October 29, 2009 – Cameron Wilson of Shorehaven Golf Club in Norwalk, Conn., capped off the best season of his young career by winning the 2009 MGA Jerry Courville Sr. Player of the Award. The high school senior, who turns 17 on November 2, accumulated 880 points for the season to edge out 2009 Ike Champion Mike Ballo Jr. and become the youngest MGA Player of the Year ever. The award will be presented at the 112th MGA Annual Meeting and Dinner on Wednesday, December 2 at Westchester Country Club in Harrison, N.Y.

The Jerry Courville Sr. MGA Player of the Year Award is presented annually to the Met Area amateur who compiles the best record in select events during the course of the year. The recipient is confirmed by the MGA Executive Committee based on a system in which players earn points for their finishes in designated local, national and international championships.

“I've had the pleasure of watching Cameron grow up and he has continually refined and developed his golf game to the point now where he has no weaknesses,” said MGA President Al Small. “But I really think what enabled Cameron to achieve Player of the Year status is his character. He displays an inner strength and confidence that is not normally seen in someone so young. We are happy to have him become the youngest winner ever of the MGA Jerry Courville Sr. Player of the Year Award.”

Wilson began his 2009 campaign with two strong performances in USGA events. He advanced through U.S. Open local qualifying and into Sectional Qualifying on June 8 in Purchase, N.Y. Three weeks later, he qualified to play in the U.S. Junior Championship at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J., where he reached the quarterfinals and accumulated 100 points to put himself in the top 20 in the Player of the Year standings.

Wilson’s early-season play was overshadowed by that of Mike Ballo Jr., who began 2009 with a second-place finish at the Connecticut State Golf Association’s Russell C. Palmer Cup on May 19. He then won the Westchester Amateur on June 2 and reached the semifinals of the Connecticut State Amateur in late June. On July 1, Ballo claimed the first MGA major of the year with a two-stroke victory at the Ike Championship presented by Canon at Nassau Country Club in Glen Cove, N.Y. It was Ballo’s first MGA title, and vaulted him to a wide lead in the MGA Player of the Year race. Ballo would hold on to the top spot in the standings for most of the season.

Faced with a nearly 400-point deficit in the Player of the Year points list, Wilson shifted his game into high gear in August. His first test was the 36-hole Carter Cup-MGA Junior Stroke Play Championship at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, N.J., on August 5. Wilson, who had finished second in this event in 2007 and 2008, fired a second-round 66 on Baltusrol’s famed Lower Course to claim a two-stroke victory. The win earned him 75 points and an enormous amount of confidence heading into the Met Amateur Championship, which began the following day at Hackensack Golf Club in Oradell, N.J. After finishing tied for fifth in the stroke play qualifying portion of the event, Wilson marched all the way to the finals, where he defeated John Ervasti of Sleepy Hollow to become the youngest Met Amateur champion in the event’s 107-year history. The win earned him 275 points, and he jumped to second place on the Player of the Year points list behind Ballo.

In late August, Wilson had another good showing in a USGA championship. He qualified for the U.S. Amateur Championship at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla., and won one match, closing the gap with Ballo to 45 points. During the same August timeframe, Ballo had reached the quarterfinals of the Met Amateur, qualified for the U.S. Amateur and made the cut at both the Westchester and Connecticut State Opens.

By September, the Player of the Year chase became a two-man race. Wilson and Ballo turned their attention to the remaining events on the calendar for which points were awarded. Wilson rose to the occasion with a victory at the Bergen County Amateur on September 13, while Ballo finished fourth. This cut Ballo’s lead to just five points (755-750). Three weeks later, Wilson earned 30 points for reaching the quarterfinals of the Nassau Invitational and took his first lead in the points race all year, by 25 points.

The final event of the year, the Boff Invitational at Shackamaxon G&CC in Scotch Plains, N.J., on October 8, is a 36-hole stroke play event, but it evolved into a match-play like scenario between Wilson and Ballo. The two players were separated by just one shot after the first round, as Ballo had a 73 and Wilson shot 74. The final outcome of the MGA Player of the Year race came down to the final round of the Boff, and Wilson was able to prevail, shooting a 71 to claim a one-stroke victory over Ballo. That one stroke proved to be the difference in his becoming the youngest-ever player of the year.

With his 100 points for winning the Boff, Wilson finished with 880 points and Ballo with 830. Rounding out the top five were Brae Burn Invitational winner Chris Scialo of Spook Rock, who was third with 508 points, Met Amateur runner-up John Ervasti of Sleepy Hollow, who finished fourth with 479 points, and 2008 MGA Player of the Year Joe Saladino of Huntington who had 456 points.

The award will be presented at the 112th MGA Annual Meeting and Dinner on Wednesday, December 2 at Westchester Country Club in Harrison, N.Y. For more information on the 2009 Jerry Courville Sr. Player of the Year Award, please contact Bob Nielsen (bnielsen@mgagolf.org) or Greg Midland (gmidland@mgagolf.org) at the MGA office at 914-347-4653.

 

Past Player of the Year Winners