ELMSFORD, N.Y. (August 8, 2006) - Sixteen Boys will play in the 38th MGA/MetLife Boys Championship scheduled for Thursday and Friday, August 10th and 11th at the Gardiner’s Bay Country Club on Shelter Island, N.Y.  The contestants will compete over two days of match play, preceded by a practice round and cookout on Wednesday, August 9th.  This year marks the seventh time Gardiner’s Bay has hosted this event.     

The MGA/MetLife Boys Championship is open to any boy, not yet 16 years of age, who is a student in good standing at an accredited school in the MGA district or who has playing privileges at an MGA member club.

All but one of the sixteen boys in the championship qualified via one of four qualifying rounds held concurrently with the qualifying rounds for the MGA/MetLife Junior Championship in late June, and eight of those players actually competed in the Junior Championship. The field will be headed by David Pastore of Greenwich, Conn., winner of the 2006 MGA/MetLife Junior Championship at The Apawamis Club and the youngest champion in that event’s long history.  Among the other contenders will be Brian Hwang of Happauge, N.Y., a quarter-finalist in 2005, who took Pastore to the 17th hole in the first round of the 2006 MGA Junior; Dylan Newman of New Rochelle, N.Y., who lost a close match to Met Amateur champion Tommy McDonagh in the first round of the 2006 MGA Junior; Michael Miller of Brewster, N.Y., winner of two matches in the MGA Junior this year; Andrew DeForest of Rondout, N.Y., who also won one match at this year’s MGA Junior; Cameron Wilson of Rowayton, Conn., who was the top finisher (t-8th) among Met Area youngsters in the recent AJGA Fidelity Investments Junior at Trump National Golf Club, Bedminster; and Russell Holmes of Gardiner’s Bay, the club’s junior champion and 2006 Long Island Golf Association Junior champion.       

Gardiner’s Bay’s scenic island location between the north and south forks of Long Island and its great tradition of support of junior golf have made it a favorite site for this event.  Founded in 1951, the golf course actually dates back to 1895, when a nine-hole course was built to supplement the offerings of the Manhasset Manor House, a famous resort hotel built in 1873.  The hotel burned to the ground in 1910, and was succeeded five years later by the Dering Harbor Casino, which served as the clubhouse for the Seth Raynor redesign later called the Dering Harbor Golf Club.  The course was brought into its current configuration in 1926, when the present clubhouse was built.  The club closed its doors during World War II, and lay dormant until 1951, when the present club was formed.  The original design has undergone many revisions but remains a family-friendly layout, with many holes offering sweeping views of the surrounding water.        

In a season that has seen the Met Area’s younger players emerge as serious contenders and champions at top amateur events, the Boys Championship should provide some great golf and perhaps a preview of a future Met Amateur or Met Open champion.         

For more information on this year’s Boys Championship please contact Lou Cutolo of the MGA at (914) 347-4653 or visit the MGA website at www.mgagolf.org.