OKLAHOMA CITY (Aug. 4, 2020) – Kyle Hudelson of Edmond had a hard time breaking into a stacked Oklahoma Christian lineup while on the Eagles' roster, but nearly a decade after he played his final round at OC, he's winning state amateur golf titles.

On Tuesday, the 32-year-old Hudelson won the Oklahoma Golf Association Mid-Amateur Championship for the second straight year, posting five birdies over his final 11 holes en route to a 4-under-par 68 at Quail Creek Golf and Country Club. He posted a two-round score of 9-under 135, good for a three-shot win over J.R. Hurley of Norman.

Hudelson won the 2019 OGA Mid-Amateur title at Twin Hills Country Club in Oklahoma City. That came two years after a huge career breakthrough, when he and playing partner Clark Collier (a former Oklahoma City University player) were surprise finalists in the U.S. Golf Association Amateur Four-Ball Championship in Pinehurst, N.C.

"That was the week that I learned I could hit shots under huge amounts of pressure," Hudelson said. "It's hard to replicate that (pressure) elsewhere, outside of a PGA event. It was just crazy. … All of a sudden you wake up one morning and you've got the only tee time on Pinehurst No. 2."

Hudelson, who works for NFP Property and Casualty of Oklahoma City and plays out of Gaillardia Country Club, was on the OC roster during the 2007-08 season and again from 2009 through fall 2012.

During his time with the Eagles, he competed for starting spots against players like current PGA Tour pro Rhein Gibson, West Texas A&M men's coach Axel Ochoa, European Challenge Tour winner Oscar Stark and multiple-time All-America honorees including (among others) Bruno Buccolo, Fernando Gonzales, Vilhelm Bogstrand, Alasdair Dalgliesh, Logan Herbst, Jared Consoli and Preston Wilkins. Wilkins also played in the Mid-Amateur Championship, finishing 11th.

Starting spots proved difficult to come by against stout competition like that, but Hudelson learned lessons then that have been useful in the ensuing years.

"In an environment like that, you learn that even par is just not good enough," Hudelson said. "That's the thing. If you go to OC, if you go to a good golf program, you've got to be shooting under par."

Wilkins, a four-time NAIA All-America player from Tulsa, shot an even-par 72 and closed at 4-over 148. Former OC baseball player Chase Kuwitzky of Norman also played in the tournament, finishing 40th in the 61-man field at 162 after posting a 78 on Tuesday.

Also at Quail Creek, OC women's golf coach Greg Lynn competed in the OGA Super Senior Championship for golfers 60 and older, which was held along with the Mid-Amateur event for golfers 25 and older. Lynn finished 14th in the 27-man Super Senior field, shooting rounds of 77 on Monday and 78 on Tuesday to finish at 11-over 155.