ELMSFORD, N.Y. (August 28, 2015) – The area’s top amateurs and professionals 50 years of age and older will make their way to Engineers Country Club in Roslyn, N.Y., August 31 and September 1, for the 19^th MGA Senior Open Championship.

Related: Pairings | Senior Open History

Adam Kugler defended his home turf at Alpine last year with a two-round score of 7-under 137 and became just the second amateur winner of the event. After playing in his first Senior British Amateur Championship in early August, Kugler is looking to successfully defend his title—a feat achieved twice at the event which is still in its infancy compared to most MGA championships.

A host of past champions will also be gunning to put a repeat victor atop the leaderboard. Darrell Kestner of Deepdale finished second last season and, as a two-time champion from 2003 and 2005, remains a threat to challenge for the title. He also recorded a runner-up finish in mid-August’s Met PGA Senior Championship. Fellow two-time champion Bobby Heins of Old Oaks (2008, ’09) recorded a tie for fifth in the same event and looks to add another title to his resume.

Craig Thomas of Metropolis, the 2013 victor, has already had success this year, winning the MasterCard Senior Match Play Championship back in May. Additional past champions in the field include Peter Busch of Galloping Hill (’12), Mike Burke of Montammy (’11), the first amateur winner of the championship John Ervasti of Sleepy Hollow (’10), Bruce Zabriski of Westchester (’07), and Ed Whitman of Knickerbocker (’04).

The field of professional contenders is deep. Mark Mielke showed good form at the Met Open where he tied for seventh, while Winged Foot's Mike Gilmore tied 13th. David Young of Sleepy Hollow has graced the leaderboards at several events this summer, led by his second place finish at the Metropolitan Professional Championship. Young also advanced to the semifinals at the MasterCard Senior Match Play Championship, owned a top-10 finish last year at Alpine and made the cut at the Met Open. Additional professionals to watch for include 2015 NJSGA Senior Open Champion Jim McGovern of White Beeches, Malcolm Galletta Jr. of the host course Engineers, and Bill Van Orman of Meadow Brook.

As Kugler showed in 2014, the amateur talent surely can’t be overlooked. Ron Vannelli of Forsgate is a three-time MGA victor, while two-time MGA Mid-Amateur champion Dennis Lynch of Nassau Players will also tee it up. Other top amateurs in the field include Michael Reardon of Tuxedo, Edward Gibstein of Winged Foot, Jay Blumenfeld of Mountain Ridge. Another top-10 amateur from last year Patrick Pierson of Minisceongo, recent Father-Son victor Jon Doppelt of Fresh Meadow and MGA President Steve Boyd of Baltusrol are also in the field.

The growing popularity of the MGA Senior Open led to the addition of a sectional qualifier in 2013. This year, 55 competitors qualified from play at Saint Andrew's in Ardlsey, N.Y.

Dating back to 1917, the Engineers Country Club has a rich history, having hosted events such as the 1919 PGA Championship, 1920 U.S. Amatuer and, more recently, a qualifier for the U.S. Open in 1999. Playing as a medium-length golf course, Engineers demands a player be accurate off the tee and a hold a deft touch around the greens. Slope and undulation also add to the course’s challenge, making Engineers a worthy test to host the Senior Open.

The MGA will provide live scoring throughout the championship. Monday’s first round will feature 9 and 18-hole updates. Following Monday’s opening round, a cut will be made to the low 40 scores and ties. Live hole-by-hole scoring will then be available for the majority of groups during Tuesday’s final round. Full coverage of the event may be found on www.mgagolf.org, in addition to live updates on the MGA’s Twitter, @MGA1897.