In Nathan Smith's case, the sequel was better than the original.

Smith, 31, a North Hills resident and a member of St. Jude Golf Club in Chicora, claimed the second U.S. Mid-Amateur Golf Championship of his career Friday at Kiawah Island Golf Club in South Carolina.

He won his first title in 2003. His final opponent was injured and could not finish that year.

"You don't realize how hard it is to win this thing until you've done it, then a few years go by," Smith said. "You begin to realize it may not happen again, that it probably won't happen again.

"I feel so honored. It's hard to believe I've done this twice. There were 4,000 to 5,000 amateur golfers competing when the whole thing started. It's such a constant climb."

There were 4,188 golfers entered in the nationwide tournament, which was open to amateur golfers age 25 or older with a handicap of 3.4 or lower.

The top 264 qualifiers came to Kiawah Island last weekend for two days of stroke-play qualifying to determine the final field of 64.

From there, it's match-play competition, the field of 64 golfers bracketed similar to the NCAA Basketball Tournament.

With Monday's first-round matches rained out, Smith wound up playing 36 holes Tuesday, 36 more Wednesday, 18 Thursday and had 36 scheduled Friday. He defeated Tim Spitz of Rochester, N.Y., 7 and 6, meaning Smith had won seven holes over Spitz with only six holes remaining.

"It's an incredibly intense week of golf," Smith said. "Not only are you playing every day, but there is so much riding on every shot.

"You need to catch some breaks along the way. Believe me, I did."

The biggest break may have come on the No. 5 hole during the Friday morning round. Spitz hit the flag on the par-3 hole and his subsequent 10-inch birdie putt was conceded. Seemingly certain to lose the hole, Smith answered the birdie by rolling in a 35-foot putt from the fringe.

"Yeah, after watching that go in, I thought it might be my day," Smith said.

During match play, Smith defeated Nicholas Biersecker of Staunton, Va., 6 and 5, stopped Brandon Smith of West Palm Peach, Fla., 2 and 1, then defeated Dave Bunker of Canada 4 and 3.

He finished 1-up on Christopher Marin of Monterey, Calif., in the quarterfinals and took out Robert Gerwin of Cincinnati, Ohio, 1-up in the semifinal round.

Marin had defeated Sean Knapp of Oakmont — another St. Jude member — 2 and 1 in the third round of match play.

"Sean beat another local guy, Arnold Cutrell (Greensburg), in the second round," Smith said. "There are a lot of quality amateur golfers in Western Pennsylvania."

There were six Pennsylvania golfers in the final field of 64.

Smith becomes the fifth multiple champion in the 29-year history of the U.S. Mid-Amateur, joining Jay Sigel, Jim Stuart, Tim Jackson and John "Spider" Miller. Jackson (1994 and 2001) was the last golfer to do it.

"It's an incredible accomplishment and we're proud of him," St. Jude club pro Ron Milanovich said of Smith. "Sean and Nathan play rounds together here quite often.

"They've proven they're two of the best in the country."

Smith's father, Larry Smith, was his caddy all week. The Mid-Amateur champion historically receives an invitation to The Masters the following April. Smith played in that event in 2003.

"That was the most nervous I've ever been on a golf course," he recalled. "The names you're hanging out with all week ... It's mind-boggling.

"I shot a 78 and 72 and barely missed the cut. I don't think I could have played any better. Yeah, I'll probably get invited again. I'll probably be nervous again."

Prior to the Mid-Amateur, Smith was part of the USA Walker Cup champion team and USGA men's squad that won the state championship.

"It's been a memorable year," he said. "Everything just kept falling into place."