ANTHEM, Ariz. — Cody Massa (-14 over three rounds) made up ground in a hurry. Trailing by three strokes entering the third and final round, Massa shot the lights out with seven birdies on the front nine to capture the 2024 Arizona Mid-Amateur Championship at Anthem Golf & Country Club’s Persimmon Course.
Massa quickly put pressure on Chris Kamin, who started the day with the lead at 10-under. He matched Kamin with a birdie on the first hole, before sinking a 20-foot, uphill putt on the par-3 second hole. On the next hole, Kamin found trouble in the desert, took an unplayable and settled for double bogey; that mistake gave Massa the lead, and he never relinquished it. Massa credited iron play from the fairway with setting up ideal lies and setting him up for so many birdie opportunities.
“I hit the irons really well. The par-3s, I hit it close,” Massa said of his front nine. “I knew I had to get off to a hot start and not let Chris get on cruise control or it was over for everybody, so I tried to put some pressure on him early.”
Cody Massa hits a tee shot during the final round of his 2024 Arizona Mid-Amateur Championship win (Photo by Alex Johnson)
Massa’s final round 65 tied Sean O’Donnell for the best score of the tournament; they were three strokes short of the course record (62) set by Jesse Mueller.
Massa’s Arizona Mid-Amateur Championship marks his first AZ GOLF major victory and his first AZ GOLF solo win. He captured the 2022 and 2023 Arizona Four-Ball Championship alongside his brother, Bobby. He was also co-champion of the 2023 San Tan Amateur; he and O’Donnell agreed to share the honors when they ran out of daylight during a lengthy playoff. For those wins, Massa took home a silver plate as hardware; the Mid-Amateur Championship earned him his first Kachina.
“I’ve wanted one of those Kachinas for a long time and I finally got it, so I’m proud,” Massa said.
Cody Massa hits out of a greenside bunker during the final round of the 2024 Arizona Mid-Amateur Championship (Photo by Alex Johnson)
Defending Arizona Mid-Amateur Champion Sam Engel was on-hand to present the trophy to Massa. Engel opted to not defend the title after winning the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball alongside Brian Blanchard in Philadelphia on Wednesday night.