Release courtesy of the USGA
Two-time USGA champion and Virginia Golf Hall of Famer Marvin “Vinny” Giles helped found Kinloch Golf Club in Manakin-Sabot, with the idea of creating a world-class facility in suburban Richmond.
That philosophy included attracting national championships. For the second time in the club’s relatively young history – it opened in 2001 – Kinloch Golf Club has been chosen as the venue for a USGA championship. Following a successful 2011 U.S. Senior Amateur Championship, the club will host the 40th U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship from Sept. 12-17, 2020.
Giles and Richmond-best Lester George co-designed Kinloch Golf Club, which is 20 miles outside of Richmond. The course winds through a remote setting featuring a heavily wooded outward nine with an inward nine dominated by a 70-acre lake that factors heavily on the 18th hole.
Giles won the 1972 U.S. Amateur – the last of eight contested at 72 holes of stroke play – and 37 years later he claimed the U.S. Senior Amateur, making it the longest span between titles in USGA history.
“The USGA is pleased to return to Kinloch Golf Club and to bring this championship to the venue for the first time,” said Stuart Francis, USGA Championship Committee chairman. “The U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship consistently identifies the world’s best mid-amateur players. With its risk-reward holes, Kinloch will challenge the players to think and execute in their quest to hoist the Robert T. Jones Memorial Trophy.”
In 2011, Louis Lee joined his brother, Stan, as a U.S. Senior Amateur champion when he converted a 4-foot par putt on the 18th green to edge Philip Pleat, 1 up. Defending champion Paul Simson earned medalist honors after a 36-hole score of 139.
“We are proud and excited to host one of golf’s most prestigious amateur competitions,” said Jonathan Ireland, general manager of Kinloch. “We are thrilled to welcome back the USGA, which always puts on a world-class event. We know Kinloch will present a challenge to test every aspect of the competitors’ games amid an incredible backdrop.”
Nearby Independence Golf Club, a public facility in Midlothian, will serve as the stroke-play co-host for the national championship for players 25 and older.
Independence Golf Club was designed by Tom Fazio in 2001 and redesigned by George in 2014, leading to it being named one of Golf Digest’s Top 10 Best Remodels in the country in 2015. Fazio also designed a nine-hole short course to complement the championship course.
The 2020 U.S. Mid-Amateur will be the 21st USGA championship in Virginia and the first since Laurel Hill Golf Club in Lorton hosted the 2013 U.S. Amateur Public Links. It will be the second U.S. Mid-Amateur conducted in the state following the 2000 championship won by Greg Puga at The Homestead in Hot Springs.
The U.S. Mid-Amateur was first played in 1981. The championship is open to amateur golfers age 25 and older with a Handicap Index® not exceeding 3.4. The winner of the championship receives the Robert T. Jones Jr. Memorial Trophy and as of 2017 earns an exemption into the U.S. Open. The 2018 U.S. Mid-Amateur will be played Sept. 22-27 at Charlotte (N.C.) Country Club. The 2019 championship will be played Sept. 14-19 at Colorado Golf Club in Parker, Colo.
Julia Pine is a manager of championship communications for the USGA. Email her at jpine@usga.org.