ELMSFORD, N.Y. (January 18, 2007) - For more than a century, the Metropolitan Golf Association has provided local golfers and fans alike with an outstanding schedule of highly competitive championships, regularly played at some of the region’s most prestigious clubs. The 2007 schedule will continue that tradition in grand style, and introduce a new event, the MGA Mid-Amateur Championship, which will be played at Hudson National Golf Club in Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y.

Three of Association’s major events, the Ike, presented by Canon, USA, the Met Amateur and Met Open, presented by MetLife, will be contested on three of the most challenging courses in the Met Area - the Ike on the Tillinghast-designed Fenway Golf Club in Scarsdale, N.Y., the Amateur at the recently renovated Wykagyl Country Club in New Rochelle, N.Y., and the Open on the demanding Meadow Brook Club in Jericho, N.Y.

During the 2007 season, the MGA will conduct a total of 17 Championships, part of a schedule that includes 33 qualifying rounds as well as 16 qualifying rounds for USGA Championships. For the 27th consecutive season, the MGA welcomes MetLife as a sponsor of eight MGA events and our Calendar of Competitions. Canon, USA returns for a fifth year as sponsor of two MGA championships, the Ike and Senior Open Championships. The support of our sponsors allows the MGA tournament program maintain its premier reputation across the country. A complete rundown of the schedule follows:

         

MAY

The Met Area’s senior players begin the season at the Senior Net Four Ball Tournament at the High Mountain Golf Club in Franklin Lakes, N.J., on May 3. The Senior Amateur Championship follows on May 23-24 at the Piping Rock Club in Locust Valley, N.Y.

 

JUNE

After a one-month hiatus, during which 20 qualifying rounds are conducted, the season shifts into high gear with the first major championship of the year. Sponsored for the fifth consecutive year by Canon, USA, the Ike-MGA Stroke-Play Championship will be played for the first time at Fenway GC on June 25-26. The final field will compete in the first round on June 25, after which the field will be cut to the low 40 (plus ties). The final two rounds of the 54-hole event will be played on June 26 to will decide the individual and team champions. Defending champion Roger Hoit of Baltusrol will look to defend his title against the traditionally stiff competition. June will conclude with the MGA/MetLife Men’s Net Team Championship, often referred to as “The U.S. Open for the Average Golfer,” which will take place on June 27 at Spring Brook Country Club in Morristown, N.J.

 

JULY

July begins with the WMGA/MGA Women’s Public Links Championship, hosted by the Great Gorge Country Club in McAfee, N.J., on July 5. The 36-hole MGA/MetLife Public Links Championship will be played at the sensational Neshanic Valley Golf Course in Branchburg, N.J., on July 6. The MGA Junior, the nation’s oldest junior championship, will be contested at historic Brooklawn Country Club in Fairfield, Conn., on July 17-19 and again is sponsored by MetLife. It will be preceded on July 16 by the MGA/MetLife Pro-Junior Tournament. The MGA Junior often provides a preview of future contenders in the region’s top amateur events. Indeed, last year’s field included Tommy McDonagh of Shorehaven Golf Club, who won the Met Amateur a few weeks later.

 

AUGUST

Seven championships will be contested in August, beginning on August 1 with the fifth edition of the The Carter Cup - MGA Junior Stroke Play Championship at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, N.J. The following day the Met Amateur comes to Wykagyl Country Club for the first time since 1934. The championship will run from Thursday, August 2 through Sunday, August 5. The 36-hole stroke-play qualifying on the first day will determine the 16 golfers who will advance to the match-play portion. After two days of match play, the final match will be played over 36 holes. The Met Amateur will also help determine the 2007 Jerry Courville Sr. MGA Player of the Year Award.

On August 9-10, the MGA Boys Championship, sponsored by MetLife, will be hosted once again at the Bedford Golf & Tennis Club in Bedford, N.Y. This will mark the eighth time that Bedford will host the Boys, which is open to young men not yet 16 years of age. Five days later, on August 15, the MGA Father & Son (Net) Tournament will be played at the Hampshire Country Club in Mamaroneck, N.Y. The Father & Son Net will be followed on August 16 by the MGA Father & Son (Gross) Championship at the Engineers County Club in Roslyn Harbor, N.Y.

August 21-23 will feature the Met Area’s top professionals and leading amateurs as they vie for the Met Open title at the Meadow Brook Club in Jericho, N.Y. This will be the second Met Open hosted by Meadow Brook, and the first since 1977. The players will compete for the purse of $150,000. Sponsored by MetLife for the 27th year, the Met Open will be preceded on August 20 by the MGA/MetLife Caddie Scholarship Pro-Am, with proceeds going to support the Caddie Scholarship Funds of the Long Island, New Jersey and Westchester Golf Associations.

The Met Open will be followed by the MGA Senior Open at Metropolis Country Club in White Plains, N.Y., on August 27-28. Sponsored by Canon, USA for the fifth consecutive year, the field of senior professionals and amateurs (age 50 and up) will compete over 36 holes for a purse of $30,000. The Senior Open, won by Bill Britton of Twin Brooks Golf Center last year, has quickly become one of the most competitive events on the schedule.   SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER        There is one event on the September schedule, the MGA Mixed Pinehurst Championship to be played on September 19 at the Elmwood Country Club in White Plains, N.Y. The 2007 season concludes in October with the final two events. The first is the MGA/MetLife Women's Net Team Championship, which will be played at the Green Brook Country Club in North Caldwell, N.J., on October 4. Finally, there is the new MGA Mid-Amateur Championship, hosted by Hudson National Golf Club on October 15-16. If the Senior Open is any indication, the most recent addition to the MGA schedule, the Mid-Amateur should quickly become one of the premier amateur events in the Met Area. Eligibility for the Mid-Amateur will be based on performance in specific events throughout the season.  Click here for more details. Online Registration for all MGA Championships is now available. Click here to register. FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Gene Westmoreland or Bob Nielsen of the MGA at (914) 347-4653 or via e-mail: gwestmore@mgagolf.org or bnielsen@mgagolf.org.