McGovern Claims Second Career Senior Open Title
HEWLETT HARBOR, N.Y. (August 27, 2024) Two days and 36 holes were not enough to decide the winner of the 28th Lexus MGA Senior Open Championship as Jim McGovern of White Beeches edged amateur Trevor Randolph of Arcola with a birdie on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff at The Seawane Club. This was the first playoff to decide the Lexus MGA Senior Open Championship since 2016, when Jim McGovern also claimed the title at Brooklawn Country Club.
In the final round McGovern began the day two shots off the pace after shooting an opening round 68. His final round 70 started off well with four birdies on the front nine including three in a four-hole stretch. As the wind picked up in the afternoon on the links-style course, scoring proved more difficult for McGovern and the rest of the field.
After making seven consecutive pars on the final nine, McGovern gave back shots on the final two holes, making bogey on both to close out with a 2-under 70 for the day and a 6-under par 138 total.
Randolph also recorded a 4-under 68 to open the tournament and was paired a group behind McGovern. The two were toe to toe all afternoon, trading birdies and moving up the leaderboard. After a bogey on the fourth, Randolph got hot and made five birdies in a six-hole stretch. Like McGovern, Randolph added two bogeys down the stretch to fall back to 6-under par for the tournament. Randolph had a birdie look on the last hole, but it came up short to force the playoff.
After both players found the fairway on the par-4 first hole, McGovern first knocked his approach to 10 feet. Randolph's approach went long and left of the green, finding thick fescue. Though Randolph found the green, his 20-foot par bid didn't fall. McGovern then rolled in his birdie putt to secure the trophy in addition to the $5,000 top professional's prize that he already had locked up.
"In the playoff, I hit it in the same spot as this morning," said McGovern. "I had a 7-iron in there about the same distance and put it to 10 feet. Then Trevor kind of got a bad break his ball went over the back edge and got in some nasty stuff. He made a good five, all I was trying to do was lag it up there. It's funny when you're not really trying to make it, you're just trying to cozy it up there, then it falls in. It was great, good feeling."
This is McGovern's second Lexus MGA Senior Open Championship. McGovern claimed his first almost a decade ago at Brooklawn Country Club winning in a six hole playoff over Bill Van Orman.
"My mindset's changed recently," said McGovern. "When i'm playing I try to just get as comfortable as can be. I'm not really trying to do too much. I've been trying to hit it in play, knock it on the green, and give myself chances. This all changed about a month ago where my guys in the pro shop gave me a couple tips on putting, and It's changed my whole outlook on it."
Randolph took home second place and low amateur honors while Greg Bisconti of The Saint Andrew’s Golf Club finished in solo third place.
The 29th Lexus MGA Senior Open Championship will be held at Fairview Country Club in Greenwich, Conn., next year.
The Seawane Club has been a frequent host of Long Island Golf Association championships and a variety of qualifiers, but will be hosting its first MGA event since 1996 when it welcomed the Women’s Four-Ball. In fact, though the club has hosted four different events, this will be just the second individual championship staged at the venue, with the Senior Amateur having taken place at Seawane in 1946 and 1949.
The Devereux Emmet, links-like layout traverses flat, nearly treeless terrain laid out on land reclaimed from marshes. All the elements found near the ocean – winds, water, and sand – stand as vital defenses in addition to contoured greens. The club’s most recent course work has been led by golf course architect Jeff Stein and also guided by course superintendent Ryan Bell, incorporating views of sand and fescue from tee to green to convey a seaside feeling.