Bayonne, Friar’s Head Headline

2008 MGA Championship Schedule

       

ELMSFORD, N.Y. (December 14, 2007) - For more than a century, the Metropolitan Golf Association has provided local golfers and fans alike with an outstanding schedule of highly competitive championships, regularly played at some of the region’s most prestigious clubs. The 2008 schedule will continue that tradition in grand style, including events at two of the most talked-about new clubs in the Met Area, Friar’s Head on Long Island and Bayonne Golf Club in New Jersey.

Three of Association’s major events, the Ike, presented by Canon, USA, the Met Amateur and Met Open, sponsored by MetLife, will be contested on three of the most challenging courses in the Met Area ¾ the Ike on the Donald Ross-designed Mountain Ridge Country Club in West Caldwell, N.J., the Amateur at the spectacular new Friar’s Head in Baiting Hollow, N.Y., and the Open at the Country Club of Fairfield in Fairfield, Conn. All three of these courses were in the top 20 in a recent ranking of the top 50 courses in the Met Area by The Met Golfer.

During the 2008 season, the MGA will conduct a total of 17 Championships, part of a schedule that includes 33 qualifying rounds as well as 18 qualifying rounds for USGA Championships. For the 28th consecutive season, the MGA welcomes MetLife as a sponsor of eight MGA events as well as our Calendar of Competitions. Canon, USA returns for a sixth year as sponsor of the Ike and the MGA Senior Open championships. The support of these sponsors allows the MGA tournament program to maintain its premier reputation across the country. A complete rundown of the schedule follows.

MAY

The Met Area’s senior players (aged 55 and over) begin the season with the 81st playing of the Senior Amateur Championship at the recently renovated Wee Burn Country Club in Darien, Conn., on May 5 and 6. This is followed by the always popular Senior Net Four-Ball tournament on May 12 at Lawrence Village GC in Lawrence, N.Y., an event which is open to players 50 and over.

JUNE

After a one-month championship hiatus, the MGA tournament schedule resumes with the Father & Son (Gross) Championship on June 17 at Metedeconk National GC in Jackson Township, N.J., site of the 1996 Ike Championship and the 2003 Met Open. The season then shifts into high gear with the first major championship of the year. Sponsored for the sixth year by Canon, USA, the Ike-MGA Stroke-Play Championship will be played for the first time at Mountain Ridge CC on June 23 and 24. The final field will compete in the first round on June 23, after which the field will be cut to the low 40 (plus ties). The final two rounds of the 54-hole event will be played on June 24 to decide the individual and team champions. Defending champion and 2007 MGA Jerry Courville Sr. Player of the Year George Zahringer III of Deepdale will look to win a record-tying sixth Ike title against the traditionally stiff competition. June will conclude with the MGA/MetLife Men’s Net Team Championship, often referred to as “The U.S. Open for the Average Golfer,” which will take place on June 26 at Mount Kisco CC in Mount Kisco, N.Y.

JULY

July begins with the 61st MGA/MetLife Public Links Championship. The one-day, 36-hole championship will be played on July 8 at Richter Park GC in Danbury, Conn., one of the top public layouts in the country. Next up is the MGA/WMGA Women’s Public Links Championship on July 17 at Bethpage State Park’s Red Course in Farmingdale, N.Y. The Met Junior, the nation’s oldest junior championship, will be contested at Rockaway River CC in Denville, N.J., on July 15-17 and again is sponsored by MetLife. This is the 11th time Rockaway River has hosted the Junior, and it will be preceded on July 16 by the MGA/MetLife Pro-Junior Tournament. The Met Junior often provides a preview of future contenders in the region’s top amateur events.

AUGUST

Seven championships will be contested in August, beginning on August 6 with the sixth edition of the The Carter Cup - MGA Junior Stroke Play Championship at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, N.J. The following day, Friar’s Head will host its first MGA championship when the Met Amateur begins. The championship will run from Thursday, August 7 through Sunday, August 10. Stroke-play qualifying will determine the 16 golfers who advance to the match-play portion. After two days of match play, the final match will be played over 36 holes. Along with the Ike Championship, the Met Amateur will also go a long way in determining the 2008 MGA Jerry Courville Sr. Player of the Year Award. The Amateur will be followed by the Father & Son (Net) Tournament on August 13 at Colonial Springs CC in East Farmingdale, N.Y. On August 14 and 15, the MGA/MetLife Boys Championship will be hosted once again at Rumson CC in Rumson, N.J. This will mark the ninth time that Rumson will host the Boys, which is open to young men not yet 16 years of age. August 19-21 will feature the Met Area’s top professionals and leading amateurs as they vie for the Met Open title at the Country Club of Fairfield in Fairfield, Conn. This is the first Met Open hosted by the Seth Raynor-designed Fairfield, which was ranked 10th best course in the Met Area by The Met Golfer. The players will compete for the purse of $150,000. Sponsored by MetLife for the 28th year, the Met Open will be preceded on August 18 by the MGA/MetLife Caddie Scholarship Pro-Am, with proceeds going to support the Caddie Scholarship Funds of the Long Island, New Jersey and Westchester Golf Associations. The Met Open will be followed by the MGA Senior Open at Hollywood GC in Deal, N.J., on August 25 and 26. Sponsored by Canon, USA for the sixth consecutive year, the field of senior professionals and amateurs (age 50 and up) will compete over 36 holes for a purse of $30,000. The Senior Open, won by former Met Open champion Bruce Zabriski last year, has quickly become one of the most competitive events on the schedule.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER    

There is one event on the September schedule, the MGA Mixed Pinehurst Championship on September 2 at Essex Fells GC in Essex Fells, N.J. That is followed by the MGA/MetLife Women's Net Team Championship, which will be played at Towers GC in Floral Park, N.Y., on October 2. The season concludes with the second playing of the MGA Mid-Amateur Championship. The Mid-Amateur is hosted by the much talked about Bayonne GC in Bayonne, N.J., on October 6 and 7. Designed by Eric Bergstol, the course opened in 2006 to rave reviews and should prove to be a challenging venue for the MGA’s newest championship. Defending champion Mike Reardon of The Tuxedo Club will look to keep the Westmoreland Cup, the permanent Mid-Amateur trophy named for MGA Tournament Director Gene Westmoreland. Eligibility for the Mid-Amateur will be based on performance in specific events throughout the season and players must be 35 years of age or older. Click here for more details at our Web site.

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Gene Westmoreland or Bob Nielsen of the MGA at (914) 347-4653 or via e-mail: gwestmore@mgagolf.org orbnielsen@mgagolf.org.