U.S. Mid-Amateur qualifying will be held at the RMG Club at Oakbrook in Lakewood, Wash. on Thursday, August 29, as 43 players will look to earn one of the two available spots at this qualifier to advance to the 2013 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship. The two players who advance from this qualifier will go on to compete in the 33^rd U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship, which will be held Oct 5-10 at the Country Club of Birmingham (Ala.).

The first tee time for this 18-hole qualifier is set for 7:30 a.m.

Notables in the field of this qualifier include Bjorn Bjorke of Port Orchard, Wash., who last week won the Washington State Mid-Amateur Championship; Tom Hale of Lakewood, Wash., who earlier this summer qualified for the U.S. Senior Open; Mike Swingle of Bellevue, Wash., who qualified for last year’s U.S. Mid-Amateur; and Erik Hanson of Kirkland, Wash., a previous Northwest Open champion who has qualified for and competed in seven previous USGA championships.

This year marks the 33^rd U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship. Entries for the 2013 U.S. Mid-Amateur were open to players who have reached their 25^th birthday by Saturday, October 5, 2013, and who have a USGA Handicap Index not exceeding 3.4. The championship proper consists of 36 holes of stroke play qualifying, held on October 5-6, to determine the 64 players who will then compete in single elimination match play to determine the champion. Champions of this event earn an invitation to the Masters.

The U.S. Mid-Amateur is one of 13 national championships conducted annually by the United States Golf Association (USGA), 10 of which are strictly for amateurs. The Washington State Golf Association (WSGA) is the local representative of the USGA and conducts this qualifier for the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship.