Brad Faxon & Top Met Area Pros Lead

U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying Field

PURCHASE, N.Y. (May 28, 2008) – Eight-time PGA Tour winner Brad Faxon will lead a predominantly local field of 65 players at the 2008 U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying Round on Monday, June 2nd at Old Oaks Country Club in Purchase, N.Y. Faxon will be looking to earn his 21st appearance in the U.S. Open, which is scheduled for June 12-15 at Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego, Calif.  Players will compete over 36 holes of stroke play for one of four spots remaining in the Championship.

Joining Faxon in his bid will be a talented field of local professionals that includes no less than six former Met Open champions. Three of them emerged from the local qualifying round at the Glen Oaks Club on May 15 and are looking for a return trip to the U.S. Open: Andrew Svoboda of Larchmont, N.Y. (2003), also a former Met Amateur champion; Mark Mielke of the Mill River Club, East Norwich, N.Y., (1992); and Mike Gilmore of the Piping Rock Club, Locust Valley, N.Y. (2000). The three other former champions, John Guyton of Trump National, Briarcliff Manor, N.Y. (2006), John Stoltz of The Concord, Roscoe, N.Y. (2005), and Mike Diffley of Pelham CC, Pelham Manor, N.Y. (1991), are looking for their first trip to the U.S. Open. Other top Met Area professionals include two-time NJPGA Player of the Year Frank Esposito of Brooklake CC, Florham Park, N.J., who has already racked up wins in the 2008 NJPGA Charity Classic and NJPGA Head Pro Championship; Rob Labritz of GlenArbor GC, Bedford Hills, N.Y., the 2006 New York State PGA champion; former Met and Westchester PGA champion Carl Alexander of the GC of Purchase, Purchase, N.Y.; 2007 Met PGA Professional champion Greg Bisconti of  Saint Andrew’s; and two-time MGA/MetLife Public Links champion Mark Farrell of Westport, Conn. Also representing the PGA Tour is Sweden’s Mathias Gronberg and former Tour player Scott Dunlap of Duluth, Ga.

             The amateur side is led by former Carter Cup champion Morgan Hoffmann of Franklin Lakes, N.J., who survived a playoff at Manhattan Woods GC on May 13 to advance to sectional qualifying. Eighteen year-old Hoffmann is one of the top junior players in the country and will join the Oklahoma State University golf team in the fall. In 2005 he was the youngest player ever to make match play in the U.S. Amateur held that year at Merion GC in Ardmore, Pa. Other prominent amateurs include former Met Area player Austin “Ace” Eaton of North Sutton, N.H., the 2004 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion; former CSGA Player of the Year and 2007 U.S. Amateur Public Links finalist Cody Paladino of Kensington, Conn.; and Cornell University golf team member and former Met Junior semifinalist Robert Cronheim of Watchung, N.J.

Also of note are PGA Tour regulars and Met Area natives J.J. Henry and Johnson Wagner, who will be trying for a spot on June 2nd at the Columbus, Ohio sectional qualifier. Former Met Junior champ and PGA Tour player Marc Turnesa will also attempt to qualify on June 2nd at Jupiter Hills CC in Tequesta, Fla.

Sectional qualifying for the 2008 U.S. Open will be conducted at 13 sites on June 2, including one in England. A 14th sectional qualifier was played on May 26 in Japan. It is the fourth consecutive year that the USGA has offered these two international sectional qualifiers.

Old Oaks Country Club is one of Westchester County’s most highly regarded courses and was listed as one of the Top 50 courses in the Met Area by a recent ranking in The Met Golfer magazine. The design of the course dates back to 1926 and is credited to A.W. Tillinghast and Charles Alison. The course will be set up at 6,665 yards, par 70, for the sectional qualifier. U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying conducted by the Metropolitan Golf Association has a long and rich tradition in the Met Area and especially at Old Oaks, where the event has been held on numerous occasions. As in years past, the day promises to deliver some exciting golf as these 65 players vie for a coveted spot in the U.S. Open Championship.

             Full Media facilities and Internet access will be available on-site at Old Oaks. Scoring updates and results will be available on the MGA Web site, www.mgagolf.org. The event is open to the public and spectators are welcome.

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