ELMSFORD, N.Y. (May 30, 2007) – In a far cry from 2006, where Michelle Wie’s appearance in the U.S Open Sectional Qualifying Round at Canoe Brook Country Club drew 4,000 spectators and created a bona fide media frenzy, this year’s Sectional Qualifying Round on June 4th at Century Country Club in Purchase, N.Y., promises to be a more temperate affair. A predominantly local field of 58 players will compete over 36 holes for one of three spots in the U.S. Open Championship at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pa., on June 14-17.

Even without Ms. Wie and the attraction of The Barclays for PGA Tour players, this year’s field will have no shortage of outstanding local and national talent. Leading the professional contingent will be 2006 Met Open Champion John Guyton of Trump National-Westchester; Fenway’s Heath Wassem, the 2006 Met PGA Head Pro champion; 2005 N.Y. State Open champion Frank Bensel of Century; and two-time Long Island Open champion Bob Rittberger of Garden City Golf Club. Also included in the field are Charles Meola of Fairview Country Club in Greenwich, Conn., Brian Gaffney of Rumson Country Club in New Jersey, and 2004 Hochster Memorial and 1997 MGA/MetLife Boys championTyler Hall of Wayne, N.J., who finished t-5th in the 2004 Met Open.

The Nationwide Tour will be represented by 2002 U.S. Amateur champion Ricky Barnes of Scottsdale, Ariz., and Paul Dickinson (formerly of Montauk  Downs), the 1996 and ‘97 MGA/MetLife Public Links champion who has had two strong showings in Nationwide Tour events this season.  

The amateur side is led by 2002 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion and nine-time MGA Player of the Year, George Zahringer of Deepdale; 2004 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion Austin “Ace” Eaton, of  North Sutton, N.H., (formerly of Sterling Farms, Conn.) and George “Buddy” Marucci, the current Walker Cup Captain who was runner-up to Tiger Woods at the 1995 U.S. Amateur. Penn State golf team member Kevin Foley of Somerville N.J., the 2006 Met Amateur runner-up and 2007 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, and Jon McLean, son of nationally renowned golf instructor and Met Area native Jim McLean, will also be in the field at Century. 

Though not qualifying at Century on June 4th, all local eyes will be watching as four other Met Area natives try for a spot in the Open at other sites throughout the country. These include five-time MGA Championship winner Johnson Wagner of Garrison, N.Y., a two-time Nationwide Tour winner in the midst of a very successful rookie season on the PGA Tour, who will try to qualify in Memphis, Tenn., and former New Jersey State Amateur champion Chris Nallen of Hackettstown, N.J., a Nationwide Tour regular who will play at Double Eagle C in Columbus, Ohio, in hopes for a third trip to the U.S. Open. Fairfield, Conn., native J.J. Henry is exempt from sectional qualifying due to his top-30 finish on the 2006 PGA Tour Money List. Reigning Met PGA Player of the Year Ron Philo of Hudson National and Rob Labritz of GlenArbor will play in the Rockville, Md., sectional qualifying site. 

Century Country Club is one of Westchester County’s most highly-regarded courses and was listed as one of the Top 25 courses in the Met Area by a recent ranking in The Met Golfer Magazine. Designed by the legendary team of H.S. Colt and Charles Alison, the course opened in 1924 and will be set up at 6,809 yards, par 71, for the sectional qualifier.

U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying, conducted by the Metropolitan Golf Association, has a long and rich tradition. In 2006, a record field of 153 players, including Michelle Wie and major championship winners Mark O’Meara and Mark Brooks, competed in sectional qualifying at Canoe Brook CC in Summit, N.J. While this year’s event will be smaller in scale, it promises to be an exciting day of golf in which a spot in the field of golf’s toughest major will be up for grabs.

       

For more information, contact Bob Nielsen or Gene Westmoreland of the MGA at (914) 347-GOLF (4653) or visit www.mgagolf.org for live scoring.

 

SPECTATOR INFORMATION

 

U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying Sites:

 

State	City	Host Club
Monday, May 28 At:
Japan	Ibaraki Pref	Ohtone CC (East C)
Monday, June 4 At:
Calif.	Murrieta	Bear Creek GC
Colo.	Columbine Valley	Columbine CC
England	Surrey	Walton Heath GC
Fla.	Tequesta	Jupiter Hills C
Ga.	Ball Ground	Hawks Ridge GC
Ill.	North Riverside	Riverside GC
Kan.	Mission Hills	Indian Hills CC
Md.	Rockville	Woodmont CC
N.Y.	Purchase	Century CC
Ohio	Columbus	OSU Scarlet GC/Scioto CC & Double Eagle C
Ohio	Columbus #2	Double Eagle C
Tenn.	Memphis	Colonial CC (North & South C) & Chickasaw CC
Texas	Dallas	Northwood C
Wash.	Bremerton	Golf Mountain GC (Olympic C)