LAUREL, N.Y. (October 6, 2025) — On a breezy day at Laurel Links Country Club, Hunter Jones of Burning Tree carded an even-par 72 to secure the wire-to-wire victory in the 19th MGA Mid-Amateur Championship. Jones entered the day with a one-shot lead and won by the same margin, edging out Sam Bernstein of Century by one shot with a two-day total of 3-under par.
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“It was a grind all day, I didn’t have my best stuff but made enough birdies to cover up the bogeys all day,” said Jones, who followed his opening 67 with a final-round 72 that featured birdies on the par-5 opening hole, the par-3 ninth, the short par-4 16th and par-5 17th. “I was just trying to flight the ball down and control the spin into the greens,” he added, describing his approach in the challenging crosswinds at Laurel Links on Tuesday.
Jones, 41, secured the one-shot victory with his clutch birdies on Nos. 16 and 17, part of the challenging finish at Laurel Links. “Sixteen is a tough hole — I hit my tee ball left into the waste area,” said Jones. “I had a good lie and was able to flight down a hard pitching wedge which stopped five feet below the hole, which is a fortunate spot, and made the putt.”
Jones continued to describe the pivotal moments down the stretch, saying, “It’s just getting off the tee on 17 with the carry over the lake. I hit a great drive right where I was looking. I had 240 into the green, left it short but chipped it up close and made a six-foot putt for birdie.”
The birdie on 17 earned Jones the lead heading into 18. Though he drove it left into waist-high fescue, his approach came up just short of the green. From there, he got it up and down for par to secure the victory. “I didn’t look at the scoreboard once,” said Jones. “I had a feeling I was in it, given how I was playing and how tough conditions were but didn’t want to add any more to the nerves.”
Bernstein finished solo second behind a pair of 70s that left him one shot back. After a slow start in the final round, Bernstein fired a bogey-free back nine with two birdies to put pressure on Jones coming in.
Rounding out the podium were MGA eClub – Long Island member Matthew Lowe, who shot 70-71 to finish at 1-under and as the only other player in red figures for the tournament. Behind them, Michael Auerbach of Bellport and Brett Cooper of The Seawane Club finished at even-par. Cooper shot the low round of Day 2, finishing with a stellar 3-under 68.
Laurel Links always proves to be a challenging test of golf, having hosted several qualifiers and championships in recent years. Professional Jason Caron of Mill River claimed the Long Island Senior Open at the club in 2023 prior to his success on the PGA TOUR Champions, while Matt Mattare won the Met Amateur at the club in 2017. Players who hadn’t seen the course raved about both the layout and its outstanding conditioning.
The MGA’s Mid-Amateur Championship debuted in 2007 at Hudson National and has since visited some of the region’s most respected courses, with The Tuxedo Club, Country Club of Fairfield, and Manasquan River hosting the most recent playings. Players earn the highly sought-after invite based on finishes in MGA and other Met Area events. The trophy, the Westmoreland Cup, is named for longtime MGA Tournament Director Gene Westmoreland who was instrumental in launching the championship and has a great passion for the mid-amateur game.
The top 30 finishers earned the first invites to the 20th MGA Mid-Amateur Championship, which will take place back at the championship’s inaugural host, Hudson National in Croton-On-Hudson, N.Y.
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