ELMSFORD, N.Y. (November 13, 2025) – With the conclusion of another season of championship competition, the Metropolitan Golf Association is pleased to announce its player of the year award winners, with Christian Cavaliere of Hudson National earning the MGA Jerry Courville Sr. Player of the Year Award, Megha Ganne of Liberty National winning the MGA Women’s Player of the Year, and Lucas Rizo-Patron of Rye, N.Y., collecting the MGA Junior Player of the Year.
Each of the MGA’s player of the year awards honor players who have compiled the best record in select events during the year. Each award has a system in which players earn points for their finishes in designated local, national, and international championships, while the final selections for the awards are determined by the MGA Board of Directors. The trio of award recipients will be honored at the 2025 MGA Awards Celebration on Wednesday, December 3 at Westchester Country Club in Rye, N.Y.
Christian Cavaliere, Hudson National
After six previous appearances on the MGA’s Honor Roll including five top-four finishes, Christian Cavaliere in 2025 used a pair of victories and a deep run in the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship to push himself over the edge and earn the MGA Jerry Courville Sr. Player of the Year Award.
Related: Courville Sr. POY Final Standings | History
Cavaliere’s year began with a three-shot victory in the Azalea Invitational at Country Club of Charleston in Charleston, S.C. The special win against a quality international field jumpstarted his year, landing him 125 bonus points in the yearlong points race and giving him a confidence boost for the schedule ahead.
The 27-year-old performed at a high level all season long as he juggled a full competitive schedule and managing his growing business, Tremont Sporting Co, which produces an array of custom leathergoods. Five more of his performances landed him 130 points or more en route to finishing the year atop the points listing.
He logged top-10 finishes in both the Westchester Open Championship Presented by Poland Spring and the Ike before a big victory in July at Glen Oaks Club in the New York State Open, an event Cavaliere has played since his young-teen days.
He made a run to the semifinal of the Met Amateur, then finished tied for seventh in the Met Open to continue his strong season. Next, Cavaliere worked his way through a gauntlet of a bracket in the U.S Mid-Amateur Championship, defeating former MGA Player of the Year and three-time U.S. Mid-Amateur champion Stewart Hagestad and past U.S. Mid-Amateur runners-up Brad Nurski (2014) and Bobby Massa (2024) on his way to the semifinal round.
His performance at Troon Country Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., was another confidence builder, but it also placed him in good position in the points standings. Reigning MGA Player of the Year Matthew Lowe provided plenty of motivation for Cavaliere down the stretch with a full schedule of his own, but Cavaliere’s performances in The Farrell and MGA Mid-Amateur secured the year-end award.
“I’m so honored and privileged to have the chance to be on that list with all the other players that I’ve looked up to over the years – my good friends and people who inspired me,” says Cavaliere. “It’s just a great group to finally say that I am a part of.”
Cavaliere finished the year with 1,480 points, with low accumulating 1,404 points. For the first time, three players eclipsed the 1000-point total at year’s end, with Dean Greyserman of Hamilton Farm totaling 1,070 thanks to wins in the Met Amateur, Hochster Memorial, and Arcola Cup. Reed Greyserman of Hamilton Farm (815 pts) and Nathan Han of Centennial (651 pts) rounded out the top five finishers.
Megha Ganne, Liberty National
The race for the 2025 MGA Women’s Player of the Year turned into a battle of national accolades, with Megha Ganne’s victory in the U.S. Women’s Amateur propelling her to capture the year-end award.
Related: Women’s POY Final Standings | History
The Stanford University standout and Holmdel, N.J., native, began the year with a tie for seventh in her fifth appearance in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, then logged a tie for 10th in the individual portion of the NCAA Division I national championship. She also participated in the prestigious Palmer Cup in 2025.
Her crowning achievement came at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Bandon, Ore., in the U.S. Women’s Amateur. She used three consecutive wins in the middle of the championship match’s morning 18 to build a lead she’d never relinquish. Ganne took the title by a 4-and-3 margin, edging Brooke Biermann of Wildwood, Mo., to finish her impressive title run that included wins over three top-20 players in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking®.
“The MGA is a community I grew up in, and I feel really close to the area,” says the 21-year-old Ganne. “To represent [the MGA] on a national stage is really special, and it’s a cool award.”
Ganne closed the season with 1,483 points based on finishes in point-receiving events. She topped the list ahead of 2025 U.S. Girls’ Junior semifinalist Rayee Feng of Fiddler’s Elbow (1,050 pts), who also won one match in the U.S. Women’s Amateur, and Ina Kim-Schaad of Deepdale (1,022 pts), who captured her second career U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur title in 2025.
Lucas Rizo-Patron, Rye, N.Y.
Though competing in a limited Met Area schedule, Lucas Rizo-Patron made the most of his opportunities, logging a pair of top finishes in the Westchester Open and Ike and earning a win in the Carter Cup to come away with the MGA Junior Player of the Year Award, Presented by Callaway.
Related: Junior POY Final Standings | History
“This was my last junior season, so it’s nice to finish strong,” says Rizo-Patron, who’s now in his first year at Richmond University. “Every tournament I played this year meant a lot to me.”
Rizo-Patron began the summer by sharing low amateur honors in the 103rd Westchester Open Championship Prestend by Poland Spring. After opening with a 73, Rizo-Patron carded a 6-under 65 to start the 36-hole final day of the championship at The Tuxedo Club in Tuxedo Park, N.Y. That stood as the low round of the tournament, while he added a 1-under 70 in the afternoon’s final round to finish tied for second overall.
Later in June, he finished tied for 11th in the Ike at Hamilton Farm Golf Club in Gladstone, N.J., firing scores of 73-70-71 to finish 2-under in the region’s premier stroke play championship.
His biggest moment in 2025 came at Baltusrol Golf Club in the 23rd Carter Cup. Rizo-Patron began the day with a 2-under 69 on the Lower Course. The leaderboard fluctuated throughout the afternoon as play concluded on the Upper Course, which provided the standout junior field one of the first competitive looks at the masterfully restored layout. A clutch up and down on the par-4 18th – punctuated with a 20-foot putt – landed Rizo-Patron the one-stroke victory.
Rizo-Patron finished the year with 440 points in the yearlong standings, edging Matthew Difiore of Malverne, N.Y. (317 pts) and Yiwen Wang of Scarsdale, N.Y. (315 pts).
