Andrew Bailey, a 34-year-old sales manager at golf clothing company Holderness & Bourne, has not to get to be at the 2026 US Open at Shinnecock Hills. He chose to be, volunteering his time to help his brand in the merchandise center.
Bailey will also be in attendance at next year’s US Open at Pebble Beach – but in a markedly different capacity: as one of 156 players in the field.
Bailey’s rags-to-riches story — well, the rags-to-riches story became a reality Thursday when he won the 45th US Mid-Amateur at Sand Valley Resort in Nekoosa, Wis., defeated Nate Smith, 5 and 4, in the 36-hole final.
To the winner go the spoils, and to the Mid-Am, those spoils include exemptions in the next 10 Mid-Ams and two US Amateurs; a possible invitation to next year Masters; and, yes, a golden ticket to next year’s US Open, which in 2027 visits California’s seaside cathedral known as Pebble Beach Golf Links.
Bailey, who is from Cleveland and was playing in his 12th USGA championship, looked like he was still in shock in the moments after this victory. “I always think I’m trying to prepare for the next shot and there will be a match tomorrow that I’m not aware of,” he said.
That will not be the case. Bailey ensured as much when he birdied eight of the last 16 holes of the match at Sand Valley. Lido course to close Smith on the 32nd green.
Through the first 16 holes, a convincing victory for Bailey seemed anything but a certainty, as at that point Smith had a 2-up lead. But then Bailey leans on the advice he picked up from a golf friend, Mark Costanza, who was a finalist at the 2021 Mid-Am: You won’t win it if you play tight. You have to play free and free.
“I think I played right this morning and I recognized it,” Bailey said after his win.
Then came more advice, from one of Bailey’s members at Canterbury Golf Club near Cleveland, whom Bailey met between morning and afternoon.
“It’s like your game looks really good,” Bailey said. “It’s like, let the putts drop. And so I just focused on feeling the putter head more, not trying to force it so much, and I’m glad it worked.”
Among those impressed by Bailey’s game: his opponent. “I didn’t do anything to lose,” Smith said later. “He just played an outstanding round of golf this afternoon.”
That Bailey, who previously played professionally, was on the field at all can, in part, be traced to a stroke of misfortune.
After playing at Cleveland State, Bailey made a run at the pro game, playing on the mini-tours. But then, in 2015, he injured his wrist after falling 20 feet in a climbing accident.
“A pretty serious broken wrist,” Bailey said. “I tried to play an event after it was healed and just said, this is going to be too long of a road.”
He was done with the golf pro. Bailey took health care work for a couple of years before moving to Holderness & Bourne.
The position took him to golf properties across the country, including several visits to Sand Valley.
“I’ve been coming here for six years for work and I’ve never played golf,” he said. “I just came here to sell. So to spend a little over a week here playing golf and to win here, I feel like you know some good karma on my part for putting in the hours.”
Job well done, indeed.
