Beatdown at BanBury: The 2025 Mid-Amateur Championships

Most of the time, BanBury Golf Course has a knack for delivering championship theatre. The drivable par-4 17th has as much water as it has fairway, and the short par-5 18th is very much the same. The tightrope between birdie and double bogey — which must be walked in full view of the clubhouse patio — is remarkably thin.  

But the 2025 Mid-Amateur Championship snoozed through Sunday afternoon as newly re-minted amateur Kevin Murphy marched toward his first victory since college, dusting a field of hobbyists by 17 shots. 

“I feel like I’ve had some good pro-am tournaments in the past few years where I’ve shot 10-under and won pretty handily,” Murphy said. “But to do it in a three-day tournament where I put every single round together is pretty cool — [the game] is still there.”  

The dominant play started Friday afternoon as Murphy went out in 31 (-4), overcoming a double bogey on the par-3 3rd. A disappointing bogey on the par-5 18th — which played as the second easiest hole all week — rounded out a sporting 64.

“I haven’t played in a week and a half,” he said. “I just started clicking with the putter.”  

Nipping at his heels, 2022 Champion Jason Azzarito birdied three of his last four holes to card a bogey-free round of 65, finishing three shots clear of Nick Onustack. Gilbert Livas and Shane Allor carded rounds of 69 to sit in a tie for fourth and Yuji Cusick was the last man under par with a round of 70. 

Murphy’s margin started to grow on Saturday morning with a birdie-birdie finish for 66 to push him double-digits under par (-12). Azzarito, who limped out in 36, couldn’t find any birdies down the stretch, carding 74 to fall nine-shots off Murphy’s pace. Onustack, Livas, Allor and Cusick also regressed, finding themselves over par with one round to play.   

Moving in the other direction, 2010 Champion Lee Reed steadily worked his way under par for the tournament, carding 67 for a spot in Sunday’s final pairing — as well as a three-shot lead in the Master-40 division.  

With nine shots between Reed and the lead, he managed to raise some eyebrows early on Sunday, playing his first five holes in three-under par to cut the deficit to six shots. But when players returned from a lightning delay, Murphy reminded everyone who was boss.  

Birdies at the sixth and seventh restored his original lead, and he made the turn 10-shots clear after a bogey at the ninth. And while it’s unclear what possessed him, the former Oregon State Beaver went on to eviscerate the back nine. A string of birdies to open the back nine ended with a humble par on the par-3 14th, but he only made one more. Birdies on 15, 17 and 18 brought him home in 29 for a round of 63.

“I’m excited about the amateur golf scene moving forward,” he said. “We’ll see how well I can do.”  

MASTER-40 DIVISION:  

Playing in the final group of the Mid-Amateur, Lee Reed found himself five-shots clear midway through the front nine. But a bogey at the 8th and a triple at the 9th let the group in front of him — featuring Dan Potter and Chris Boquette — squarely in the thick of things. 

Boquette, the closest challenger to start the day, holed an eagle putt on the second, but tripled the 4th (the easiest hole on the course) to spoil his momentum. But Boquette managed to steady the ship, making birdies at the 10th and 15th to return to even par as Lee Reed continued to struggle.  

Potter, however, was just about as steady as they come, turning in one-under. After going bogey-birdie on the par-4 11th and par-5 12th, he found himself tied for the lead with three holes to play.  

Playing first on 16, Boquette fired one into 4 feet. Potter followed him to just outside 10 feet on the other side of the hole. But after Potter slipped his putt inside the right edge of the hole, Boquette missed his birdie effort to fall one shot back. Boquette’s putter faltered again on 17, three putting to fall two back with one to play.  

Potter then made things interesting for a moment on 18, taking on a back-left hole location and finding the water. Potter was able to get up and down for par and signed his card for 69, need to dodge an eagle from Reed to win the title.  

Reed two putt for birdie.  

“It was a good day,” Potter said. “I hit the ball well.... Never really got on a run; I felt like I left a couple out there but birdied 16 and that was the separator in our group.  

This is Potter’s first IGA victory since, he estimates, the early 2000s. Since then, has served as the head coach of Boise State Men’s golf program and mostly plays in two-man events with friends.  

“I was trying to remind myself what I would tell one of my college players to do — but it’s hard,” Potter said. “Stroke play golf is tough, and I don’t play in a lot of these tournaments, so to have a chance to win and finish it off felt difficult — it’s fun to get it done.”