ELMSFORD, N.Y. (September 26, 2011) – The teams are selected and anticipation is building for the biennial Governor Hugh L. Carey Challenge Cup presented by Mutual of America, which will be held October 18-20 on the famed Black Course at Bethpage State Park in Farmingdale, N.Y. The international competition, informally known as the Carey Cup, was last played on U.S. soil in 2007 at Trump National-Westchester in Briarcliff Manor, N.Y., and was held in Ireland at the Links at Portmarnock in 2009.

The Carey Cup takes on special meaning this year following the death in August of the event’s founder and namesake, former New York governor Hugh L. Carey. Mr. Carey was a visionary and inspiration to everyone involved in the matches, and rarely missed a chance to visit with the players and officials who participated in the competition.

The Carey Cup began in 1990, when a team of amateurs from the Golfing Union of Ireland traveled to the U.S. to compete against a team of MGA amateurs in what was then called the Metedeconk International Challenge Cup, held at Metedeconk National Golf Club in Jackson, N.J. The teams played again in Ireland in 1992, but the event was not held in 1994.

In 1996, Governor Carey, a proud Irish-American, spearheaded a revival of the matches to foster sportsmanship and goodwill between the countries, and the matches were named in his honor. Every two years since, the Carey Cup has been played in a spirit of camaraderie and competition, and this year it will be held for the first time at Bethpage, a two-time U.S. Open venue and future host site of The Barclays.

The 2011 MGA Carey Cup team was selected on the basis of their tournament accomplishments in 2011 as well as their commitment to sportsmanship. The team, led by non-playing captain Al Small of Fairmount Country Club (Chatham, N.J.), includes a geographical and generational cross-section of outstanding players:

	Mike Miller, 19, of Knollwood Country Club in Elmsford, N.Y. Miller won the 2011 Met Amateur at Piping Rock and the 2011 Brae Burn Invitational, and is the current leader on the Polo Golf MGA Player of the Year Points Standings. Miller also won the 2010 Met Junior Championship.
	Dennis Lynch, 50, of the Nassau Players Club on Long Island. Lynch is a two-time MGA Mid-Amateur winner, the first-ever two-time champion of the event.
	Joe Saladino, 31, of Huntington Country Club in Huntington, N.Y. A two-time (2008 and 2010) MGA Player of the Year, Saladino won the 2011 Long Island Amateur and Richardson Invitational, and finished in second place at the 2011 Ike Championship.
	Cameron Young, 14, of Sleepy Hollow Country Club in Scarborough, N.Y. The youngest-ever member of an MGA international team, Young won the 2011 Westchester Amateur and 2011 Carter Cup at Baltusrol. He made it to the quarterfinals of the 2011 Met Amateur.
	Clancy Waugh, 16, of Deepdale Golf Club in Manhasset, N.Y. Waugh was the low amateur at the 2011 New York State Open at Bethpage and was the runner-up to Saladino at the Long Island Amateur. He was the medalist on the victorious MGA team that won the Williamson Cup in August.
	Conor Casey, 22, of Madison Golf Club in Madison, N.J. An alumnus of Villanova University who played on the golf team there, Casey made the cut at the 2011 NJSGA Amateur and reached match play at the 2011 Met Amateur. He was named to the Division I PING All-Region team for the Northeast by the Golf Coaches Association of America.

The team from the Golfing Union of Ireland is headlined by 21-year-old Alan Dunbar, who compiled a record of 2-1-0 in the 2011 Walker Cup Matches at Royal Aberdeen in Scotland. Dunbar is joined by 18-year-old Dermot McElroy, the youngest member of the squad, along with Aaron Kearney, 25; Richard O’Donovan, 20; Gary McDermott, 30; and Niall Gorey, 32.

The late Governor Carey and the late Vincent Nolan, another longtime supporter of the Carey Cup in Ireland, will be named as honorary captains of the MGA and GUI teams.

The Carey Cup begins with an “Am-Am” competition on Tuesday, October 18, which provides an opportunity for the general public, corporate partners and friends to play a round on the famed course with one of the GUI or MGA team members. The Am-Am will conclude with a special dinner honoring William J. Flynn, Chairman Emeritus of Mutual of America. Mr. Flynn, one of the country’s most decorated Irish-Americans, will be honored with the inaugural Four Horseman Award, created by the Carey family in recognition of the Four Horsemen — Carey, Edward M. Kennedy, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, and Tip O’Neill — who worked tirelessly for many years on resolving conflicts in Northern Ireland. Bill Flynn was one of Governor Carey’s closest friends and worked for much of his life to help negotiate a peace settlement in Northern Ireland.

The matches will commence on Wednesday, October 19 with foursome (alternate-shot) matches in the morning followed by fourball matches in the afternoon. The competition concludes on Thursday, October 20 with singles matches. All six players from each team compete in every round of competition.

The team from the Emerald Isle has the upper hand when it comes to the history of the Carey Cup, as the GUI has won seven of the ten competitions contested. The teams tied in 2007 when it was last held on American soil at Trump National-Westchester, and the last time the MGA won outright was in 1996 at Hudson National.

Stay tuned to mgagolf.org in the days leading up to the matches for more details on the participants and the course setup at Bethpage Black. During the Carey Cup, the MGA will provide live scoring, blogs, and regular updates on mgagolf.org and through the MGA's mobile app and social media outlets.