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Mari Miezwa, Bryan Hoops and Take Arizona Mid-Am Titles at Talking Stick Golf Club

Hoops Goes Wire-to-Wire for Arizona Mid-Amateur Title

Bryan Hoops took the first-round lead in the 2020 Arizona Mid-Amateur and never looked back, winning the three-day tournament with a score of 202 (-8; 67-68-67).

Hoops’ first round -3 (67) gave him a tie for the lead with Ryan Marks after the final day. Hoops followed up with a -2 (68) in the second round, again tied atop the leaderboard, but this time with friend Mike “Wags” Wagner. Just a week prior, Wagner beat Hoops by two strokes in the Senior Stroke Play Championship.

“We love to battle it out,” said Hoops. “He got the best of me on the front [at the Senior Stroke Play Championship], but today I reversed it and got back at him.”

Abe Candelaria (68-72-66), Mitchell Holmes (69-71-66), and Kristoffer Marshall (69-69-68) each tied for second place at -4.

Cory Perreault won the Net Division at +1 (75-64-72), with John Schaller six strokes back at +7 (69-72-76).

Hoops, an AGA tournament regular, will look to continue his winning ways at Falcon Amateur, played June 19-20 at Falcon Dunes Golf Club in Waddell, Ariz.

Miezwa Wins Inaugural Arizona Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship

Mari Miezwa (+8, 75-69-74) turned in a dominant performance at Talking Stick Golf Club’s O’odham Course, winning the first-ever Arizona Women’s Mid-Am Championship by nine strokes over Kim Eaton (+17; 86-71-70).

Miezwa’s tournament-low -1 (69) in her second round, which included four birdies, gave her a sizable cushion going into the final day. She was able to thwart Eaton’s strong comeback effort by making key putts.

“I’d say the putting was the strongest all three days,” said Miezwa. “I struggled with the driver the first day, but it got a little bit better the second day and a little bit better the third day as well. It’s nice to know that you have a couple rounds so that you can take something from the first round and apply it to the second and third.”

“The first AGA Women’s Mid Am Championship was a great success,” said Le Ann Finger, Senior Director of Tournaments and Championships for the Arizona Golf Association. “It gives the best women amateur golfers in Arizona another chance to compete. We look forward to this tournament growing in size for years to come.”

Miezwa will look to keep the hot play going in the Arizona Women’s State Amateur Match Play Championship at Desert Mountain’s Outlaw Course June 25-28.