McCoy Moves Into Final, Eyes Historic Mid-Am/Senior Am Double

After knocking off past USGA champions in two of the first four rounds of match play in the 70th U.S. Senior Amateur at Oak Hills in San Antonio, Texas, Mike Sposa once again drew another previous champion in the semifinal round, squaring off against 2013 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion Mike McCoy.

The match was as expected; close throughout, with no player taking more than a 2-up lead. McCoy, 62, of Des Moines, Iowa, struck first, winning the first hole with a par. The two veteran competitors would tie the next eight holes, with each player playing 1-under golf during that stretch. A conceded birdie for Sposa, who regained his amateur status in January after a career on the PGA Tour and PGA Tour Champions in which he had one top-five finish, on the par-5 10th hole would bring the match back to tied.

After pars by each competitor on the 11th hole, McCoy would create the biggest advantage of the match, winning back-to-back holes with consecutive birdies to take a 2-up lead. But Sposa, who came from behind to win both his Round of 64 and quarterfinals matches, would get one back with a par on the par-4 16th. With a chance to tie the match once again, the 56-year-old from Spartanburg, S.C., would come up just short of a 25-foot birdie putt on 17. He would birdie the par-3 18th hole, just to be matched by McCoy’s fifth birdie of the round, a 7-footer to seal a 1-up win.

“I really don't want to get ahead of myself to be honest with you,” said McCoy, who could become the first in USGA history to win both the U.S. Mid-Amateur and U.S. Senior Amateur. “[I’m] just going to expect a tough match and just kind of keep the same mindset and just keep playing aggressive… I've just played pretty good. I'm driving it in play most of the time and my iron play has been pretty good, making a few putts. Everything is in good order.”

Earlier in the day, McCoy defeated high school golf coach Michael Anderson, 1 up, while Sposa beat 2019 champion Bob Royak, 1 up, in the quarterfinals. Sposa’s run to the semis included wins over two Senior Amateur champions, the back-to-back medalist as well as the 2023 runner-up.

“I don't really have much to say other than it was a hell of a match,” said Sposa. “It's still about executing shots and applying pressure and taking advantage of their mistakes when it allows. That's it. There's no other way to say it. That's it. I played good today. I think I shot 2-under par. He played better. That's that.”

On the other side of the bracket, and after draining a 30-footer for birdie on the 18th hole to win his quarterfinal match in dramatic fashion, Greg Sanders, 61, of Anthem, Ariz., defeated Bob Niger, 65, of Roseville, Calif, in the semifinal round.

Sanders, a retired petroleum engineer, struck first by winning the opening hole before Niger responded with a birdie to tie the match. Sanders would win four of the next five holes thanks to birdies on Nos. 3 and 5. Niger, the 2025 Northern California Golf Association Player of the Year and 2012 Arizona Senior Open champion, responded by winning the next three holes, highlighted by his eagle on the par-5 10th hole to cut the deficit to one. Sanders, who has won the Alaska State Amateur 11 times, regained control with a birdie on the following hole and never looked back, closing out the match on the 16th hole. Sanders and Niger only tied three holes in the match.

“I will say, though, starting about three months ago, I found something,” said Sanders. “I'm actually still trying to figure out what ‘it’ is, and I did, and I haven't always played perfect, but I've been playing pretty good, and this is just part of that roll, and I'm supposed to just let it continue.”

In the morning quarterfinals, Sanders who held a 3-up lead through 12 holes but found himself tied through 17, held off Jacobo Cestino, of Spain, 1 up. Niger beat Joe Sawaia, of Henderson, Nev., 2 up with a closing birdie on the 18th hole, his third of the match.

“I felt like I hit the ball pretty well,” said Niger. “I felt like mentally I was in good control of my nerves. I kind of went into the week with the idea that I was just going to swing easy and smooth, and I kind of carried that through the whole week, and it was working well until today.”

What's Next?
Thursday’s 18-hole championship match will commence at 7:45 a.m. CDT. Admission is free, and spectators are encouraged to attend.

Notable

• Both finalists are exempt into the 2026 U.S. Senior Open at Scioto Country Club, in Columbus, Ohio, and next month’s U.S. Mid-Amateur at Troon Country Club, in Scottdale, Ariz.
  
  
• The two semifinal losers, Mike Sposa and Bob Niger, each received bronze medals and are exempt into the next two U.S. Senior Amateur Championships at Baltimore (Md.) Country Club (East Course) and Seattle (Wash.) Golf Club.
  
  
• McCoy is looking to become the first player in USGA history to win both the U.S. Mid-Amateur and U.S. Senior Amateur.
  
  
• For the first time in the history of the championship, which dates to 1955, all four quarterfinal matches went to the 18th hole.
  
  
• With Jacobo Cestino, of Spain, falling short in the quarterfinals, the U.S. Senior Amateur remains the only USGA championship without an international champion.
  
  
• The last USGA champion to have ties with the state of Alaska was Kathy Hartwiger (2002 Women’s Mid-Amateur) who lived in the state in her teenage years.

Quotable

“Boy, I'm really excited to be in the finals. There's some good players out there, and how did I do that? I am still wondering actually that… This is a happy surprise.” – Greg Sanders on making his first appearance in the U.S. Senior Amateur final

“I had 160, figured it was playing 155, and I felt like maybe there was a pinch of helping wind. I just hit a really solid 9-iron, and I didn't want to finesse one in there. I wanted to hit it hard because he obviously stuffed it in there. Yeah, it was a good shot under the circumstances. – Mike McCoy on his match-sealing birdie on the 18th hole

“It's hard to win these, you know. I've played in a lot of them. They're hard to win. It's a chance, so you try and make the most of it.” – Mike McCoy on his mindset going into tomorrow’s final round

“So probably one of the best parts of my game has been sometimes making a spectacular shot from underneath trees or out of the rough. [It] can be demoralizing if you're the opponent because they think I'm in jail and I've been able to get out of jail a few times.” – Sanders on what he thinks is the strongest part of his game

“I don't know how many three-putts I had. I must have had close to 15 of them in the tournament. It's hard to get to this level and make those kind of mistakes and think you're going to move on.” – Bob Niger reflecting on his afternoon matchup

“Fortunately, he's one of my great friends and now we'll have something to talk about for years. I'm going to have to get payback at some point, otherwise this is going to get pretty one-sided. But he's as tough as a two-dollar steak.” – Mike Sposa on playing his good friend Mike McCoy

"It means a lot, because I've had this championship on my mind since I turned 50... It's a championship that I very much wanted to come play. This is the first year I've been able to try and qualify for this championship since I just turned 55, and so I was fortunate to be able to compete this week and represent Spain. To be the first Spanish player that competes in this championship is, of course, something I'm proud of, but I also understand that with how hard it is to qualify, it's not very easy for there to have been a Spaniard before." – Jacobo Cestino on his week at the U.S. Senior Amateur