From the start, this year’s RDGA Mid Amateur Championship was going to be somewhat different. For the first time, Churchville’s Mill Creek Golf Club was hosting the top 25-and-older players for the final RDGA Championship event of the season.
Also, for the first time in many years, eight-time District Mid Am champion Jim Scorse of Stafford was not in the field – nor was defending champ Tim Saur of Oak Hill. In fact, three-time Mid Amateur champion Ken Starkweather of Ridgemont was the only past champion to enter this year’s field.
But make no mistake – the starting field of the 2023 RDGA Mid Amateur Championship was stacked with many top players in the 25-and-older category, including Troy Allen of Caledonia, Taylor Rising of Brook-Lea, brothers Josh and Brandon Desain of Wayne Hills, as well as Alec Drouin, Jonathan Spur, Steve Paladino and Jamie Demino – all of whom would finish in the top 10.
Paving the way for the next generation of RDGA Mid Amateur champions was Brook-Lea’s Kevin Lewis, who captured the Championship for the first time in dramatic fashion, battling Allen down to the final hole in Saturday’s second and final round to claim his first District Championship of any kind since winning the 2006 RDGA Junior Championship.
Friday’s Round 1 opened under threatening skies that kept the field – and course – wet throughout the day. The rain, however, did not keep Lewis and Allen from challenging each other right from the start.
Paired together – along with Lewis’ fellow Brook-Lea clubmate Rising – the threesome made the best of the conditions with Lewis and Allen each posting 2-under-par rounds of 69 and Rising finishing the day with an even-par 71.
The threesome outpaced the rest of the contending field, which included a logjam of seven players at 4-over-par 75 – including past champion Ken Starkweather.
Saturday’s final round at Mill Creek opened under optimal conditions that included plenty of sun, with temperatures in the mid-70s – and a few players took advantage of the conditions to post low numbers.
Two players – brothers Josh and Brandon Desain – actually posted identical scores of 3-under-par 68 in Round 2 – the lowest rounds of the Championship. However, the low rounds were not enough to overcome the scores of 83 and 84 that the brothers had posted in Round 1.
Still, the resurgent Desain brothers managed to advance into the top-10 with their low scores on Saturday.
By the end of the day, though, the Championship came down to the two players who began the final round tied for the lead.
With Allen taking a brief 2-shot lead at the turn, Lewis turned it on on the back nine, posting four birdies – including the clinching birdie on the par-4 18th hole.
Lewis is the second District Champion this year to have previously won the RDGA Junior Championship, including Jason Lohwater in the RDGA District Championship at Ravenwood. The former St. Bonaventure golfer will now see his name etched on the same trophy as many other local greats to have won RDGA titles.
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