Michael McCoy wins U.S. Mid-Am, becomes second-oldest winner at 50

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Michael McCoy won the U.S. Mid-Amateur on Thursday, routing Bill Williamson 8 and 6 in the 36-hole final at the Country Club of Birmingham.

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Associated Press 

Series: Other Tour

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Michael McCoy won the U.S. Mid-Amateur on Thursday for his first USGA title, routing Bill Williamson 8 and 6 in the 36-hole final at the Country Club of Birmingham. 

The 50-year-old McCoy, from West Des Moines, Iowa, is the second-oldest winner in the event limited to players 25 and older. Randal Lewis won the 2011 tournament at 54. 

"It's a great day for me," said McCoy, playing his 38th USGA event. "And I'm very thrilled to finally have won a championship. I've been trying for a long time. And I've had a lot of friends over the years that have won the championship along the way. They've all encouraged me to kind of keep battling, keep trying. And so that's kind of what I've done. I really chased the dream for a long time. And it kind of came true today." 

An insurance agent, McCoy was reinstated as an amateur after a brief pro career following his college days Wichita State. He earned a spot in the Masters with victory. 

"When I got dormie, I have to admit it crossed my mind a few times, but I was really trying to stay present," McCoy said. 

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McCoy was 5-up after the morning 18 holes and was in control throughout. He won the 23rd and 24th holes, the par-4 sixth and par-4 seventh, in the afternoon, to extend his lead to 8 up. McCoy made a pair of two-putt pars while Williamson's mistakes led to consecutive bogeys. 

"Mike did what he had to do," said the 36-year-old Williamson, from Cincinnati. "He's such a good player. I wish I would have played a little bit more of my game. I don't know if I would have won, but it probably would have been more competitive." 

McCoy used his short game to stay out of the trouble. He got up and down from behind the 27th hole, the 321-yard, par-4 ninth, by pitching from heavy grass to 4 feet to halve hole. 

McCoy saved par on the following hole, the par-5 10th, by nearly making a 45-footer with his putter from a closely-mown area. He continued at the next hole when he made a sand save for par from a greenside bunker. 

"Putting is one of those things, some weeks you have it and some weeks you don't," McCoy said. "When I stepped foot on the property, everything seemed to feel pretty good, the speed, my hands were soft, and I felt the ball rolling off – coming off the putter nicely." 

Williams had 10 bogeys and one double bogey in the final. 

"I didn't play as well as I wanted," Williamson said. "I didn't putt as well as I wanted. The greens were tough and the pins were in tough spots. The ball just didn't go in." 

Ravens Looking To Build More Secretive Communication

Posted Jan 12, 2014

Ryan MinkBaltimoreRavens.com Staff Writer@Ravens All Ryan Mink Articles



The Ravens had some communication miscues that led to unnecessary timeouts last year.



Remember hearing Joe Flacco call out “Alaska!” on the TV broadcast?

So do the Ravens’ opponents.

Head Coach John Harbaugh wants to hide that kind of information next season, and is looking to build a more coded, secretive form of communication into the offense.

“Ways that we can hide it from our opponents is a big deal,” Harbaugh said. “Communication is a huge thing. Stadiums are loud, and we’ve got to find a way to talk to each other without having timeouts get called in the second quarter.”

Last season, the Ravens had a communication system in place in which Offensive Coordinator Jim Caldwell, who was in a booth high above the field, would radio the play down to Wide Receivers Coach Jim Hostler, who was on the sideline. Hostler would then be the one talking into Flacco’s helmet.

Harbaugh said the communication was “generally” good, but it is susceptible to technical issues.

“There are sometimes when the phone goes out and you’ve got to signal something in,” Harbaugh said. “We had a few timeouts early in games when the phones went out and the clock was running down.”

The Ravens would also like to modify their communication from a scheme approach to make sure opposing defenses aren’t figuring out what’s coming.

Harbaugh said the Ravens study what they hear other teams say. Other teams study what the Ravens say too. So you can gain an advantage by saying as little as possible. In the NFL, teams look for every little advantage they can get.

“We’ve got to find a way to hide what we’re doing from our opponents,” Harbaugh said. “That’s something we’re working on, [like] shortening our calls and building a coach system where we can get things called quickly but we can change it up from one play. It’s the same play, [but] maybe it’s a different direction.”

The Ravens have used different communication at times in the past. Occasionally, they’ve had assistant coaches were different colored hats. They’ve held up signs too.