ELMSFORD, N.Y. (August 21, 2006) - The Met Open Championship will be played this year at Canoe Brook Country Club in Summit, N.J., for the first time since 1923. The 91st renewal of the tournament will be played Tuesday through Thursday, August 22-24, preceded on Monday, August 21, by the Caddie Scholarship Pro-Am.  Both events will be sponsored for the 27th consecutive year by MetLife.  The championship will be played over the long and challenging North Course at Canoe Brook.

From its inception in 1905 through the 1940 renewal, the Met Open was considered a major on the professional tour, and was won by the likes of Gene Sarazen, Johnny Farrell, Tommy Armour, Paul Runyan, Byron Nelson, and Craig Wood, in addition to the brothers Alex and Macdonald Smith (who together captured seven Met Open titles, Alex Smith with a record four titles).  All were professionals from Met Area clubs. 

 

 

 

 

After an eight-year hiatus overlapping World War II, the Met Open became more of a regional championship, and was won by many of the top local club professionals, among them Claude Harmon, Al Mengert, Wes Ellis, Jimmy Wright, Jerry Pittman, Jim Albus, David Glenz and Darrell Kestner - not to mention such storied local amateurs as Chet Sanok, Jerry Courville Sr., George Zahringer, Jim McGovern,  Johnson Wagner, Andrew Svoboda, and defending champion John Stoltz, the last three winning in alternate years since 2001.  Wagner, who won the Met Open as an amateur in 2001, won the title again in 2002 as his first professional victory.

The high caliber of play and challenging venues have made the Met Open golf's most coveted regional title, and this year will be no different.  A total of 735 players, entered the championship, 41 of them enjoying exempt status.  The remainder earned a position in the championship proper at one of six sectional qualifying sites held in late July across the Met Area.  The winner will take home $23,000 from the $125,000 purse, and have his name engraved on the Walker L. Trammel trophy.

The Met Open will be contested at 54 holes, stroke play.  Each contestant will play 18 holes on both Tuesday, August 22, and Wednesday, August 23, after which the field will be pared to the low 60 plus ties for the final 18 holes on Thursday, August 24. 

A strong field will be on hand to compete, headed by defending champion John Stoltz of the Concord Resort.  Stoltz, who beat Craig Thomas of Muttontown in a three-hole playoff in 2005, returns to the Met Open after turning professional at the end of last season.  Challenging Stoltz for the title will be many of the Met Area’s most accomplished players, including two time Met Open winner (2004, 1998) Rick Hartmann of Atlantic and three-time winner (1982, ‘83 and ‘95)Darrell Kestner of Deepdale.  It will be Hartmann’s second trip to Canoe Brook this year which he will undoubtedly find somewhat more “tranquil” than his first visit on June 5th, when he found himself paired with teenager Michelle Wie in the US Open sectional qualifying round. Kestner has also won the 2003 and 2005 MGA Senior Open, three Met PGA Championships, the 1996 National Club Pro Championship and had top finishes in the 2005 U.S. Senior Open and Champions Tour’s Commerce Bank Classic.  He is in the midst of another strong season, with a win at the Long Island Open, and is always among the favorites in the field.

In addition to Kestner and Hartmann, the field will include previous winners Bill Britton of Twin Brooks Golf Center (1979), Bobby Heins of Old Oaks (1988 &’89), Kelley Moser of Westchester (1981), Mike Diffley of Pelham (1991), Charles Cowell of Forest Hill (1994), Mike Burke Jr. of Montammy (1997), Mark Brown of Tam O'Shanter (1999), Mike Gilmore of Piping Rock (2000), Mark Mielke of Mill River (1992) and Andrew Svoboda of Winged Foot (2003).

Looking for their first Met Open wins are an impressive list of Met Area talent headed by 2006 National Club Pro Champion Ron Philo of Metropolis who also won the 2006 Westchester Open.  He will be joined by 2006 Westchester PGA champion Frank Bensel of Century, New York State Open champion Jimmy Hazen of St. George’s, 2006 New Jersey Open champion Jason Lamp of Deal, New York State PGA Champion Rob Labritz of GlenArbor, New Jersey Charity Clambake champion Frank Esposito Jr. of Brooklake and Marty Vybihal of Deer Run, winner of the NJPGA Charity Classic.

The amateur contingent will be led by 2005 Met Amateur champion and MGA Jerry Courville Sr. Player of the Year, Ron Vannelli of Metuchen and two-time MGA/MetLife Public Links champion Mark Farrell of Higgins.

Canoe Brook will be well represented by head professional Greg Lecker, assistant professional Steve Scott, who was the runner-up to Tiger Woods at the 1996 U.S. Amateur Championship, and current club champion Peter Keller Sr.

As always play at the six qualifying rounds was highly competitive and we are indebted to the host clubs for extending their facilities to the MGA for these important events. We are also indebted to Canoe Brook Country Club for its kind hospitality in hosting what is sure to be an exciting edition of the Met Open.

 

Sponsored by:

 

Met Open Quick Facts

 

Canoe Brook Country Club (North Course)

Summit, New Jersey

 

Field:  133       Professionals: 109   Amateurs: 24

Exempt Players: 41

 

Format:  54-Hole Stroke Play over 2 days

Cut:  60 + ties after 36 holes

Defending Champion:  John Stoltz