MGA Player of the Year Race Off to Fast Start
ELMSFORD, N.Y. (May 24, 2010) – The race to win the 2010 MGA Jerry Courville Sr. Player of the Year is off to a fast start. Joe Saladino of Huntington, the 2008 Player of the Year, leads the pack after a win at the Havemeyer Invitational at Southward Ho Country Club on May 22. That victory, along with a semifinalist finish at the Richardson Invitational at the Seawane Club on May, brought Saladino’s total to 145 points, good for a 20-point lead over David Pierce of Neshanic Valley and John Crowley of Round Hill.
Pierce held the top spot for most of the month after his win at the NJSGA Mid-Amateur Championship on May 6. Crowley is also off to a good start: he was the runner-up finish at the Travis Invitational at Garden City GC on May 16 and also advanced to U.S. Open sectional qualifying after a 68 at the U.S. Open local qualifying round at Willow Ridge on May 17. Rounding out the top five are 2010 MGA Senior Amateur champ Steve Rose of Fresh Meadow and Jay Blumenfeld of Mountain Ridge, who was second at the MGA Senior Amateur and reached match play at the Travis Invitational.
The reigning MGA Player of the Year, Cameron Wilson of Shorehaven, earned his first points of the year when he advanced to U.S. Open sectional qualifying after carding a one-over-par 72 at the local qualifier at Eagle Oaks on May 19. Other notable names include Al Small of Fairmount, who finished t-3rd at the 2010 MGA Senior Amateur, with 90 points and Mike Ballo Jr. of Woodway, the runner-up to Wilson in the 2009 MGA Player of the Year race, with 80 points.
The MGA Jerry Courville Sr. Player of the Year Award is presented annually to the Met Area amateur who compiles the best record in select events during the course of the year. The recipient is confirmed by the MGA Executive Committee based on a system in which players earn points for their finishes in designated local, national and international championships. The award will be presented at the 113th MGA Annual Dinner and Meeting at Westchester Country Club on Wednesday, December 1, 2010.
Visit mgagolf.org throughout the season to follow the MGA Player of the Year race and for results from all the major events throughout the Met Area.
