The Real McCoy: Historic USGA Double for Iowa Legend

The Frederick L. Dold Trophy may well be heading to one of golf’s most storied stages. Michael McCoy, one of just 29 men to ever captain the USA Walker Cup Team, claimed the 70th U.S. Senior Amateur Championship on Thursday at Oak Hills Country Club, defeating Greg Sanders, 3 and 2, in the 18-hole final to etch his name into history as the first player to capture both the U.S. Mid-Amateur and U.S. Senior Amateur titles.

His victory comes just days before he and a host of fellow Walker Cup alumni make their way to Cypress Point Club, in Pebble Beach, Calif., where the 50th Walker Cup Match will be contested Sept. 6-7.

For the fifth time in six match-play rounds this week, McCoy wasted no time seizing the early edge, rolling in a birdie on the opening par 4 to go 1 up. He piled on quickly, carding a 2 at the par-3 second and then winning the third with a steady par to build a commanding 3-up lead. Sanders steadied himself with tying pars at Nos. 4 and 5 to momentarily halt the surge.

“I putted pretty solid, and again, drove it in play,” said McCoy, 62, of Des Moines, Iowa. “There’s a lot of little trees around here, and these trees can get in your way. I avoided those most of the week, and I didn't beat myself. I didn't just give him any holes. I made him stay in there and fight to the end. I think that was the key, just not throwing any holes away.”

After struggling to flip the momentum with bogeys on Nos. 6 and 8 to fall 5 down, Sanders won his first hole of day on the par-3 ninth, rolling in a 20-footer for birdie to make the turn at 4 down. The duo halved the next two holes before Sanders hit a miraculous approach shot from the trees on the par-4 12th, winning the hole with par after McCoy missed a 5-footer to tie.  

“The problem is when every hole is four paces from the edge, it's a razor's edge [margin for error],” said Sanders, 61, of Anthem, Ariz., who was playing in his fifth U.S. Senior Amateur. “It turns into a bogey quick. I actually said to myself, ‘I've got to be in position to pick my spots’. Otherwise, I'm not just playing for par, but I can't make a mistake on the wrong side. You can't really put your pedal down on most of the holes. A couple of them but not all of them.”

McCoy, who captured his Mid-Am title in 2013, steadied the ship again, matching Sanders over the next three holes. On the par-4 16th, McCoy found the green with his approach, while Sanders came up short with both his second and third shots, leaving McCoy with two putts from 20 feet to win the match. After rolling his putt two feet past, Sanders conceded, and McCoy was crowned champion.

“I feel great,” said McCoy, who captained the 2023 USA Walker Cup Team to victory at St. Andrews and competed on the 2015 team. “I'm so honored to win a USGA championship. I love the USGA. A lot of my golfing history has sort of been built upon their championships and trying to get to them and advance and someday win one, and I finally did, and, of course, I never dreamed I'd win another one... so it's been a dream come true.”

What the Champion Receives

• A gold medal
  
  
• Possession of the Frederick L. Dold Trophy for one year
  
  
• Exemptions into the next 10 U.S. Senior Amateur Championships
  
  
• Exemption into the 2026 U.S. Senior Open Championship at Scioto Country Club, in Columbus, Ohio
  
  
• Exemptions into the 2025 and 2026 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championships at Troon Country Club, in Scottsdale, Ariz., and Sand Valley Resort (The Lido), in Nekoosa, Wis., respectively
  
  
• Exemptions into the 2026 and 2027 U.S. Amateur Championships at Merion Golf Club, in Ardmore, Pa., and Oak Hill Country Club, in Pittsford, N.Y.
  
  
• Exemption from local qualifying for the 2026 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, in Southhampton, N.Y.
  
  
• Name inscribed on the 2025 USGA Champions’ plaque that will reside in the Hall of Champions at the USGA Museum & Library, in Liberty Corner, N.J.

Notable

• Runner-up Greg Sanders received a silver medal as well as an exemption into the 2025 U.S. Mid-Amateur, 2026 U.S. Senior Open and 2026 U.S. Amateur. He also earns an exemption into the next three U.S. Senior Amateur Championships.
  
  
• The 2026 U.S. Senior Amateur will be held at Baltimore (Md.) Country Club
  
  
• Champion Mike McCoy will be paired in next year’s U.S. Senior Open at Scioto Country Club with defending champ and three-time Great Britain & Ireland Walker Cupper Padraig Harrington, who also won the 2025 British Senior Open.
  
  
• Notable Walker Cup alums who have won the U.S. Senior Amateur: William C. Campbell (1979, 1980), Marvin "Vinny" Giles (2009), William Hyndman III (1973,1983), Todd White (2023), Dale Morey (1974, 1977) and Gene Andrews (1970)
  
  
• The last two Walker Cup years have produced a U.S. Senior Amateur champion who played in the Walker Cup (Todd White, 2023).

Quotable

“I got off to a great start, and I've really been in good form. I didn't think I'd beat myself today. I figured someone was going to have to play really good to beat me. I just played solid.” - Mike McCoy on how he was feeling going into the championship round

“I love the USGA and everything it stands for and the people that work there. I'm just really honored to be the champion.” - McCoy reflecting on his championship win at Oak Hills Country Club

“I definitely will go back [to the USGA Hall of Champions] and see my name for sure. Anytime you do something for the first time, I guess, it's pretty special. I think it'll get done again. There's some good Mid-Amateurs coming behind, so somebody is going to do it. But it's good to be first, and I never really gave it much thought until this week. Pretty happy about it.” - McCoy on being the first player in USGA history to win both the U.S. Mid-Amateur and U.S. Senior Amateur.

“I can tell you this: If somebody said I could transport myself into the finals of the U.S. Senior Amateur, I'd say, where do I sign up. Are you kidding me? This was a deep run for me. So I did not expect it. For sure I didn't expect it.” - Greg Sanders on his runner-up finish

“I remember reading a thing like decades ago where I think it was Jerry Rice, he trained way harder [off] the football field [compared to] playing the game. The U.S. Amateur felt like that. It felt like I'm training. Like this is extreme, and anything else seems way easier. It's not that simple, but that is the analogy.” - Sanders on how his experience at the U.S. Amateur at The Olympic Club prepared him for Oak Hills Country Club

“I knew I could have won. But against McCoy, you can't just be average. You've got to be really good. Of course, his start just blew me out.” - Sanders on the final round