ELMSFORD, N.Y. (May 29, 2013) –The Metropolitan Golf Association returns to the familiar grounds of Old Oaks Country Club and Century Country Club, both in Purchase, N.Y., to begin a three-year stretch as host of U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying. The 36-hole competition, now touted as the “longest day in golf,” is the final test before the 113th U.S. Open Championship at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa., on June 10-16.

The field of 79 golfers, of them 23 amateurs, will play 18-holes on each course (the number of qualifying spots is yet to be determined as of this publishing date). For the first time this year, live hole-by-hole scoring will be available for every group during the afternoon round, allowing friends and family to follow all the action from anywhere on a computer or mobile device.

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Highlighting the field are several touring professionals, including Brad Faxon, who is certainly the most recognizable name among the competitors. An eight-time winner on the PGA Tour and member of two Ryder Cup teams, the Barrington, R.I., resident, who’s now competing regularly on the Champions Tour, is looking for his first U.S. Open appearance since 2004. PGA Tour pros Luke List of Purcellville, Va., and Jim Herman of Palm City, Fla., are also returning to the Met Area for sectionals. The long-hitting List currently ranks third on the PGA Tour in driving distance (304 yards) and has made five cuts. Herman, a former assistant pro at Trump National – Bedminster, is returning after he successfully qualified for the U.S. Open in 2010 and ‘12 at Canoe Brook Country Club, site of the MGA-conducted sectional the last three years. The Web.com Tour’s Alexandre Rocha of Sao Paulo, Brazil, will also try to have the same success he did in 2011 at Canoe Brook where he qualified for Congressional.

As always, the Met Area will be well represented by some of its brightest stars. 2013 Westchester PGA champion Greg Bisconti of South Salem, N.Y., and two-time NYS Open champion Rob Labritz of Pound Ridge, N.Y., made their way into the sectional field for the second straight year as both finished as the medalist at their respective local qualifying site. Matt Dobyns of Sea Cliff, N.Y., was exempt into sectionals due to 

his spectacular runaway victory at last year’s PGA National Club Pro Championship.  2011 Web.com Tour member Geoffrey Sisk of Marshfield, Mass., will try to qualify for his sixth U.S. Open.

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There’s no shortage of top amateur talent in the field either. Two-time reigning MGA Player of the Year Mike Miller of Brewster, N.Y., was exempt into the field because of his top-50 World Amateur Golf Ranking (currently No. 38). Miller led New York to a victory in the 2012 USGA State Team Championships in New Jersey (also won the individual portion by eight shots), as did his teammate Max Buckley of Rye, N.Y. Buckley also recently won the 2013 NYC Amateur championship. Jim Liu of Smithtown, a member (along with Miller and Buckley) of the victorious 2013 MGA Carey Cup team, will also compete for a spot at Merion. Liu is in his last year of a three-year exemption through locals for winning the 2010 U.S. Junior Championship (also finished runner-up in the U.S. Junior last year).

Three St. John’s University teammates will also compete; Pat Wilson of Andover, N.J., Jeremy Quinn of Lafayette, N.J. and Dylan Crowley of Glen Cove, N.Y. all made it through locals and compete frequently in MGA events.

Highly-recruited amateur Gavin Hall of Pittsford, N.Y., was the medalist at his qualifier upstate and will join the field, as will Paul Simson of Raleigh, N.C., a two-time winner of the U.S. Senior Amateur, including last year’s at Mountain Ridge in New Jersey. Bobby Leopold of Coventry, R.I., who made it all the way to the Sweet 16 at the 2011 U.S. Amateur, is another amateur to look out for, along with 15-year-old Cameron Chottiner of Westport, Conn., the event’s youngest player.