FARMINGDALE, N.Y. (October 20, 2011) - The completion of yesterday's match between Mike Miller and Cameron Young of team MGA against Alan Dunbar and Dermot McElroy ended with the MGA earning another critical point and taking a 4-2 lead heading into today's singled matches. After blasting his drive past the bunkers on the 18th, Miller's approach landed within 8 feet and he sunk the birdie putt, ending the match with a final score of 1up.

Singles matches have been pushed back to a 9:00a.m. start, with Mike Miller facing off against Alan Dunbar starting things off. Follow the matches with live scoring by clicking here.

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FARMINGDALE, N.Y. (October 19, 2011) – On a wet and windy day at Bethpage Black, the six-man teams from the MGA and the Golfing Union of Ireland battled the elements during two rounds of play at the Governor Hugh L. Carey Challenge Cup presented by Mutual of America. Of six scheduled matches, five were completed, with the MGA winning three and the GUI taking two.

The morning Foursome (alternate shot) matches were played in the worst of the conditions, with gusty winds and occasional heavy downpours that caused a 55-minute suspension of play. MGA team captain Al Small called it “one of the most challenging days of golf I can remember,” yet his pairings proved up to the challenge.

The MGA squad earned two key points thanks to a convincing 6 & 5 victory by Joe Saladino  and Clancy Waugh over Dermot McElroy and Aaron Kearney; and a 1-up win recorded by Conor Casey and Dennis Lynch over Gary McDermott and Richard O'Donovan. The third match was won by the lads from the Emerald Isle, as Niall Gorey and Walker Cupper Alan Dunbar defeated Cameron Young and Michael Miller, 2-up.

Saladino and Waugh’s win was particularly impressive given the wind and rain.

“I think we just mentally knew it was going to be a grind and we went into it with that mindset, and we just tried to take it one shot at a time,” said Saladino, a two-time (2010 & ’08) MGA Player of the Year who won the Nassau Invitational this past weekend.

“The alternate-shot format is really tough, but we promised ourselves after the first hole that we wouldn’t say sorry to each other,” said a smiling Waugh, who at 16 is playing in his first international match for the MGA. “I feel really comfortable on this golf course, so that helps, too.”

The MGA nearly finished the morning with a 2 ½ to ½ advantage with Miller and Young making a valiant comeback against Gorey and Dunbar, a member of the 2011 Great Britain and Ireland Walker Cup team. Down three with three to play, the youngsters from the MGA won the 16th hole with a birdie after Miller hit his approach to five feet and Young sinking the putt. On 17, Miller hit 7-iron from 178 yards to about a foot and a half.

“Both teams played great and all of the matches [this morning] came down to fairways and greens," MGA captain Al Small said at the lunch break.

The afternoon Fourball matches began at 1:20, and once again, the team of Saladino and Waugh set a successful tone for MGA squad. The duo was 1-down through 9 but then won the 10th hole to square the match, and Waugh hit his approach shot on the difficult par-four 12th hole to less than a foot from 158 yards out with a 9-iron. The birdie was conceded and the MGA took a 1-up lead, which they then stretched to 2-up with a winning par on the 15th hole, and closed out the match, 3 & 2, on the 16th when Saladino rolled in a 20-foot birdie putt.

As darkness approached, the GUI team of Gary McDermott and Niall Gorey sharpened their focus to earn a hard-fought, 1-up win over Dennis Lynch and Conor Casey. The teams approached the 18th tee all square, but both GUI players hit their approach shots to within 5 feet and McDermott rolled in his birdie putt to win the match.

The final match was suspended due to darkness, with Mike Miller and Cameron Young holding a 1-up lead over Alan Dunbar and Dermot McElroy through 17 holes. The teams will return on Thursday at 7:45 to play the 18th hole and complete their match, and the six singles matches will begin at 9:00. The MGA is assured to enter the singles matches with at least a one-point lead as it attempts to win the Carey Cup for the first time since 1996. 

Live scoring for all matches will be available on www.mgagolf.org.