Loar, Fryatt, France, Braaten Qualify for U.S. Mid Ams

More and more, the men and women are playing the same courses on the same days for important events and that was the case at Red Rock Country Club for qualifiers for the U.S. Mid-Amateurs. Nicholas Loar, from Rockwell, Texas, fired a 3-under-par 69 to lead three men’s qualifiers and Ed Fryatt and Marc France also qualified. Las Vegas’ Kim Braaten earned a spot in the women’s qualifier with a three-over-par 75. — By Bill Bowman, Las Vegas Golf Insider staff.

MEN’S

The three men qualified for the 2018 U.S. Mid-Amateur that will be held Sept. 21-27, 2018, in Charlotte, N.C. and Loar is anxious to make his mark.

Loar had five birdies on the day, including one on the par-5 18th to seal his spot. “I’m excited to qualify,” Loar said. “It’s my first time trying to qualify for the Mid-Am. I tried to qualify for the U.S. Amateur in Florida this year but finished fifth and they took the top three.”

Loar was in town for the qualifier as well as to take a lesson from TPC Summerlin’s Joe Mayo. Mayo is the instructor for Edward Loar, a Web.com player and Nicholas’ brother. “I started taking lessons from Joe about six months ago after talking with my brother,” Nicholas said.

Edward Loar is 57th in the Web.com standings and has qualified for the season-ending finals in hopes of earning a PGA Tour card for 2018. “He’s got a lot more stress than I do,” Nicholas said. “It’s fun for me but for him, it’s his livelihood.”

For Nicholas, the qualifier was definitely a step in the right direction.

“Today was a nice day to put my game under the gun and see what happens,” he said.

He said the 18th definitely helped his cause. “I hit a good second shot onto the green and had an easy two-putt birdie.”

Fryatt birdied the last three holes in his round but came up a shot short of winning while France also birdied the 18th to come within a shot of winning.

Bret Parker is the first alternate while Josh Goldstein is the second alternate.

2018 Mid-Am Qualifier

At Red Rock Country Club

Nicholas Loar, 69

Edward Fryatt, 70

Marc France, 70

Bret Parker, 71

Josh Goldstein, 72

WOMEN’S

Braaten, coming off a four-year tournament hiatus, breezed to the victory in her qualifier as she won by nine strokes. She beat Alejandra Schnider (first alternate after a playoff) and Chris Amendt (second alternate). The 2018 Women’s U.S. Mid-Amateur will be held Sept. 21-27, 2018, at Norwood Hills Country Club in St. Louis, Mo.

Braaten said it’s nice to get back into tournament golf. “I haven’t played a competitive round in over four years,” she said. “I didn’t know what to expect but all things considered, I’m happy with how I played.”

She’s spent the last four years on Maui working at a resort.

But, she isn’t new to Mid-Am qualifiers. In fact, she’s qualified for the Mid-Am on three prior occasions.

“My last time was in 2014,” she said. “The best I’ve done is to qualify for match play. Now, I’d like to get further than that. Don’t get me wrong….I’d like to win, but mainly I’m just looking to keep improving. I want to stay calm, have fun and enjoy the experience.”

She’s excited about her game. “I’ve been playing pretty well,” she said. “And I played well today but got a little tight on holes six through nine.”

But overall, it was a solid performance.

“I drove the ball in play,” she said. “I hit it where I wanted to and when I missed it, I missed it in good spots. And my putter on the back nine really got me through it.”

WOMEN

2018 Mid-Am Qualifier

at Red Rock Country Club

Kim Braaten, 75

Alejandra Schnider, 84

Chris Amendt, 84