UPDATE (September 1, 2026) — While Nick Desai and D. Scott Mackesy both won their Tuesday morning Round of 32 matches in the 71st U.S. Senior Amateur Championship, their runs at Baltimore Country Club in Lutherville, Md., came to an end in the Round of 16.
Desai built a 3-up lead through seven holes against Don Martone of Canada in the morning. Though Martone trimmed it to one with wins on Nos. 9 and 11, Desai responded with a birdie on the par-4 12th. Martone added another late win with birdie on the par-4 16th, but ties on the final two sent the No. 64 seed Desai to the afternoon.
Desai’s match with Tony Wise of Georgetown, Ky., stood tied through eight, but Wise won Nos. 9, 13, 15 and 16 to take the 4-and-2 victory.
Meanwhile, Mackesy, of Bronxville, N.Y., won the par-4 10th to tie his match with Bill Hodges of Thomasville, Ga., in the morning. The win sparked a strong finish in which Mackesy then won Nos. 11-12 and 14-15 for the 4-and-2 win. In the afternoon, Mackesy and Bob Royak of Alpharetta, Ga., tied just five holes during the match. Royak led by three through five holes, but Mackesy returned the match to tied after winning the ninth. The two traded holes until Mackesy won Nos. 13 and 14 to take his first lead of the day. The back-and-forth continued though, with Royak taking the very next hole to tie the match. After back-to-back ties, Royak took the closer to advance, 1-up.
UPDATE (August 31, 2026) – After emerging from a 13-for-3 playoff to secure the final match play position in the 71st U.S. Senior Amateur Championship, New Jersey’s Nick Desai ousted medalist Trae Cassell of Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., 2 and 1, at Baltimore Country Club in Lutherville, Md., on Monday.
Related: Scoring | U.S. Senior Amateur Home Page
Desai, a native of Zambia, stood tied with Cassell through 15 holes, with both players owning three hole victories on the day. However, the 59-year-old won the next two holes to close out the match. Cassell had earned the top seed by besting the field by seven strokes over the 36 holes of on-site qualifying.
Desai had carded rounds of 75-76 over the weekend to earn a spot in the Monday morning playoff. It took him three holes – all pars – to secure his spot before he went on to pick up the victory. Desai, who serves on the MGA Foundation board, will take on Canada’s Don Martone on Tuesday at 7:30 a.m. in the Round of 32.
D. Scott Mackesy of Bronxville, N.Y., was also in the playoff, making birdie on the par-3 ninth hole to earn the first advancing position and the No. 62 seed. Mackesy owned a 2-up advantage through five holes, but No. 3 seed and 2024 champion Louis Brown of Marietta, Ga., won Nos. 7, 10 and 12 to take a 1-up lead. The lead was short lived though, as Mackesy won three consecutive holes to recapture a 2-up lead. Pars on the next two holes earned Mackesy the 2-and-1 win and a spot in Tuesday morning’s Round of 32. He will face Bill Hodges of Thomasville, Ga., at 9:30 a.m.
Jamie Slonis of Sewel, N.J., took the No. 40 seed with a pair of 74s. He had a back-and-forth match with Arnold Cutrell of Greensburg, Pa., with the pair tying just five holes. Slonis led 2 up through 15, but Cutrell won the next four holes to quickly flip the match and go on to the 2-and-1 win.
Gerard Connolly of Garden City, N.Y., had also earned a spot in match play, posting rounds of 75-74 en route to the No. 48 seed. His opponent David Yaclav of Flat Rock, Mich., took early hold of the match, winning the first five holes with pars. While Connolly won Nos. 8 and 9, Yaclav went on to the 4-and-3 victory.
ELMSFORD, N.Y. (August 28, 2026) – Several Met Area players have made the trip down the East Coast to Baltimore Country Club in Lutherville, Md., this week for the 71st U.S. Senior Amateur Championship. Stroke play qualifying for the 156-player field will take place Saturday and Sunday before the championship moves to match play to determine a champion.
Related: Senior Amateur Home Page | Pairings & Starting Times
D. Scott Mackesy of Bronxville, N.Y., and Westchester Senior Amateur champion Jason Zaniewski of Woodbury, Conn., both advanced through qualifying in late June from Ellington Ridge Country Club in Connecticut.
Michael McGovern of Oradell, N.J., and past MGA Father & Son champion Gerard Connolly of Garden City, N.Y., both earned his spot by advancing through qualifying at Hackensack Golf Club, while Jamie Slonis of Sewell, N.J., gained entry as an alternate from qualifying at Talamore at Oak Terrace Country Club in Ambler, Pa.
Match play for the low 64 players will begin Monday, August 31. Two rounds of matches are then slated for both Tuesday, September 1 and Wednesday, September 2, before the 18-hole championship on Thursday, September 4.
