The 18th MGA Senior Open Championship

Alpine Country Club Demarest, NJ August 25-26, 2014 FINAL FIELD

Player Club Casey Alexander (a) Nassau George Ancuta Knoll Greg Baker Rockaway River Shawn Baker Greens at Half Hollow Ken Bakst (a) Friar’s Head Jim Beadle Essex Michael Birmingham (a) Nassau Players Stu Blasius GolfTEC Woodland Park Jay Blumenfeld (a) Mountain Ridge Charles Bolling Glen Cove Andre Bolukbas (a) Mansion Ridge Bill Boyle (a) Metedeconk Don Brigham Battleground Bill Britton - 2006 Champion Trump - Colts Neck Edward Bugniazet (a) Winged Foot Mike Burke - 2011 Champion Montammy Peter Busch - 2012 Champion Galloping Hill Mike Caporale North Hills Marc Coleman (a) Nassau Players Joe Collins, Sr. (a) Winged Foot Matt Corrigan (a) Nassau Players Jerry Courville, Jr. Shorehaven Jim Craffey, Jr. (a) Arcola Charles Craig (a) Round Hill Chris Dachisen North Jersey Jim D’Antoni (a) Fairmount John DeForest, Jr. Rondout Mike Diffley Pelham Jon Doppelt (a) Fresh Meadow Patrick Eggeling Old Oaks Don Enga (a) Cherry Valley John Ervasti (a) - 2010 Champion Sleepy Hollow Frank Esposito, Jr. Brooklake Phil Fabrizio (a) Knickerbocker Richard Feldman (a) Centennial Player Club Brian Fennelly (a) Sterling Farms Men’s Club Gerald Garber (a) Lake Success Sean Garrity Griff Harris Men’s Club Scotty George (a) Westchester Edward Gibstein (a) Engineers David Glenz Black Oak James Graham (a) Winged Foot Murray Greenberg (a) The Woodmere Club Jon Groveman (a) The Connecticut Bobby Heins - 2008 & 2009 Champion Old Oaks Bill Henry (a) Forsgate John Herbert (a) Bethpage State Park Peter Hirsh (a) The Woodmere Club Jeffrey Holzschuh (a) The Stanwich Club Terence Hughes Mahopac Gregory Hurd North Hempstead Thomas John Jaeger Spring Meadow Tom Joyce Glen Oaks Neil Kanner (a) Saxon Woods Darrell Kestner - 2003 & 2005 Champion Deepdale Adam Kominsky (a) MGA eClub - New Jersey Adam Kugler (a) Alpine Gregory Langell (a) Silver Lake Men’s Michael Lanzetta Mansfield Dave Laudien Howell Park Frank Laznovsky (a) Meadow Brook Dan Levinson (a) Bayonne Donald Lizak (a) Southampton Mike LoCastro (a) Rolling Green Dennis Lynch (a) Nassau Players Baker Maddera Rock Spring Mark McCormick Suburban Ronald Eugene Mcdougal Old Westbury Kevin McEvoy (a) Innis Arden Peter Meurer Staten Island Practice Ctr SENIOR OPEN

Player Club Mark Mielke Mill River Bob Miller, Jr. Knollwood John Morgan (a) Canoe Brook Kelley Moser Westchester Gary Ostrega Hyatt Hills Todd Payne (a) Ridgewood Larry Piekarsky (a) North Jersey Patrick Pierson (a) Minisceongo David Prowler (a) Bethpage State Park Douglas Quackenbush Spook Rock Michael Reardon (a) The Tuxedo Club Lee Richardson MGA eClub - New Jersey Jim Romaniello (a) Shorehaven John Charles Sanges Rockaway Hunting Rob Schaal Tara Greens Peter Serafimoff Millbrook Jay Sessa (a) Cherry Valley Allan Small (a) Fairmount James Patrick Smoot Huntington Joe Sommers (a) Winged Foot Charles Stucklen Sebonack Michael Summa The Stanwich Club Tom Sutter Dunwoodie Kevin Syring Alpine Craig Thomas -2013 Champion Metropolis Jim Turnesa Westchester , Jr. Rockville Peter Van Ingen (a) Deepdale Ron Vannelli (a) Forsgate Rick Vershure Quaker Ridge Martin Vybihal Tee-rrific Dennis Ward Sterling Farms Jeff Warne The Bridge Bret Watzka Blue Hill Ed Whitman - 2004 Champion Knickerbocker www.mgagolf.org Player Club Garnet Wright Metropolis Mark Yannotta Essex Golf Tom Yellin (a) The Stanwich Club David Young Sleepy Hollow Bruce Zabriski - 2007 Champion Westchester George J Zahringer III (a) Deepdale David Zeid (a) MGA eClub-W/F

Quick Facts: Final Field: 112 2013 Champion: Craig Thomas, Metropolis Country Club Professionals: 59 Amateurs: 53 Past Champions: 9 Format: 36 holes, . Cut to low 40s and ties after first round SENIOR OPEN About Alpine Country Club

n 1929, a consortium of millionaires from the worlds of finance and government (including two state senators) got together to form what they hoped would be a club of importance in the golf world. It was Iinitially known as Aldecress, named for the neighboring communities – Alpine, Demarest, and Cresskill – on the western slope of the Palisades where the club is located. The club, which opened in 1931, was the last built in New Jersey by A.W. Tillinghast, and may have been his greatest challenge. The terrain was a mix of trees, swamp, and rock; it took 30 tractors to clear the fairways. Rock taken from the ground was used with railroad ties to help contour Founded: fairways and stabilize tee and green sites. 1913 The best-laid (and designed) plans of Alde- Course Opened: cress’ founders ran headlong into the Depression, 1918 Architects: and the original club failed within a few years. The Walter Travis course was opened to the public during that time, A.W. Tillinghast and became private again in 1961 when the pres- ent Alpine Country Club was organized. Championship Tees: The Club continues to prosper in its pres- Par: 71 ent form and has even played host to a number of Yardage: 6,461 Course Rating: 71.6 MGA events, including three MGA Father & Son Slope: 128 Championships (1972, 1977, and 1987), two MGA Mixed Pinehurst Championships (1975 and 1995), and the 1990 Men’s Four-ball Championship. History of the MGA Senior Open Though it is young as far as MGA championships go, the MGA Senior Open has a high profile among the top players in the Met Area. The already strong fields who gathered for the champion- ship’s early years became even stronger in 2003 with the influx of several very accom- plished 50-year-olds, headed John Gentile Winner of inagural MGA Senior Open in 1997 by Darrell Kestner of Deep- dale, a three-time Met Open champion, who won in his first year of eligibility in 2003 and again in 2005. Other recent champions of note include former PGA Tour winner Bill Britton of Trump Na- tional-Colts Neck (2006), two-time Met Open winner Bruce Zabriski (2007), and back-to-back winner Bobby Heins (2008 and 2009). To- gether with an ever-increasing number of top amateur competitors, these players have produced drama and excitement at recent play- ings of the Senior Open. In 2013, the Senior Open ended in a playoff for the second consecutive year. Craig Thomas of Metropolis edged out Mark Mielke of Mill River in a playoff, and with his win he broke several championship records. The MGA Senior Open has been held at such storied venues as Tuxedo, Century, Metropolis, Fenway, Fresh Meadow, and Nas- sau. It is the largest event in local senior golf with a purse of 25,000. The 36-hole event is contested at stroke play over two consecutive days, with the field cut after the first round to the low 40 and ties, and anyone within five shots of the lead. Due to the growing popularity of this event, the MGA added an 18-hole Sectional Qualifying Round for the Senior Open in 2013 to accomodate the growing demand of the championship. SENIOR OPEN 17th MGA Senior Open Championship Sunningdale Country Club August 26-27, 2013

Craig Thomas of Metropolis was able to erase a four shot deficit and survive a sud- den death playoff against Mark Mielke of Mill River to capture the 2013 MGA Senior Open Championship at Sunningdale Country Club in Scarsdale, N.Y. Thomas’ final round 4-under 67 performance came in breezy con- ditions and set several Senior Open records, including lowest final round score (previously 69) and lowest 36 hole total (previously 137). He also became the youngest champion in the history of the competition at 50 years and 22 days, breaking the previous record set by Bruce Zabriski in 2007 by three days.

Final Results Finish Player Club Score Earnings T1 Craig Thomas * Metropolis CC 136 $5,000 Mark Mielke Mill River Club 136 $2,500 3 Delroy Cambridge Performance Center 137 $1,500 4 Ed Whitman Knickerbocker CC 138 $1,250 T5 Mike Diffley Pelham CC 140 $937.50 Rick Vershure Quaker Ridge GC 140 $937.50 T7 Mark McCormick Suburban GC 141 $683.33 Darrell Kestner Deepdale GC 141 $683.33 Tom Sutter Dunwoodie GC 141 $683.33 T10 Don Brigham Battleground CC 142 $540 Mike Burke Montammy GC 142 $540 (a) Ken Bakst Friar’s Head Even Amateur (a) Jon Groveman The Connecticut GC 142 Amateur (a) Jon Tingley Stanton Ridge & CC 142 Amateur (a) Dan Levinson Bayonne Golf Club 142 Amateur Frank Esposito Jr. Brooklake CC 142 $540 T17 Peter Busch Galloping Hill GC 143 $450 Bill Britton Trump - Colts Neck 143 $450 T19 Bruce Zabriski Westchester CC 144 $420 (a) John Ervasti Sleepy Hollow CC 144 Amateur T21 (a) Tom Hyland Pebble Creek GC 145 Amateur Bobby Heins Old Oaks CC 145 $400 *Won in a playoff Past Champions Year Champion Site 2013 Craig Thomas Sunningdale 2012 Peter Busch Garden City CC 2011 Mike Burke Crestmont 2010 John Ervasti (a) Rolling Hills 2009 Bobby Heins Woodmere 2008 Bobby Heins Hollywood 2007 Bruce Zabriski Metropolis 2006 Bill Britton Nassau 2005 Darrell Kestner Tuxedo 2004 Ed Whitman Century 2003 Darrell Kestner Preakness Hills 2002 Peter Famiano Woodmere 2001 Carl Pedersen Royce Brook 2000 Jim Miller Fenway 1999 Russell Helwig Fresh Meadow 1998 Russell Helwig Preakness Hills 1997 John Gentile Tuxedo

Two-time Champions Darrell Kestner (left) and Bobby Heins are both taking the field again for this year’s Senior Open. SENIOR OPEN Senior Open Records AGE 142 - Jon Groveman, 2013, Sunningdale Oldest Winner 142 - Jon Tingley, 2013, Sunningdale 59 years, 2 weeks – Peter Busch, 2012 142 - Dan Levinson, 2013, Sunningdale 58 years, 7 months – Bobby Heins, 2009 Amateur Winners Youngest Winner John Ervasti, 2010 50 years, 22 days –Craig Thomas, 2013 Largest Margin of Victory 50 years, 25 days – Bruce Zabriski, 2007 6 strokes – Russell Helwig, 1998 50 years, 27 days – Darrell Kestner, 2003 4 strokes – Darrell Kestner, 2003 & 2005 Largest Lead After 18 Holes SCORING 6 strokes – Russell Helwig, 1998 Lowest Score, 18 Holes 5 strokes – Mike Caporale, 2009 64 – Mike Caporale, 2009, Woodmere 65 – Ed Whitman, 2012, Garden City CHAMPIONS CC Most Wins 65 – Peter Famiano, 2002, Woodmere 2 – Russell Helwig, 1998 & 1999 65 – Mark Mielke, 2013, Sunningdale 2 – Darrell Kestner, 2003 & 2005 66 – John Gentile, 1997, Tuxedo 2 – Bobby Heins, 2008 & 2009 66 – Bobby Heins, 2003, Preakness Hills Second Place to First Place in Lowest Final Round Consecutive Years 67 – Craig Thomas, 2013, Sunningdale Darrell Kestner – 2004-2005 68 - Delroy Cambridge, 2013, Sunningdale Bobby Heins – 2007-2008 69 – Jim Miller, 1999, Fresh Meadow Winners of Senior Open 69 – Darrell Kestner, 2005, Tuxedo and Met Open 69 – Bruce Zabriski, 2007, Metropolis Mike Burke Jr. 69 – Bobby Heins, 2009, Woodmere Darrell Kestner Lowest 36-hole Score Bill Britton 136 – Craig Thomas, 2013, Sunningdale Bruce Zabriski 136 – Mark Mielke, 2013, Sunningdale Bobby Heins 137 - Delroy Cambridge, 2013, Sunningdale 138 - Ed Whitman, 2013, Sunningdale MISCELLANEOUS 137 – Darrell Kestner, 2005, Tuxedo Most Top 5 Finishes 138 – Peter Famiano, 2002, Woodmere 8 – Darrell Kestner 138 – Darrell Kestner, 2003, Preakness Hills 7 – Bobby Heins Lowest 36 Holes by Amateur 6 – Tom Joyce 141 – John Baldwin, 2002, Woodmere Purse History 141 – Ron Vannelli, 2005, Tuxedo $20,000 – 1997-2002 142 – Richard Jung, 2007, Metropolis $25,000 – 2003-2004, 2010-present 142 – John Ervasti, 2010, Rolling Hills $30,000 – 2005-2009 142 – Al Small, 2012, Garden City CC 142 - Ken Bakst, 2013, Sunningdale, 2013 The Metropolitan Golf Association Extends Its Sincere Gratitude To Alpine Country Club

General Manager Chad Chadwell

Head Golf Professional Kevin Syring

Green & Ground Superintendent Steve Finamore

Event Coordinator Candice Timmerman

______• ______The MGA also wishes to thank our valued corporate partners for their support of the MGA Senior Open Championship: