MGA Mid-Amateur Championship Preview
CROTON-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. (October 11, 2007) - The inaugural MGA Mid-Amateur Championship, the first new MGA championship in eleven years, will be played on October 15 and 16 at Hudson National Golf Club in Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y. The 36-hole stroke play competition features a talented field of 90 players aged 35 years and older from across the Met Area who will have to contend with one of the toughest and most renowned courses in the region.
The Mid-Amateur is the first new MGA event since the Senior Open debuted in 1996. It is an invitational event made up of players who are members of MGA clubs and who have reached their 35th birthday by October 15, 2007. In addition, the invitees must meet one or more of the playing criteria set forth by the MGA. The criteria included 2007 qualifiers and past winners of the Met Amateur, Met Open, Ike Championship and MGA/MetLife Public Links; qualifiers for 2007 USGA events including the Open (local qualifying), Amateur, Mid-Amateur, Senior Amateur, Senior Open or Amateur Public Links; the top five finishers in the MGA Senior Amateur; and those who survived the 18-hole cut at the MGA Senior Open. A representative of Hudson National GC was also invited, as were players who reached the semifinals or finished in the top five in select Met Area events. The full eligibility criteria can be found by visiting the MGA Web site at www.mgagolf.org.
After Monday’s first round, the starting field of 90 will be cut to the low 40 players and ties, who will advance to the second round. The outstanding array of talented amateurs in the field of 90 players includes 14 former MGA champions and two former MGA Jerry Courville Sr. Player of the Year award winners. Players of note include reigning Met Amateur champion and 1998 MGA Player of the Year Greg Rohlf of Winged Foot and 2006 MGA Senior Amateur champion Jay Blumenfeld of Mountain Ridge. There are a number of players who are seeking their first MGA title, led by two-time New Jersey State Mid-Amateur winner Al Small of Fairmount; 2007 Westchester Amateur runner-up Mike Reardon of Tuxedo; and 2007 Rockland County Amateur winner Patrick Pierson of Minisceongo. Ron Vannelli of Metuchen, the 2005 Met Amateur champion and MGA Player of the Year, and former Met Amateur and Ike winner Jeff Putman of Winged Foot, are also in the field.
The Mid-Amateur will mark the fourth time Hudson National has hosted an MGA championship. After opening in June of 1996, the club hosted the Carey Cup Matches that year followed by the 2001 Met Amateur and the 2004 Met Open. Almost since its opening, Hudson National has been considered one of the top layouts in the country. Designed by Tom Fazio, the 6,955-yard course features river views on 12 holes and a masterful design set among the rolling hills of the Hudson Valley.
Live scoring updates will be available on the MGA Web site, www.mgagolf.org, and full results will be sent out at the conclusion of play on both days. For more information on this year’s championship contact Bob Nielsen (bnielsen@mgagolf.org) or Gene Westmoreland (gwestmore@mgagolf.org) at the MGA, 914-347-4653.
