ELMSFORD, N.Y. (July 30, 2009) – The Metropolitan Golf Association’s most historic championship returns to Hackensack Golf Club in Oradell, N.J., when a superb field gathers to compete in the 107th Met Amateur. This prestigious event is a test of skill as well as endurance, as the best amateur golfers from across the Met Area will face 36 holes of stroke play qualifying on Thursday, August 6, after which the low 16 scorers advance to match play. Those 16 will be pared down to two players following first-round, quarterfinal and semifinal matches August 7 and 8, leading up to the 36-hole final match on Sunday, August 9.

Few competitors know how to manage that demanding schedule better than defending champion Tommy McDonagh of Shorehaven, who has two Met Amateur wins (2006 & ’08) to his credit. McDonagh, a 20-year-old junior on the golf team at Penn State, was the stroke play medalist in last year’s Met Amateur at Friar’s Head, and went on to win a decisive final match against 2008 MGA Player of the Year Joe Saladino of Huntington. Saladino, 29, tied for fourth in this year’s Ike Championship at Nassau Country Club and is in the midst of another good season.

This year’s Ike champion, Mike Ballo Jr. of Woodway, will attempt to become the first player to win the Ike and the Met Amateur in the same year since current PGA Tour professional Johnson Wagner did it in 2002. Ballo, 20 is a senior at St. John’s University. Other top players coming into the Met Amateur in good form include former Duke University golf team captain Michael Quagliano of GlenArbor, who tied for second in the 2009 Westchester Open; 2006 Carter Cup champion Chris DeForest of Rondout, a University of Illinois junior who played in the NCAA Championships this spring and finished second at the 2009 Ike Championship; 16-year-old Cameron Wilson of Shorehaven, who was low amateur in the 2008 Met Open and reached the quarterfinals the 2009 U.S. Junior; 2009 New Jersey State amateur champion Michael Deo of High Bridge Hills; 2009 New York City Amateur champion Patrick Piersonof Minisceongo, and 2009 LIGA Amateur champion Bryan Pendrick of Oyster Bay.

A number of past MGA champions, many of whom have extensive Met Amateur experience, also figure to be among the top contenders. Two-time Met Amateur winner (1999 & 2007)Greg Rohlf of Winged Foot teamed with 1993 Met Amateur champion Jeff Putman to win the Anderson Memorial at Winged Foot in July. Rohlf was also the winner of the 2008 MGA Mid-Amateur and the 1998 Ike Championship. Plainfield’s Mike Stamberger, who won the 2003 Met Amateur at Somerset Hills, along with 2005 Met Amateur champion Ron Vannelli of Metuchen, will have a chance to add a second Met Amateur title while playing in their home state. Another top New Jersey contender is Roger Hoit of Baltusrol, the 2006 Ike champion. Hoit finished third in this year’s Ike Championship at Nassau. The 1996 Met Amateur champion and former U.S. Mid-Amateur champion, Ken Bakst of Friar’s Head, is coming off an impressive win at the Hochster Memorial and a tie for 12th in this year’s Ike, while the player who was runner up to Rohlf in 1999, Ed Gibsteinof Engineers, finished tied for 8th at Nassau and will look to add the Met Amateur to his 1994 Ike title.

The Met Amateur is the MGA’s oldest championship, and was played for the first time in 1899 at Garden City Golf Club. It quickly became the country’s most distinguished regional amateur championship, and over the years it has been won by the likes of Walter Travis, Jerry Travers, Jess Sweetser, Willie Turnesa, Robert Gardner, Dick Siderowf, Frank Strafaci, George Zahringer, Johnson Wagner, and Jerry Courville Sr. and Jr., all top names in the history of local and national amateur golf.

Like the Met Amateur, Hackensack Golf Club was also founded in 1899, and the membership has recently undergone a restoration of the beautiful 6,920-yard layout to its original Charles Banks design. Hackensack has hosted the Met Amateur on two previous occasions, most recently in 1994, when Dennis Hillman defeated current PGA Tour standout J.J. Henry, 5 & 4. One of the club’s most prominent families is the McGoverns, led by PGA Tour player Jim McGovern, who won the Met Amateur in 1988.

The Met Amateur is open to any amateur golfer with a USGA Handicap Index of 5.0 or less and who holds membership in a golf club in the MGA district. An entry of 680 golfers was pared down by means of five qualifying rounds to a final field of 67, including 26 exempt players.

An accomplished field, a historic and championship-tested golf course, and the Met Amateur’s distinct blend of stroke play and match play, will make for an exciting championship at Hackensack. The MGA is proud to bring the Met Area’s most prestigious amateur championship to Hackensack Golf Club.

QUICK FACTS

107th Met Amateur Championship

Thursday-Sunday, August 6-9, 2009

Hackensack Golf Club, Oradell, N.J.

Par: 35-36—71

Yardage: 3,500-3,420—6,920

Field: 67 amateurs (26 exempt)

Schedule & Format: 36 holes of stroke play qualifying on Thursday, August 6. Low 16 scorers advance. Round of 16 and quarterfinals on August 7; semifinals on August 8; 36-hole final on August 9.