Pairings and Starting Times

ELMSFORD, N.Y. (September 4, 2009) - The 82nd MGA Senior Amateur Championship will be played Tuesday and Wednesday, September 8 and 9, at Preakness Hills Country Club in Wayne, N.J. This is a make-up date for the original event that was rained out in May. Defending champion Ron Vannelli of Metuchen will lead a competitive field of 162 players, including 2007 Senior Amateur champion Jay Blumenfeld of Mountain Ridge, 2006 and 2001 champion Shawn McLoughlin of Ridgewood (Conn.), and 2004 champion Doug Vergith of St. George’s.

The MGA Senior Amateur always attracts an impressive field that includes many past winners of MGA events. Among this year’s entrants are two-time MGA Senior Amateur winner Steve Rose(2003 and ’05) of Fresh Meadow and MGA President Al Small of Fairmount, who won the 2009 NJSGA Senior Amateur Championship. Dick Siderowf of Century, the 1996 Senior Amateur champion and five-time Met Amateur champion, is in the field and looking to add another MGA title to his already impressive resume. Other notable competitors are 2000 MGA Senior Amateur champion Ned Steiner of Mountain Ridge; former Ike and six-time NJSGA Amateur champion Bob Housen of Manasquan River; last year’s low amateur at the MGA Senior Open Jim Graham of Winged Foot; and Joe Sommers, also of Winged Foot, was the runner-up in this championship last year.

Former WGA Amateur champion Tom Yellin of Stanwich, Knickerbocker’s Dennis Slezak, the 1991 Met Amateur champion, and Peter Van Ingen of Deepdale, the 1981 Met Amateur champion, will be on hand in search of their first MGA Senior Amateur title. David Kessler and Patrick Mucci will represent Preakness Hills in the championship, and both players are intimately familiar with the tight, tree-lined fairways and challenging par threes that characterize the layout. Television personalityMaury Povich of Hollywood will also test his game against some of the Met Area’s top senior amateurs.

Preakness Hills Country Club, one of New Jersey’s premier golf courses, has a history of hosting first-class events, including the 1993 Ike championship and the 1993 USGA Senior Women’s Amateur. Eleven-time MGA major champion George Zahringer III of Deepdale captured the Ike title in 1993 with a spectacular performance that included a course record-tying 65 in the first round. The MGA returned to Preakness Hills in 1998 and 2003 for the Senior Open Championship, won by Russ Helwig of Essex Fells and Darrell Kestner of Deepdale, respectively.

The MGA Senior Amateur is open to players 55 years of age or older with USGA Handicap Indexes of 9.0 or lower. The field will play 18 holes of stroke play on Tuesday, September 8, after which a cut will be made and the low 30 scores and ties will advance to the second round. Prizes will also be awarded to winners in each of four age categories. The championship will conclude with 18 holes of stroke play on Wednesday, September 9.