought with that I’d be able to hoist the trophy. I made a really solid birdie on 13, I three putted eleven, but I made a great par on ten which is by far the hardest hole out here. I didn’t look at too many of the leaderboards, but I felt like some of the guys were creeping back up on me, so I got a little fire under me and hit a couple more really good golf shots, then looked back and saw I had a four-shot lead, so I cruised on in,” said Deraney.
Deraney won by three strokes over Ryan Terry who also shot a final round 4-under 68 to place second. This is Deraney’s third time winning the Men’s Mid-Am with having captured the title in 2018 and 2019.
“I think after the first round I made too many bogeys, so really, how you win championships on difficult golf courses, is that you don’t make bogeys. I kept reiterating to myself that, if you make four birdies and no bogeys that’s four-under so I really stated playing more cautious. I was swinging aggressive but picking lines that were fifteen feet away from the flag, opposed to right at it, which always leads to success on difficult golf courses,” added Deraney.
In addition to the Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur title, Deraney has received an exemption into the 2023 U.S. Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship and the 2024 Men’s Amateur Championship.
“Winning this championship helps a lot, there’s no doubt about it. I didn’t play a ton in the summer, as I have three young kids and so with them being out of school we hang out and do the family stuff. This is the first event of six in kind of a nine-to-ten-week span and it’s perfect. This tournament is four days, allows me to get my feet wet and swinging well. Match play can be a little different when you catch a guy that’s just hot that day but its always nice to go into one of the biggest events of the year we have with a win and feel like you’re swinging well, handling the pressure, and closing out the victory when you need to. I’m looking forward to hopefully a really good fall, a few more W’s in there and just a lot of solid golf,” Deraney added.
Derek Meinhart of Mattoon, Ill., came into the final round tied for first and finished with an even par- 72 to place third overall. Meinhart got off to a tough start with a bogey on the par-4 sixth hole and a double bogey on the par-4 seventh hole. He didn’t let that stop him though, as he pushed through and carded a total of four birdies to finish 6-under for the championship.
Canadians Mike Landry of Fredericton N.B., and Derek Dalziel of London, Ont., finished tied for fourth at 5-under.
Deraney also won the Mid-Master division with Meinhart placing second. Rob Couture of Celina, Tex., placed third in the Mid-Master after shooting a final round 1-under 71, finishing 4-under for the championship.
On Tuesday, Team Ontario defended their inter-provincial title, securing the Bruce Forbes Trophy for a record 17th time in the 29-year history of the competition.
ABOUT THE
Canadian Mid-Amateur
72 hole stroke play championship.
Mid-Amateur
Any Male golfer who has reached their 25th birthday
by the first scheduled day of
the championship and the player must have a
handicap factor of 5.0 or less.
Mid-Master
Any Male golfer who has reached their 40th birthday
by the first scheduled day of
the championship and the player must have a
handicap factor of 5.0 or less.
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