GREENWICH, Conn. (August 26, 2025) – Essex Fells Country Club’s Brian Gaffney claimed hist first MGA championship on Tuesday, finishing at 6-under par to win the 29th Lexus MGA Senior Open Championship at Fairview Country Club. Gaffney edged David Schuster of Sleepy Hollow in the final round, following up an opening round 68 with a 2-under 70 to win by three in the 36-hole event.
Related: Results | Photos | Senior Open History
In the final round Gaffney began the day two shots off the pace. His final round started off well with four birdies on the opening nine to go along with a lone bogey. As groups made the turn the inward nine proved tougher for both Gaffney and the field.
After making pars on Nos. 10 and 11, the momentum shifted as he dropped consecutive shots while Schuster made eagle on the par-5 11th.
“The front nine went well, then I got to the tenth tee and thought I have never won an MGA event,” said Gaffney. “I have been trying forever, and everybody beats me. I think I shouldn’t have done that and fumbled the next few holes and lost the momentum. It took me a few holes to get it back. Towards the end I hit a few good shots and that calmed me down and got me back on track.”
However, just as Gaffney began to find his swing again, Schuster had a couple of miscues on his card, as a bogey on the par-5 13th was followed shortly after by double bogey on the par-4 15th. This earned Gaffney a two-shot lead with three holes to play.
“I thought if I could get to eight or nine under, nobody would catch me,” said Gaffney. “Then as I was playing, I thought if I could just stay ahead of [Schuster] I would be okay.”
Gaffney put an exclamation point on the home stretch on the par-4 17th, delivering his shot of the tournament.
“Seventeen is a really hard hole,” he recalled. “We got to the 17th tee today and the tee was all the way back. I hit a great drive and had 144 yards, hit a nine iron and it finished three or four feet from the hole. It was a great shot, and I made that birdie. That really calmed me down.”
From there, a solid drive, approach just through the green on 18 and a successful up and down sealed the three-shot victory.
Schuster, who opened with a 66 to lead after round one, carded a 3-over 75 in round two and finished solo second at 3-under par 141. Frank Bensel of Galloway National was the third and final player under par for the championship, finishing third at 1-under 143 behind rounds of 68-75. Bensel charged up the leaderboard early with four birdies on his front nine Tuesday before falling a few shots on the way in.
Rounding out the top five was Carl Alexander of Golf Club of Purchase and three-time champion Mark Mielke, both finishing at 1-over par.
The Stanwich Club’s Tomas Arlia earned Low Amateur honors, finishing tied for 17th overall at 7-over par. Arlia carded rounds of 72-79, rolling in eight birdies over the two days.
Fairview Country Club was welcoming its first-ever Lexus MGA Senior Open, having last hosted the 2013 Met Junior won by Cameron Young. The layout has proved to yield outstanding champions, with George Zahringer III having won the Ike at the club in 2001.
Players expressed their enjoyment of the experience at Fairview, from the attentive service of club staff to the outstanding course conditions provided over the two days.
