Nick Maccario’s magical run through the 40th U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship came to an end on Thursday, as the former St. John’s Prep star fell 2-and-1 to Mark Costanza of Morristown, N.J. in the semifinal round at Sankaty Head Golf Club in Siasconset.
It was a great debut in the U.S. Mid-Amateur for Maccario, who is ranked No. 446 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking and was playing in his third United States Golf Association (USGA) championship.
Maccario faced a tall task in Thursday’s semifinal match, as his opponent notched six birdies on the day to put the pressure on Maccario all day long. After he missed birdie putts on both the fifth and sixth holes, Maccario fell 4-down through nine holes.
But he didn’t back down, winning the 12th and 13 holes to get within striking distance. Costanza then won the 14th hole with a birdie to get back to 3-up. But after Maccario won the 16th hole, the two competitors tied the 17th hole and Costanza took the match 2-and-1.
It was a long road to make it into the semifinal round for Maccario, who shot 71-71-142 in stroke play to get into a 13-man playoff to decide seven spots in match play. He survived the playoff to earn the No. 59 seed, beating No. 6 Daniel Campbell in the Round of 64. He then notched wins over Jay Moore in the Round of 32 and Brad Nurski in the Round of 16, eventually beating Gregor Orlando in the quarterfinals to earn his match against Costanza.
Maccario was named the 2020 Mass Golf Richard D. Haskell Player of the Year after finishing second in both the 2020 Massachusetts Amateur Championship and the 2020 New England Amateur Championship as well as winning the 2020 Hornblower Memorial Tournament. He also finished third at the 2021 Gasparilla Invitational in Tampa, Fla and qualified for the 2022 U.S. Four-Ball Championship along with partner Mike Calef.