About Midwest Cup

The Midwest Cup is a golf tournament where teams from eight states take part to recognize the ultimate champion. Each team consists of 10 players. The eight states who take part in the tournament are Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Nebraska, Kansas. Minnesota, Missouri, and South Dakota. The specialty of the event is that it is not for pro-golfers. The tournament only welcomes the best Mid-Amateur golfers from each of the states to recognize the ultimate Mid-Amateur golfer.

The concept was first initiated by Eric Hjortness, who also serves as the tournament director. He noticed a gap in the game for amateur golfers in the state of Wisconsin. He then noticed that the same problem persists across the Midwest. Amateur golfers would never get the chance to compete in a valuable tournament with pro golfers. So, he created this tournament in 2006.

The hosts for the tournament is The Badgerland Cup. The Badgerland Cup is a 501(c)3 listed corporation that used to oversee the tournament comprising the Wisconsin Badgerland Cup before the Midwest Cup began. The first Midwest Cup was not named so. It was called the Illinois-Wisconsin Cup, as only two states were part of it. It was the second tournament organized by The Badgerland Cup. In 2010, when more states such as Nebraska, Iowa, and Minnesota came to be a part of the tournament, the name was changed to Midwest Cup. The competing format was also changed as more team came in. An individual medal play competition was also included within the tournament along with the state-based team championship. Each player has to pay $350 as registration fee to take part in the tournament.

The amateur golfers are primarily people with day jobs, families, and responsibilities. It was hard for a 2-day-a-week amateur golfer to compete with a 7-day-a-week trained professional golfer. So Hjortness started this championship with the amateurs in mind. His tournament is open to golfers of 25 years of age and above, primarily comprising of golfers who juggle their game with day jobs.

Prior to the start of the tournament, each state golf association sends out a list to the Midwest Cup authority for review. Each list contains the player-of-the-year points of the respective state. After review, the Midwest Cup committee sends out invitations to the best Mid-Amateur golfers from respective states. The tournament tests the players in the five Cs: Course, Competition, Camaraderie, Charity, and Class. They get a chance to play on some of the finest golf courses in the Midwest such as Illinois’s Cantigny Golf Club, Nebraska’s Wild Horse Golf Club, Iowa’s Glen Oaks Golf Club, etc. The tournament is based in the same class format as Ryder Cup.

The Midwest Cup is on a mission to spread goodwill among the contesting states and players and raise funds for the upcoming young golfing generation. One of its major objectives is to give back to the golf community. They have contributed more than $25,000 to remarkable charities such as the Evans Scholars Foundation. Apart from that, they also make donations to golf teams from local schools. In 2013, they donated $1000 to the golf teams, both boys and girls, of the Gothenburg High School.

The 2019 Midwest Cup will take place from September 26 to September 29, 2019. The location chosen for this year is Wisconsin’s Sentryworld Golf Club at Stevens Point.