SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA | During this USGA championship season, players drawing the 63rd seed in match play have created their share of magic.
In the U.S. Girls’ Junior, Grace Xu survived a playoff to advance to match play and beat No. 2 seed Sophie Han in the round of 64. In the U.S. Women’s Amateur, Ella Scaysbrook survived a playoff, beat co-medalist Asterisk Talley and advanced all the way to the semifinals before losing to eventual champion Megha Ganne. In the U.S. Amateur, 63rd seed Mason Howell survived a playoff and won the championship.
At this week’s U.S. Mid-Amateur, No. 63 seed Ian Davis continued the trend, delivering an upset in the round of 64 after surviving a playoff to qualify. A 33-year-old former pro from Edmond, Oklahoma, Davis defeated co-medalist Patrick Dewey, 3 and 2, at Troon Country Club.
“My caddie before the week was asking me if seeding mattered really,” Davis said. “As long as you make it into match play, anything can happen.”
Davis is now 3-for-3 in making match play at the championship, with his best finish a round-of-16 appearance in 2022 at Erin Hills. With a full-time job, Davis said he only plays in two tournaments a year: the Oklahoma State Amateur and the U.S. Mid-Amateur.
Davis played collegiately at Oklahoma State from 2010-2014. During his time there, his teammates included future U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark, future PGA Tour winner Kevin Tway and 2010 U.S. Amateur champion Peter Uihlein.
Davis still follows his alma mater. After Oklahoma State won its 12th NCAA Division I Championship earlier this year, he posted this on LinkedIn:
“My time on the OSU Golf team was some of my favorite memories. My senior year, we lost in the finals at the National Championship and it was the hardest day in my entire golf career. Golf is such an individual sport, but for a time, you get to compete and win or lose as a team. Other than one week during the Ryder Cup or [Presidents] Cup, there is nothing like it in golf.”
Davis turned professional after graduating in 2014, playing on what’s now the Korn Ferry Tour and lower-tier circuits before retiring in 2019.
Davis subsequently found a job in the aviation title business, where he deals with closings on private jets. His job means he’s not able to play as much golf as he used to, especially in the fall and spring when he’s the most busy. He has to take advantage of summer.
“During the summertime I try to get out a couple times a week and maybe play nine holes or something,” Davis said.
Davis regained his amateur status in 2022 and found immediate success, winning the Oklahoma State Amateur in his first start before advancing to the round of 16 of the U.S. Mid-Amateur at Erin Hills. In 2023 U.S. Mid-Am, Davis lost in the first round at Sleepy Hollow Country Club. .
This year’s championship started inauspiciously for Davis. Shortly before the tournament, his 10-year-old TaylorMade M1 driver broke, forcing him to switch to the TaylorMade Qi35. Desert golf requires being in the fairway, as missing by 10 yards either way can put competitors in cactus and rattlesnake trouble.
The combination of rust and an unfamiliar driver showed in medal play. After an opening 72 Saturday at Troon North, he started his second round Sunday at Troon Country Club with a double bogey and two bogeys. Still, Davis refused to get down on himself.
“The first two days I made a couple of really bad swings that cost me,” Davis said. “I felt like I was playing a lot better than I scored.”
On Tuesday, despite a late comeback bid, Davis lost, 2 down, to 34th-seeded Denver Haddix. While disappointed with the result, Davis has a different mindset now than he did in college and as a pro. He’s putting more of an emphasis on fun.
Davis was 6-over par through 32 holes, but birdies on Nos. 15 and 16 qualified him for a 10-for-3 playoff, from which he advanced with a birdie.
In his opening match against Dewey on Monday, Davis fell 2 down through four holes.
“I didn’t putt as good today as I have been,” said Davis, “but I hit a lot of shots to 10 or 20 feet. I just couldn’t get them to fall.”
But he turned it around, evening the match on the eighth hole before winning four of the next five holes and closing out the match on No. 16.
On Tuesday, despite a late comeback bid, Davis lost, 2 down, to 34th-seeded Denver Haddix. While disappointed with the result, Davis has a different mindset now than he did in college and as a pro. He’s putting more of an emphasis on fun.
“[In college I was] living and dying with each shot,” Davis said. “It’s a bit more relaxed in [mid-amateur golf]. Everybody wants to win, but now I just appreciate coming to play.”