After battling through a 13-man playoff to simply get into the match-play portion of the 40th U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship at Sankaty Head Golf Club in Siasconset, former St. John’s Prep star Nick Maccario made his opportunity count on Tuesday by winning two matches to advance to the Round of 16.
Maccario now puts himself in prime position to battle for the Mid-Amateur title, which would give him an exemption into the 2022 Masters Tournament and the 2022 U.S. Open Championship if he were to win.
Maccario, who entered match play as the No. 58 seed after advancing through the stroke-play playoff, notched a marquee win in the Round of 64 when he knocked off No. 6 Daniel Campbell of Bellingham, Wash. by a score of 2-and-1.
After Campbell took a 2-up lead through four holes, Maccario battled back with wins on the fifth and sixth to tie things up. The two traded holes back and forth until the 13th hole, when Maccario made back-to-back birdies to take a 2-up lead of his own. Despite Campbell winning the 16th hole to extend the match, Maccario came up big with a birdie on the par-5 17th hole to take home the 2-and-1 win.
The victory pushed Maccario into the Round of 32, where he took on No. 38 Jay Moore of Lincoln, Neb. The momentum from Maccario’s first win must have carried over to the afternoon, as the former Prep star rolled to a 5-and-4 victory after making five birdies through 14 holes — including four birdies in the final seven holes to secure the win.
Maccario will now go up against No. 54 seed Brad Nurski of St. Joseph, Mo. in the Round of 16 Wednesday morning. The pair will tee off at 8:40 a.m., with the winner moving on to the quarterfinal round on Wednesday afternoon.
