Seawane Set to Host Senior Open
ELMSFORD, N.Y. (August 23, 2024) – On August 26-27, The Seawane Club in Hewlett Harbor, N.Y., will welcome the 28th Lexus MGA Senior Open Championship. Each year the Senior Open features one of the most accomplished fields of the season, especially as more and more players with stellar careers turn 50 and reach the age of eligibility for the event.
Related: Pairings | Senior Open History | Senior Open Records
The Seawane Club has been a frequent host of Long Island Golf Association championships and a variety of qualifiers, but will be hosting its first MGA event since 1996 when it welcomed the Women’s Four-Ball. In fact, though the club has hosted four different events, this will be just the second individual championship staged at the venue, with the Senior Amateur having taken place at Seawane in 1946 and 1949.
The Devereux Emmet, links-like layout traverses flat, nearly treeless terrain laid out on land reclaimed from marshes. All the elements found near the ocean – winds, water, and sand – stand as vital defenses in addition to contoured greens. The club’s most recent course work has been led by Jeff Stein, notably incorporating views of sand and fescue from tee to green to convey a seaside feeling.
The field once again contains the region’s top professionals and amateurs aged 50 or older aiming to capture the region’s premiere senior event.
Players will be competing at Plainfield to have their name etched into the championship's sleek platter, while professionals will vie for the $5,000 winner's share up for grabs.
Past Champions in the Field
The field includes 8 past champions that account for 13 titles over the 27-year history of the championship:
Mark Mielke, 2023, 2018, 2015
Frank Esposito, Jr., Mountain Ridge – 2022, 2020
David Schuster, Sleepy Hollow – 2021
Shaun Powers, Fairview – 2019
Jim McGovern, White Beeches – 2016
Bobby Heins, Old Oaks – 2009, 2008
Darrell Kestner, Deepdale – 2005, 2003
Edward Whitman, Knickerbocker – 2004
Add to the Total?
Mark Mielke became the first-ever player to capture three Senior Open titles with his victory at Plainfield last season. Four others have won the title at least twice in their career. With a repeat victory, Mielke would become only the third player to defend the title, while also stretching out his career win total. Bobby Heins and Russell Helwig (1998-1999) are the only to two win the championship in back-to-back years.
Always There
Frank Esposito has been a mainstay on the Lexus MGA Senior Open leaderboard since becoming eligible in 2013, recording top-10 finishes in the championship all 11 years. In addition to his wins in 2020 and 2022, Esposito has also logged top-five finishes in 2017, 2019, and 2023. He was second last year at Plainfield.
Reaching the Field
A total of 10 players in the field are freshly 50 and are in the field for the first time: professionals John Deigan of Wykagyl, Robert Gick of Sands Point Golf Club, Brian Lamberti of Richter Park, Ryan Martin of Seawane, Chul Sim of River Vale, and Glen Walden, plus amateurs Jonathan Millman of USGA/MGA GC, Bryan Pendrick of Meadow Brook, and MGA eClub – NYC member Noah Pilipski.
Met Open to Senior Open
Eleven players that are in the field for the Lexus MGA Senior Open are coming off competing in the 109th Met Open Championship Presented by Callaway at Wee Burn. Of those, Brian Gaffney of Essex Fells, Darrell Kestner of Deepdale, Frank Bensel of Century, and Esposito all made the cut. Gaffney had the top finish, carding rounds of 77-73-75 to finish tied for 31st.
Met Open Champions
Four of the seven players to have won both the Met Open and Senior Open are in the field: Bobby Heins of Old Oaks, Darrell Kestner of Deepdale, Jim McGovern of White Beeches and Mark Mielke. There are five additional Met Open champions in the field aiming to become the eighth to win both championships: Frank Bensel of Century, Mark Brown, Mike Diffley of Pelham, Bob Rittberger of Garden City Golf Club, and George Zahringer of Deepdale.
Format
• 36-hole championship played over two days
• Following Monday’s opening round, a cut will be made to the low 40 players and anyone within five shots of the lead
• In the event of a tie, a hole-by-hole playoff will determine a champion
Coverage
• Live scoring available throughout the championship
• Social media coverage on @mga1897 on Instagram, X, and Facebook
• Scoring, photos, video and more on mgagolf.org