The 2025 USGA Mid Amateur quarter-finals were packed with some interesting players. Interestingly, some of the golfers were a lot more recognized than your everyday amateur talents. That’s because seven out of the eight players in the knockout stages were former professionals. And the astonishing fact raised a lot of questions in the golf community. Is mid-amateur turning into a playground for former pros? Well, amateur golfer Brandon Holtz believes that is not the case.

Holtz joined Coltz Knost and Drew Sloltz in the latest episode of Golf Subpar. During their interview, the real estate agent/amateur golfer was asked the same question: whether former professionals should be a part of these mid-amateur events. Holtz told the hosts, “The US mid-am was built for this, in my opinion. I’m a working man, I’ve got a couple of kids, got a wife. For me, as far as competition is concerned, what else am I going to play in? My Bloomington Normal City event?”

Brandon questioned what other competitive non-professional event is available for good players if they can’t participate in such mid-amateur tournaments? Sloltz added, “That’s why the USGA puts in the duration, how long it takes you to get your card back. The better your career was, the more stuff you did, the longer it takes for you to get your amateur status back. I’m not saying first year out of pro, you should be able to go play amateur events. But, like you said, when you start working and you got kids, and you’re playing once a week… 9 years, I played a lot of golf. But a lot’s happened since then.”

Drew seems to understand the situation of the pros who are trying to achieve their amateur status back. After being unable to find success in the big leagues, many are forced to give up their dream and come back to life outside of golf. Because it’s not easy to keep pushing the dream, considering how expensive it is to play the sport professionally. So, for those who tried and failed or didn’t find much success despite stretching their run as much as they could, there should be a path back to the sport in a non-professional capacity after they have completed their probation.

That’s what Holtz also agreed with as he added, “Rules are rules. Follow the rules and it is what it is,” to close the segment. And while many are against the idea of pros returning to the amateur circuit, there are still some who believe that they deserve a place after they have fulfilled their due diligence. In fact, apart from Brandon Holtz, there is another amateur golfer who also holds similar views.

Another amateur golfer who supports the USGA’s decision

Ever since the issue has come to light, many netizens have constantly questioned the USGA for its decision to allow pros to retain their amateur status. But some support their potential peers in their attempt to get back to golf, even if they are not pursuing it professionally anymore. And one of them was mid-am player, David Gies II. And he responded to the heat Justin Hueber & Christian Brand were facing for becoming amateurs again.

After understanding the situation, he tweeted, “As somebody that never played professional golf and have played multiple Mid Ams, I disagree completely. They shouldn’t be completely out of competitive golf because they played professionally at some point. Between the two of them, they played one PGA Tour event and made zero cuts.” Even after reaching the pinnacle, their lack of experience on the PGA Tour clearly defines their level of skill. In such cases, how can they disturb the dynamic in the mid-am circuit? On the contrary, the amateur players who get the opportunity to play alongside them will pick up a few things from them.