WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (August 28, 2007) – In his first year of senior eligibility,Bruce Zabriski made a triumphant return to the Met Area and won the 2007 MGA Senior Open Championship, presented by Canon, USA, at Metropolis Country Club. Zabriski posted the low round of the championship, a two-under 69 for a 140 total, two strokes better than amateur Richard Jung of Sterling Farms and two-time Met Open champion Bobby Heins of Old Oaks. Zabriski takes home the $6,000 first prize and joins Darrell Kestner and Bill Britton as the only players to win both the Met Open and MGA Senior Open in their playing careers.

Zabriski, who won the 1993 and ’96 Met Opens, arrived in the Met Area last week to compete in the 92nd Met Open Championship at Meadow Brook. “I had the time and have so many friends up here, and great golf courses. So this year it worked out, and it’s a great feeling.”

After Monday’s first round, 56 players made the cut and returned for today’s final round. Zabriski entered the final round one stroke back of Chris Dachisen of North Jersey, amateur Allan Small of Fairmount and Heins. He followed an even-par 35 on the front nine with a two-under 34 on the back, including consecutive birdies at the 14th, 15th and 16th holes, to take the lead over Jung, who was in the clubhouse at 142. Heins, who had a difficult front nine with three bogeys, hit his stride on the back nine with four birdies and pulled to within a stroke of Zabriski. Zabriski’s birdie at the 16th officially put Heins out of contention.

In addition to Jung, Small and George Zahringer III of Deepdale represented a group of amateurs who played exceptionally well over two days. Zahringer, who entered the final round two back of the leaders, had an up-and-down front nine with four bogeys and four birdies. However, a double bogey at the 8th hole (Zahringer’s 17th) put him out of contention and he finished t-10th. Small, the two-time New Jersey State Mid-Amateur champion, was unable to get any momentum going in the final round, and fired a solid 73 and finished alone in fourth place.

Other professionals of note include two-time champion Darrell Kestner (t-5th), former Met Open champion Mike Burke Jr. of Montammy (t-5th) and defending champion Bill Britton of Twin Brooks Golf Center (t-15th).

The MGA Senior Open title adds a bit more luster to Zabriski’s already accomplished career, which in addition to the Met Opens includes a New York State Open and a Met PGA Championship. A prominent club pro in the Met Area for many years, Zabriski was a five-time PGA Professional Player of the Year in the 1990s. Zabriski moved to Florida several years ago to work as a head professional at Donald Trump’s new course in West Palm Beach. He later moved on to nearby Old Palm Golf Club, but now works for Jim Fazio Golf Design as a course development consultant.

Zabriski is a Southampton, N.Y., native who keeps numerous close ties to the Met Area despite his Florida address. In fact, one of the keys to his victory was a putting tip given by Leon Murano, a Westchester Country Club member who Zabriski was staying with this week. “He’s been an old friend since I worked at Westchester, and he watched me putt and said that my putter was coming up in the air too high in the follow through. He said, ‘You have to keep that low.’ So I did and started putting better, and he was right. He was lucky, but he was right!”

With this win, Zabriski has his sights set on the next phase of his playing career. “I just turned 50 and I’m going to enter [Champions Tour] Q-School the next couple years. It’s something I want to try. It’s terrific…you turn 50 and it’s like you’re a kid again. You start dreaming of things like that.”

Now that Zabriski has added a third MGA championship title to his resume, his dreams are closer to becoming reality.

 

Presented by: