Met Amateur Returns to Friar's Head
Heading toward the Long Island Sound on the par-4 15th at Friar's Head.
ELMSFORD, N.Y. (July 31, 2023) – The much anticipated 121st Met Amateur Championship takes place this week as 75 of the region’s top competitors battle for the MGA’s oldest championship at Friar’s Head beginning Thursday.
Related: Pairings | Met Amateur History | Met Amateur Records
This is the fourth MGA championship hosted by the spectacular Coore & Crenshaw layout that sprawls across 350 acres of old farmlands and towering dunes along the Long Island Sound. It first hosted the Met Amateur in 2008, with Tommy McDonagh capturing the title, while Cameron Young won the Ike in 2015 and Chris DeJohn was victorious in the 2021 MGA Mid-Am at the course.
While the Met Amateur stands as the hardest MGA championship for which to qualify, this year was extra tough as a record 847 players registered for the event in hopes of competing at Friar’s Head. Players will first compete over 36 holes of stroke play qualifying on Thursday to see who advances to the 16-player bracket. Two rounds of match play follow Friday, with the semifinals taking place Saturday and the 36-hole final determining a champion on Sunday.
The championship always stands as a test of both skill and stamina and has been claimed by the likes of Walter Travis, Willie Turnesa, Frank Strafaci, Dick Siderowf, Jerry Courville, Sr., George Zahringer and many more through its noted history.
Friar’s Head has moved steadily up numerous rankings with each new survey, most recently moving to No. 15 in the 2023-24 America’s Greatest Golf Courses listing by GolfDigest. The layout will provide plenty of excitement for match play with a variety of options available in terms of course setup and a stellar field looking to make their mark in the MGA record books.
Past Champions
Five past champions are in the field at Friar’s Head, including five-time champion George Zahringer of Deepdale (1982, ’84-’87), Friar’s Head managing member Ken Bakst (‘96), Pat Wilson of Hamilton Farm (2013), MGA eClub - Long Island member Garett Engel, and Brad Tilley of Sleepy Hollow (2022).
A Chance to Defend
Nine different players have been successful in defending their title in back-to-back years. Tilley is aiming to become the first to repeat in the Met Amateur since Johnson Wagner in 2001 and 2002.
Repeating a Run
Six players in the field have finished as runner-up in the Met Amateur: Robbie Herzig of Old Oaks (2022), Trevor Randolph of Arcola (2013, ’21), Luke Sample of Old Oaks (2020), Christian Cavaliere of Mahopac (2018), Ethan Ng of Knickerbocker (2016) and Matthew Lowe of Bethpage (2014).
Making Match Play
Mark Costanza of Baltusrol owns the longest active streak of advancing to match play, having done so each of the last three years. Meanwhile, Tilley is the only player additional player with a current streak, having advanced to match play the last two years.
Back in the Bracket?
Players looking to make their own streak like those of Costanza and Tilley after advancing to match play at Fenway last year include Cavaliere, Ryan Coughlin of Westchester, Tyler Gerbavsits of Huntington Crescent, Nathan Han of Salem, Herzig, Ben Loomis of Winged Foot, Lowe, MGA eClub – Connecticut member Thomas McCarthy, Sample, Erik Stauderman of Casperkill.
Fine Play at Friar’s Head
Trevor Randolph of Arcola is the lone player in the field to turn in top-10 performances in each of the last two MGA championships at Friar’s Head. Randolph finished third in the 2021 MGA Mid-Amateur and tied for eighth at the 2015 Ike. Meanwhile, Bakst also registered a pair of strong finishes in those events (second and T13) and is the lone player in the field to have also played in the 2008 Met Am at Friar’s Head (T33).
Home Game
Bakst, Charlie Berridge and Matt Simon are all representing Friar’s Head in the championship. Only seven times has a host club member won the title, with George Zahringer last doing so at Deepdale in 1984.
Champions Galore
An incredible 22 of 75 players in the field have won an individual MGA championship:
| Name | Club | MGA Victories |
| Ken Bakst | Friar's Head | 1996 Met Amateur |
| Barnes Blake | Baltusrol | '23 Met Junior |
| Ben Carpenter | Darien | '19 Carter Cup |
| Christian Cavaliere | Hudson National | '16 Met Junior |
| Peicheng Chen | Rock Hill | '21 Public Links |
| Mark Costanza | Baltusrol | '03 Boys', '07 Met Junior, '20 Ike |
| Melan Dhaubhadel | MGA eClub - NJ | '23 Ike |
| Bobby DiForio | MGA eClub - Hudson Valley | '15 Carter Cup |
| Garett Engel | MGA eClub - Long Island | '01 Met Junior, '21 Met Amateur |
| Matthew Fields | Quaker Ridge | '21 Ike |
| Darin Goldstein | Deepdale | '17 Mid-Am |
| Reed Greyserman | Hamilton Farm | '19-'20 Boys' |
| Nathan Han | Salem | '15-'16 Boys' |
| Matthew Lowe | Bethpage | '10 Boys', '17 Ike |
| James McHugh | MGA eClub - NJ | '15 Met Junior |
| Ethan Ng | Knickerbocker | '16-'17 Carter Cup |
| Trevor Randolph | Arcola | '15-'16 Mid-Am |
| Luke Sample | Old Oaks | '18 Boys', '20 Met Junior, '20 Met Open, '22 Ike |
| Colin Summers | Plainfield | '21 Met Junior |
| Brad Tilley | Sleepy Hollow | '03 Ike, '19 Mid-Am, '22 Met Amateur |
| Pat Wilson | Hamilton Farm | '13 Met Amateur, '22 Mid-Am |
| George Zahringer | Deepdale | 20x MGA champion |
MGA Grand Slam
Jerry Courville, Sr., George Zahringer, and Johnson Wagner stand as the lone players who have won all three MGA Majors. Having won the Met Open in 2020 and having won the Ike in 2022, Sample has a chance to join this exclusive list at Friar’s Head.
The MGA Match Play Sweep
Jeff Putman is the lone player in MGA history to have won all three of the MGA’s match play championships: the Boys’, Met Junior, and Met Amateur. Both Costanza and Sample have two legs of the trio complete with Boys’ and Met Junior victories.
From Baltusrol to Friar’s Head
Ten players will go from the Carter Cup at Baltusrol on Tuesday to Friar’s Head on Thursday: Barnes Blake of Baltusrol, Thomas Bonomo of Stanwich, Daniel Cassidy of Trump National – Colts Neck, Reed Greyserman of Hamilton Farm, Ryan Klarreich of Manhattan Woods, Tyler Lee of Ridgewood, Sam O'Hara of Maidstone, Liam Pasternak of Essex Fells, Charles Schrohe of Burning Tree, and Sean Shallat of Salem.
The Race Continues
The year-long race for the MGA Jerry Courville Sr. Player of the Year Award ramps up as we approach the closing half of the season. The winner of the Met Amateur Championship will receive 325 points, with the championship typically helping provide some separation at the top of the listing. Overall, eight of the top 10 in the current listing are in the field. Each of the top four (Lowe, Berridge, Jack Simon of Rockaway River and Cavaliere) are in the field.
Fast Facts:
Field Size: 75
Entries Accepted: 847 (record)
By State: 39 – New York, 24 – Jersey, 12 – Connecticut
Youngest in the field: Thomas Bonomo, 15 years, 3 months
Oldest in the field: George Zahringer, 70 years, 3 months
Average age: 27.5
Average Handicap Index: +2.4
Format
• 36 holes of on-site stroke play qualifying on Thursday to determine the 16 competitors for match play
• Two rounds of match play Friday, semifinals on Saturday and 36-hole championship match on Sunday
Friar’s Head
• Coore & Crenshaw design, opened in 2002.
• Course laid out across old farmlands and among towering sand dunes along the Long Island Sound.
• Has previously hosted the 2008 Met Amateur, 2015 Ike and 2021 MGA Mid-Amateur.
• Ranks as the No. 15 course in the latest "America's Greatest Golf Courses" by GolfDigest.
Coverage
• Live hole-by-hole scoring for the entirety of the championship
• Social media: @mga1897 on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter
• Scoring, recaps, interviews, photos and videos on mgagolf.org