GolfNewsRI

Rhode Island’s Austin Cilley is set to tee it up at Troon Country Club Saturday afternoon for the U.S. Mid-Amateur. 

This is Cilley’s first USGA event of his career. 

“The atmosphere is crazy. I mean, you really feel like it’s a Tour event, just the greetings from checking in, getting your picture taken, getting all the tee gifts. The USGA really knows how to do it so that was an experience all in itself,” Cilley told GolfNewsRI Friday night following practice rounds. 

Cilley punched his ticket to the tournament last month at North Kingstown. 

Now he is hoping that performance translates on the big stage of a U.S. Mid-Am. 

“I don’t feel like anything really waivers from back home to here. I think it’s trying to keep it as simple as possible and hopefully executing,” said Cilley. 

The U.S. Mid-Am starts with two 18 hole stroke play qualifying rounds before match play begins on Monday. 

Cilley tees off at 2:50 p.m. eastern time off the tenth tee at Troon Country Club 

The other course being used is Troon North, which Cilley will play on Sunday.

“The courses are amazing, very challenging. Each hole is kind of its own individual. You don’t see a lot of other holes like intersecting with one another. All of the green complexes run off into different collection areas, so you have to be pretty precise with your approach shots,” noted Cilley.

The low 64 scores advance to match play. 

There will be a playoff for the final spots if necessary. 

Scoring HERE

Course Breakdown

Cilley is starting his tournament at Troon and so that is where we will start here. 

Troon was Tom Weiskopf’s first ever golf course and is named after Royal Troon, where Weiskopf won the 1973 British Open

There are also 73 bunkers to commemorate the year he won at Royal Troon.

This week, Troon is playing at just under 7,000 yards for the tournament with three par-5s and four par-3s.  

“I think it’s a lot of placement golf especially for these two courses, being strategic off the tee, understanding where to miss it when hitting the greens and then just trying to figure out where the breaks are. The Troon Country Club, it kind of breaks towards the valley,” said Cilley. 

Meanwhile, Troon North is set to play at 6,952 yards with three par-5s and four-par-3s. 

The par-5 14th hole will play at over 600 yards this week. 

Like with Troon, it will come down to the greens and figuring out where to hit it. 

“At Troon North there’s a lot of different undulations in green complexes. I got a tip from the pro that Troon North kind of breaks towards one of the mountains. So I’m just trying to be as strategic as possible and missing it in the correct position,” added Cilley. 

Sometimes in these tournaments, there will be one course that is slightly more “gettable” than the other. 

Cilley says that is not the case this week. 

“I kind of think that they’re pretty comparable, to be quite honest.  I think they’re both just challenging. Understanding what to hit off the tee in order to position yourself for a well thought out approach shot and then understanding where the runoffs are, where the fall offs are. And honestly where to miss it,” said Cilley. 

He continued, “the Bermuda kind of grabs your club in a lot of instances so you definitely don’t want to short side yourself, you want to give yourself the best angles possible if you’re going to come in from one way or another.”

Cilley will tee off at 9:50 a.m. eastern time on Troon North on Sunday.

Cilley appeared on GolfNewsRI TV this past week:

A Hot One in AZ

One thing is for sure this week, it is going to be a hot one in Arizona. 

Temperatures all week have been in or near the 100s and that is not going to change. 

“The heat’s good, I mean, it’s dry, so it’s honestly not too much of a factor. I mean, the Rhode Island Am this year was, it felt 10 times hotter than it is right now,,” said Cilley. 

Cilley also notes that the heat helps with his back and joints so he feels good about it. 

Jordan Warnock in Field 

A second Rhode Islander, Jordan Warnock is also in the field at the U.S. Mid-Am. 

Warnock took medalist honors at the qualifier at North Kingstown last month. 

He teed off at 11:18 a.m. eastern time off the first tee at Troon Country Club.