STAMFORD, CONN. (May 5, 2014) – After the first round of the 87^th MGA Senior Amateur Championship at Rockrimmon Country Club in Stamford, Conn., Jay Sessa of Cherry Valley and Richard Feldman of Centennial share the lead after rounds of 2-over 74. Sessa, the 2013 Long Island Senior Player of the Year, claimed that the greens posed a true challenge today, testing the group on their putting skills. Feldman, who finished in the top-25 in the 2013 MGA Mid-Am, and Sessa were able to make mostly pars plus one birdie each to keep them at the top of the leaderboard.

A total of 49 players made the cut at 82, including Jay Blumenfeld of Mountain Ridge, the 2007 Senior Am winner, who is just one shot back after shooting a 3-over 75. Blumenfeld has finished in the top-10 in this event in the last two years, and advanced to the Round of 32 in the 2012 U.S. Senior Amateur.

With matching scores of 4-over 76, David Prowler of Bethpage State Park; Cyrus Whitney Jr. of Hackensack, the 2013 Runner-up; three-time champ Steve Rose of Fresh Meadow; and Tom Trakoval of Port Jefferson are also in contention.

A handful of others are just three strokes back from the leader after shooting 77 today. 2000 champion Ned Steiner of Mountain Ridge, Gerald Garber of Lake Success, Dan Levinson of Bayonne, Steve Shepard of Burning Tree, Frank Ciulla of Wykagyl, and James Graham of Winged Foot all have a chance at hoisting the trophy at the end of the day tomorrow.

Rockrimmon played to par 72 at 6,553 yards. This is the first MGA championship that the club is hosting, and players left impressed by the course’s challenges, especially the fast greens.

Tuesday’s final round begins at 8:00 a.m. and players will tee off in groups of two. For complete coverage, including final-round pairings, photos and videos can be found at mgagolf.org.