Five Players Named to Carey Cup Team
ELMSFORD, N.Y. (August 11, 2023) – The MGA will take on Golf Ireland in the 17th playing of the Governor Hugh L. Carey Challenge Cup at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, N.Y., October 19-20. The matches will be contested over both the East and West courses for the first time in the event’s history.
The ten-person teams will compete for 20 points; the MGA is in possession of the Carey Cup after a tie with Golf Ireland in 2021 in which the MGA retained the cup.
Five players have accepted invitations to compete on the 2023 MGA team: Christian Cavaliere of Hudson National, Mark Costanza of Baltusrol, Ina Kim-Schaad of Deepdale, Catherine McEvoy of Innis Arden, and Brad Tilley of Sleepy Hollow.
Related: Meet the Team | Carey Cup History
Cavaliere, Costanza, Kim-Schaad, and Tilley were a part of the winning French-American team in 2021, defeating the Ligue de Golf de Paris at Quaker Ridge. Kim-Schaad, the 2019 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur champion, and Tilley, the 2022 MGA Player of the Year, have great experience competing on the MGA’s international teams; each have been a part of four teams (Kim-Schaad was on the French-American teams in 2016, 2018, and 2022, and the Carey Cup team in 2021, Tilley on the 2018 and 2022 French-American teams and the 2019 and 2021 Carey Cup teams).
Cavaliere has had an outstanding season so far, qualifying for the U.S. Open in June, then finishing as the runner-up at both the Ike at Brooklawn and the Met Amateur at Friar’s Head. Two-time MGA Player of the Year Costanza was the on-site stroke play medalist the Met Amateur, where he advanced to the quarterfinals. At the 2021 Carey Cup Matches, Costanza won the final two holes of his singles match to gain the crucial half point the MGA needed to tie and retain the Cup. Tilley has recorded top finishes this season, including third at the Westchester Open and fifth at the Ike.
Cavaliere, Costanza, and Tilley are all exempt into the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship at Sleepy Hollow Country Club in September, where they will look to gain even more match play experience.
In 2021, the team format of the Carey Cup was modified to include four women’s competitors on both sides. Joining Kim-Schaad is McEvoy, a newcomer to the international matches. McEvoy was the inaugural women's Farrell champion in 2022 (Tilley was the men’s Farrell champion).
The 2023 squad will be captained by MGA President Patrick Donnelly and Greg Rohlf of Winged Foot, a ten-time international team competitor. Rohlf played on the MGA teams in the Carey Cup matches in 1996, 1998, 1999, 2007, and 2009 and the French-American Challenge matches in 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, and 2008. The final team members will be announced in the coming weeks.
The MGA has had success in recent Carey Cup matches, winning the cup at Arcola in 2019 (6.5 – 5.5) and then retaining the cup after a tie in 2021 at Carton House in Ireland (10-10).
The Carey Cup – which originated as the Metedeconk International Challenge Cup – was first played in 1990. The teams played once again in Ireland in 1992 but did not meet in 1994. In 1996, the matches were conducted again thanks to an effort spearheaded by the late Governor Hugh L. Carey, who envisioned the matches as an opportunity to foster sportsmanship and goodwill between the countries. Ever since, the matches have been played in his honor with a spirit of camaraderie and competition.
Golf Ireland was established in 2019 following an overwhelming endorsement by Ireland’s golf clubs. It became operational in January 2021, succeeding the Golfing Union of Ireland (GUI) and the Irish Ladies Golf Union (ILGU) to become the single governing body for golf in Ireland.
The event is scheduled to kickoff on Wednesday, October 18 with an "Am-Am," in which each of the MGA and Golf Ireland players will be paired with three amateurs in a best ball competition.