CROTON-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. (October 12, 2007) – If there were a player MGA Carey Cup captain Al Small would have wanted standing over a 45-foot putt on the 18th hole to win the matches for the MGA, chances are it would have been 2007 Met Amateur champion Greg Rohlf of Winged Foot. One of the best competitors in the Met Area, Rohlf nearly sank the long, double-breaking birdie attempt that would have won his match against Paul O’Hanlon, which was all square going to the 18th hole at Trump National Golf Club. When Rohlf’s putt stopped just inches from the hole, Rohlf and the close-knit MGA team could only watch as O’Hanlon sank his two-foot par putt to halve the match and retain the Carey Cup for the Golfing Union of Ireland.  

On a day that started out gray and gloomy and became bright and sunny, both teams displayed the camaraderie and competitive spirit that former New York Governor Hugh L. Carey envisioned when he lent his name to the matches back in 1996. After the completion of the foursome matches, which had been suspended after a rain delay on Thursday afternoon, the MGA held a 3 ½ - 2 ½ lead entering the six singles matches. In the singles, Adam Fuchs of Hamlet Windwatch was a 5 & 4 winner over Paul Cutler, and teen standout Morgan Hoffmann of Arcola also scored a 5 & 4 decision over Cian Curley.

The GUI team won three singles matches, as Shane Lowry defeated Brian Komline of High Bridge Hills 3 & 2, Simon Ward beat Cameron Wilson 6 & 5, and Niall Kearney earned a 2-up win over Joe Saladino of Huntington. Those results brought the matches to a 5 ½ - 5 ½ deadlock, meaning the final singles match between Rohlf and O’Hanlon would decide it. Rohlf was 1 down on the 17th tee, but won that hole with a par after O’Hanlon three-putted. The 18th hole at Trump National is a brawny, uphill par four of 465 yards, and the 41-year-old Rohlf hit the green in two while O’Hanlon came up 10 yards short. O’Hanlon then played a beautiful chip-and-run to two feet, and the stage was set for Rohlf. With a crowd of MGA partisans cheering him on, Rohlf hit a well-struck putt that looked as if it might drop. However, it just hung on the edge, and O’Hanlon calmly sunk his par to halve the match.

The Golfing Union of Ireland had won the Carey Cup during its last playing, in 2005 at Carton House in Ireland. Out of a possible 12 points, the GUI team needed six to retain the cup, and the MGA needed 6 ½ points to win it. With the matches ending in a 6-6 tie, Ireland will bring the cup back to Ireland.

The Carey Cup matches were inaugurated in 1996 by former New York State Governor Hugh L. Carey as a way to stimulate sportsmanship and goodwill between the U.S. and Ireland. The event is a reincarnation of the Metedeconk Challenge, which was played in 1990 and ’92 and matched teams of Irish and American amateur golfers in a Walker Cup-style competition. This year’s event marks the seventh playing of the Carey Cup, which is presented by First American Title Insurance Company of New York. The field consists of six-man teams of amateur golfers representing the Metropolitan Golf Association and the Golfing Union of Ireland.