Wilson Goes Wire-to-Wire for Mid-Am Win
Pat Wilson and Gene Westmoreland, longtime MGA tournament director for whom the tournament's trophy is named.
TUXEDO PARK, N.Y. (October 12, 2022) – On a breezy day at The Tuxedo Club, Pat Wilson of Hamilton Farm used a 2-over 73 to secure his wire-to-wire victory in the 16th MGA Mid-Amateur. Wilson entered the day with a three-shot lead and won by the same margin, edging Trevor Randolph of Arcola and Mark Costanza of Hamilton Farm, who posted the day’s lone sub-par scores of 69 and 70, respectively.
“It’s been great to actually prove myself and feel like I finally got one myself,” says Wilson, who is playing in his first full season back as an amateur. “I feel like my game’s been close all year and toward the tail end I’ve felt way more confident.”
Wilson says a big part of his game this year has simply been getting in more competitive rounds.
“It’s been a lot of belief and confidence-driven and getting more reps in,” says Wilson. “As silly as it sounds it really makes a big difference.”
Wilson had a strong start to his round, playing his first nine in 1-under par to extend his lead to as many as five shots.
“I couldn’t have gotten off to a better start in terms of fairways and greens, and making it stress free through eight,” said Wilson, who felt in control following a birdie on the par-5 eighth.
“It was one of those pins where if you got a little lax on your approach shot, it could funnel off the green,” said Wilson, who hit a soft pitching wedge from 129 yards to the hole. “The putt was super fast and I knew I didn’t’ have to hit it very far. It broke a lot and I hit exactly where I was looking. It was perfect speed and I felt like there was a huge weight lifted off me when that went in.”
While Wilson made bogey on the par-5 10th, he made a pair of quality par saves on Nos. 11-12, including getting up and down from around 80 yards on the par-4 11th.
Bogeys found their way on the card on Nos. 15 and 16, but Wilson made a 12-footer for par on the par-3 17th after finding the front-protecting greenside bunker. Wilson never checked the scores on the day, but found out he was in good position after 17.
After a long drive, Wilson went over the par-5 closer in two and easily made par to seal the three-shot victory.
“The pins were really tough,” said Wilson. “There were a lot of subtleties to the greens and there were some spots that were tough to read. I just felt like I had good pace and if you have good pace, you’re probably going to make more putts than if you don’t.”
The win is Wilson’s second MGA title, going along with his 2013 Met Amateur crown earned at The Stanwich Club. Though he has wins to his name, he knows the challenge behind hoisting a trophy at tournament’s end.
“I slept well last night, but at the same time, I’m like it’s mine to win having a three-shot lead,” said Wilson. “Winning is hard. It takes a lot of patience and you’re going to lose a lot more times than you win. I just think I stuck to my game plan.”
Randolph’s 2-under 69 included a hole-out eagle on the par-4 fourth hole, plus five birdies to help offset five bogeys on the day. Costanza’s 1-under round included three bogeys to four birdies, including one on the 18th hole.
Brad Tilley of Sleepy Hollow finished in solo fourth at 3-over 145 thanks to rounds of 72-73, while Andrew Biggadike of Ridgewood took solo fifth at 4-over 146 (71-75). Thomas McCarthy of Essex County and Corey Brigham of Liberty National tied sixth at 5-over 147, Darin Goldstein finished in solo eighth at 6-over and Matt Rawitzer of Young Benefactors and Dan Gabel of Mahopac rounded out the top-10, tying for ninth at 7-over 149.
The 17th MGA Mid-Amateur site is to be announced. The championship debuted in 2007 at Hudson National and has since visited some of the region's most respected venues, with Wee Burn Country Club, Somerset Hills Country Club and Friar's Head hosting the most recent playings. The trophy, the Westmoreland Cup, is named for longtime MGA Tournament Director Gene Westmoreland who was instrumental in launching the championship and has a great passion for the mid-amateur game.
As a founding member of the MGA, The Tuxedo Club has been a longtime supporter of the MGA and its championships. The MGA Mid-Amateur is the record 10th different MGA event hosted by the Club. The course recently underwent several changes overseen by Rees Jones. In addition to redesigning the ninth hole, the work focused on improving bunkers and repositioning fairway bunkers for today’s game.