For years, Brandon Pluchinsky has sought to play in some of the United States Golf Association’s biggest golf tournaments.
He’s attempted qualifying for the U.S. Open five times, the Mid-Amateur and Amateur Four-Ball Championship each three times and the U.S. Amateur once. He made it to final qualifying for the U.S. Open twice and was an alternate for the U.S. Four-Ball Championship once, but never made it into the field for the actual events.
This year, the South Range alum and former Youngstown State star finally broke through, qualifying for last week’s U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship at Sand Valley in Wisconsin.
Against a field of 264 of the top amateur players in the country, Pluchinsky made the cut after two rounds of stroke play into the match-play tournament bracket. He won two matches, before bowing out in the round of 16.
“It kind of feels like I was back in college, just when I was golfing all the time,” Pluchinsky said. “Going to school and playing golf, it kind of felt like the old days. It was just good to get back into the feeling of playing competitive golf against the best.
“Obviously it just fuels the desire to want to go back out and do it again. Disappointed in how the match finished, but I thought I played pretty good, and I’m just ready to go back out and play again.”
The Mid-Amateur Championship is open to any amateur golfer who turns 25 by Sept. 26 and has a Handicap Index that does not exceed 2.4. The USGA accepted 6,124 entries nationwide this year, its most ever, which broke the previous mark of 6,060 entries in 2023.
Andrew Bailey, a Rocky River native who starred at Cleveland State during the same years Pluchinsky was at YSU, went on to win the Mid-Amateur title, defeating Nate Smith, of Idaho, in Thursday’s 36-hole final match 5-and-4.
“I started a little later than most to try to get into these, but they’re always good. The competition’s great,” Pluchinsky said. “If you win the Mid-Am, you get a 10-year exemption into the Mid-Am, and then you would get into the Masters and the U.S. Open for next year. So there’s a lot on the line to try to qualify for. It seems like a good route to try to get into one of the majors that a lot of people don’t get to play in.”
After twice attempting to qualify at the Mystic Rock Course at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort in southwest Pennsylvania in previous years, Pluchinsky tried his luck this year at Oberlin Golf Club in Oberlin on Aug. 6. He shot a 5-under 67 to tie for second and was one of three qualifiers from the field.
Pluchinsky wasn’t the only Penguin to qualify. His former YSU teammate Bryan Yeo took medalist honors with a 6-under 66 at Oberlin to qualify for the Mid-Am as well, but Yeo missed the cut at Sand Valley after shooting 79-69 to finish at 6-over.
“Golf has been pretty good to me my whole life,” Pluchinsky said. “It’s gotten me a lot of places, so I never want to give it up because my career allows me to golf a little bit. And it helps my career because I get to meet a lot of people being a commercial banker.
“I never want to get rid of golf or throw it to the side. I took a little break after school, obviously after playing so much, but I always try to play as much as I can. Having a family and two kids, I try to play as much as I can to stay in the competitive nature of it.”
On the Lido Course at Sand Valley, Pluchinsky shot 71-73 over the two stroke-play rounds to finish tied for 47th at 2-over and make the 3-over cut line by one stroke.
“My opinion on stroke play and match play might be a little different than most people. But my goal was just to get out of stroke play,” Pluchinsky said. “I’m not trying to sound cocky or anything, but I like my game against anybody in match play because in match play, you can make a high number and it doesn’t really matter. You lose the hole, you go to the next hole and it’s a whole new slate.”
From there, he advanced to the match-play tournament, where he started off facing Canada’s Wyatt Brook in the round of 64. Brook took an early 2-up lead through six holes, but Pluchinsky bounced back around the turn, leading 2-up at one point, before winning the match 1-up.
In the round of 32, Pluchinsky led most of the match against Tyler Stahle, of Massachusetts, winning 3-and-2.
Then in the round of 16, Pluchinsky faced Matt Vogt, a dentist from Indianapolis, who made national headlines last year after qualifying to play at the 2025 U.S. Open at Oakmont. Vogt went 3-up on the front-nine, before ending Pluchinsky’s run 3-and-2.
“I didn’t really care what seed I was. I just wanted the opportunity to play in [match play],” Pluchinsky said. “I always feel like I could have gone more. … I was pretty happy with the first two matches. With the third match, my putter kind of went cold a little bit. I wasn’t making too many mistakes, one par-5 kind of killed me. The guy I was playing, he made a few long ones, which that’s how match play works. If you get the putter hot, you gotta try to battle back. That’s what happens in match play.”
Pluchinsky’s strong showing only fueled his motivation for the future to continue to try to get back to the USGA events every year.
“I think my game is as good as just about anybody’s,” Pluchinsky said. “I like my chances if I can get back to match play again. So that’s obviously going to be the goal every year, just to keep grinding for that. I think if we just get the putter hot for a few rounds, I think we could make it there.”
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