Should Ken be viewed as owner or fellow competitor? I was reprimanded once by Uncle Bob for a bad rake job in a bunker. Should we throw Uncle Bob under the bus too?
From
http://www.mgagolf.org/ELMSFORD, N.Y. – One of the most eagerly anticipated MGA championships in years will kick off next Thursday, August 7, when play begins at the 106th Met Amateur Championship at Friar’s Head in Riverhead, New York. The combination of the MGA’s oldest championship along with one of the most spectacular new golf courses in the country has created a buzz among players and officials that is sure to make for an exciting four days on Long Island. The Met Amateur is the first championship to be played at Friar’s Head, which opened to rave reviews in 2003.
The Met Amateur field will be led by defending champion Greg Rohlf of Winged Foot, who returned to his former home course of Wykagyl in 2007 to capture his third MGA major title. He will be joined by Kevin Foley of Neshanic Valley (N.J.), who won the 2008 Ike Championship in late June and made match play at the U.S. Public Links Championship in Colorado earlier this month. Foley, an Honorable Mention All American from Penn State University, is looking to become the first player to win two MGA major titles in one season since Johnson Wagner won five consecutive titles in 2001-2002.
Foley leads a strong group of young players who are positioned to withstand the rigorous four days of competition. Tommy McDonagh of Shorehaven (Conn.), Foley’s teammate at Penn State, defeated him in the 2006 Met Amateur at Baltusrol. Marc Issler of Pine Barrens (N.J.), last year’s runner-up, is back for another try at the title. Also in the field is Duke University golf team captain Michael Quagliano of GlenArbor, who played in this year’s U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, along with Rondout’s Chris DeForest, one of the top freshmen in the Big Ten last year at the University of Illinois. Former Ike champion (2005) and 2006 MGA Player of the Year Andrew Giuliani of Van Cortlandt Park is also among the contenders, as is 15-year-old Cameron Wilson, one of the area’s best juniors.
Defending Champion Greg Rohlf.
Friar’s Head founder Ken Bakst, who won the 1997 U.S. Mid-Amateur, has the honor of competing on his home course for a title he won in 1996 in a classic final match at Nassau Country Club against defending champion Jerry Courville Jr. Other former Met Amateur winners in the field include 2008 MGA Senior Amateur champion Ron Vannelli of Metuchen (2005) and Peter Van Ingen of Meadow Brook (1981). Many eyes will also be on Huntington’s Joe Saladino, who leads the MGA Player of the Year points race coming into this event. Other top contenders include MGA Mid-Amateur champion Mike Reardon of Tuxedo and former NJSGA Amateur champion Al Small of Fairmount. The Met Amateur is the MGA’s oldest championship, and was played for the first time in 1899 at Garden City Golf Club. It quickly became the country’s most distinguished regional amateur championship, and over the years it has been won by the likes of Walter Travis, Jerry Travers, Jess Sweetser, Willie Turnesa, Robert Gardner, Dick Siderowf, Frank Strafaci, George Zahringer, Johnson Wagner, and Jerry Courville Sr. and Jr., all top names in the history of local and national amateur golf.
The 106th Met Amateur begins on Thursday, August 7 with 36 holes of stroke-play qualifying, after which the top 16 finishers out of the starting field of 68 will move on to the match play portion of the championship. The first round of match play will take place on Friday morning, followed by the quarterfinals in the afternoon. The semifinals will begin at 12:00 on Saturday, and the 36-hole final will follow on Sunday.
A total entry of 728 golfers entered the Met Amateur, including 23 who earned exemptions into the championship. Aside from the exempt players, the remaining 45 competitors earned their place in the field at one of five sectional qualifying rounds held in late June and early July throughout the Met Area.