Carter Cup Returns to Baltusrol
Photo by Evan Schiller
ELMSFORD, N.Y. (July 23, 2021) - The 19th MGA Carter Cup returns home to Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, N.J., on Tuesday, July 27. The championship is the MGA's official Junior Stroke Play Championship and is typically hosted at Baltusrol; in 2020 the invitational event was held at nearby Canoe Brook Country Club while Baltusrol's Lower Course underwent a restoration and secondary host Winged Foot prepared for the U.S. Open Championship.
Related: Pairings | Carter Cup History | Carter Cup Records
The Carter Cup was first played in 2003 and is named in honor of Michael P. Carter, an accomplished junior player at Baltusrol and standout member of the golf team at New Jersey’s Delbarton School who died in a car accident in 2002. Carter had won the junior club championships at both Baltusrol and Winged Foot, and at the time of his death played for Penn State.
Even with its brief history, the Carter Cup has produced an incredible list of champions, including professionals Morgan Hoffmann (2005), and David Pastore (2010) and Cameron Young (2011). The field once again contains the region's top rising stars, who earned entry to the event based on performance in notable Met Area events.
It's Been a While
Between weather challenges and having the competition staged elsewhere mutliple times in recent years, the last time the Carter Cup champion won over the traditional 36 holes at Baltusrol Golf Club was 2015.
MGA Champions in the Field
A number of former and current MGA champs are slated to compete: Luke Sample of New York, N.Y., the reigning Met Open champion; Colin Summers of Westfield, N.J., who claimed the Met Junior title earlier in July at The Tuxedo Club; and two-time MGA/MetLife Boys' winner Reed Greyserman of Short Hills, N.J.
Carter Cup Consistency
Three players in the field have logged multiple top-10 finishes in the Carter Cup. Both Sample and Dean Greyserman of Short Hills, N.J. have done so in each of the last two years, while Charlie Berridge of Scarsdale, N.Y., finished tied fourth in 2020 and tied seventh in 2019 to go along with a tie for 13th in 2019.
Back Again
In addition to Berridge, Dean Greyserman and Berridge, four more players are looking to be in the mix on the leaderboard following top-10 finishes in 2020: Cole Ekert of Chatham, N.Y., who was last year's runner up; Nathan Drogin of Essex Fells, N.J.; Zachary Ong of Scarsdale, N.Y.; and Garrett Kessler of North Caldwell, N.J.
Junior-Carter Cup Double
Only three players (Patrick Fillian, David Pastore, Cameron Young) have won the Met Junior and the Carter Cup in their career. Sample and Summers are the lone competitors in the field with a shot to become the fourth.
Boys-Carter Cup
Cameron Wilson is the only player to have won both the MGA/MetLife Boys and Carter Cup in his career. Either Sample or Lance Hollingshead could join Wilson, having won the Boys title in 2018 and 2021, respectively. Sample would be the only player to have ever won all three of the MGA's junior championships in his career.
Junior Player of the Year
The Carter Cup is another marquee event in the season-long race for the MGA Junior Player of the Year Award, Presented by Callaway, which is now in its fifth year. The winner will receive 225 points.
Restored and Rejuvenated
Following an 18-month restoration of the Lower Course, the juniors will get to experience the layout that turns back the clock to Tillinghast's intent. Golf course architect Gil Hanse and his team replaced fairway bunkers, restored wider, twisting fairways, returned greens to their original sizes, reintroduced ramp approaches to greens and repositioned greenside bunkers. You can read more about the restoration in June's issue of Met Golfer Extra.
Format
- Invitational championship, based on criteria set by the MGA and MGA Foundation
- One day, 36-holes of stroke play upon Baltusrol's Upper and Lower courses
Coverage
- Hole-by-hole scoring throughout both rounds
- Social Media: @MGA1897 on Twitter for updates throughout the day; additional content on Facebook and Instagram
- Scoring, recaps and photos on mgagolf.org