He sold shirts at this year’s U.S. Open. Next year, he’ll be in the field

Andrew Bailey, a 34-year-old sales manager at golf-apparel company Holderness & Bourne, didn’t have to attend the 2026 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills. He chose to go, volunteering his time to help his brand in the tournament’s enormous merchandise center.

Bailey will also attend next year’s U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, but in a markedly different role: as one of the 156 players in the field.

On Thursday, Bailey won the 45th U.S. Mid-Amateur at Sand Valley Resort in Nekoosa, Wis. He defeated Nate Smith, 5 and 4, in the 36-hole final.

The victory earned Bailey exemptions into the next 10 U.S. Mid-Amateurs and two U.S. Amateurs, as well as a likely invitation to the ensuing Masters. It also gave him a spot in the ensuing U.S. Open, which will be played in 2027 at Pebble Beach Golf Links on the California coast.

Bailey, who is from Cleveland, was competing in his 12th USGA championship. In the moments after the victory, he sounded as if he was still trying to process what had happened.

“I still think I’m trying to prepare for the next shot and there is going to be a match tomorrow that I don’t know about,” Bailey said.

There won’t be a match tomorrow. Bailey made sure of that by birdieing eight of the match’s last 16 holes on Sand Valley’s Lido course, closing out Smith on the 32nd green.

Through the first 16 holes, a convincing Bailey victory looked anything but certain. Smith was 2 up at that point. Bailey then relied on advice from golf friend Mark Costanza, a finalist at the 2021 Mid-Am: “You’re not going to win it if you play tight. You got to play loose and free.”

“I think I just played tight this morning and I recognized it,” Bailey said.

Between the morning and afternoon rounds, Bailey also encountered a fellow member of Canterbury Golf Club near Cleveland, who offered more advice.

“He’s like, your game looks really good,” Bailey said. “He’s like, just let the putts fall. And so I just focused on feeling the putter head more, not trying to force it as much, and glad it worked out.”

Bailey’s play impressed even his opponent.

“I didn’t do anything to lose,” Smith said afterward. “He just played an exceptional round of golf this afternoon.”

The fact that Bailey, a former professional golfer, was in the field at all can be traced in part to a stroke of misfortune.

After starring at Cleveland State, Bailey made a run at the professional game, playing on mini-tours. Then, in 2015, he injured his wrist after falling 20 feet in a rock-climbing accident.

“A pretty serious wrist break,” Bailey said. “Tried to play an event after it healed up and just said, this is going to be too long of a road.”

He was done with professional golf. Bailey took a health-care job for a couple of years before moving to Holderness & Bourne.

The job has taken him to golf properties all over the country, including multiple visits to Sand Valley.

“I came here for six years for work and never got to play any golf,” he said. “Only came up here to sell. So to get to spend a little over a week here playing golf and to win here, I feel like it was a little bit of good karma on my side for having put in the hours.”