August Newsletter
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We are now fully prepared to accept applications and deliver our co- branded MasterCard program. There is a simple online application form at the link below for both business and personal accounts. Although there are some great loyalty programs out there, we challenge any card you currently use against the value added by the Avidia MasterCard. To apply go to met.avidiabank.com. Some of the registration pages will refer to the New England PGA, don’t be alarmed this is only because our card was built on the same platform and some of the logos and verbiage was carried over. Below are the upcoming entry deadlines for each of the PGA Section Championships that serve as qualifying for PGA National Championships. Please remember that because these events are part of the National Championships, the deadlines are at 11:59 pm on the listed date and they are completely firm. We cannot register you for any reason once they have passed. You may enter each of the championships below online at www.PGA.org or by calling 1- 800-474-2776. Metropolitan PGA Senior Professional Championship Deadline–Wednesday, August 2 Metropolitan PGA Assistant Professional Championship Deadline–Wednesday, August 23 The National Car Rental Met PGA Assistant Professional Championship entry must be submitted to PGA HQ as outlined above. That $60 fee goes toward cart and range fees for the tournament. There is an additional entry fee onsite of $150, $300, or $450. This “tiered” entry fee corresponds directly to the percentage of the purse you will be eligible to win. In order to raise money for this entry, we offer a raffle for prizes donated by area sales reps. Raffle tickets will be sent to your head professional early in August (we will also offer extra tickets at upcoming events). These $10 chances can be sold to members, family, friends and other supporters. You must then bring the tickets and a check to round 1 of the Assistant’s Championship at Bethpage. Another option is to raise a minimum of $1,000 in donations to the Met PGA Foundation. That level of fundraising qualifies one assistant per club for the top tier. More than one assistant per club can elect to go this route. Please contact the Met PGA office with questions or for help presenting a fundraiser to your club. The “Club of Clubs” is a reduced rate, VIP spectator experience available only to members at clubs employing a PGA professional. The package includes: full bar service, hors d'oeuvres, and lunch buffet in a private air- conditioned tent on the 17th green and also offers VIP parking passes. Click Here for more “Taste of the Tee” is a meet and greet opportunity on Tuesday August 22nd from 4:00-6:00 at Glen Oaks. PGA Tour players will be on hand, along with cocktails and food tastings from some of New York’s best. The event is both in recognition of and to benefit youth golf programming on Long Island, including the Met PGA Foundation. Click here for more The 30 Day Million Dollar Hole in One Challenge is open to any club in the Met Section. All you have to do is register your facility and any player making a hole in one on the course between 7/15 and 8/15 will qualify to participate in the finals on August 25th at Glen Oaks for a chance to win $1M. Additionally, each participating club will receive 8 complimentary weekly grounds passes. Please contact Brian Shearan [email protected] to register. Click here for the registration form It was nearly impossible to anticipate the unseasonable cold and rainy weather we experienced on the first day of the Metropolitan PGA Professional Championship. Thanks to the accommodations made by our host clubs, Fairview CC and GC of Purchase, we were able to complete the entire first round after at least four hours of delays. Host professionals, Shaun Powers and Carl Alexander, Superintendents, Jim Pavonetti and Bob Miller, and Managers, Meridith Picarelli-Khattar and Sophie Mond, were incredibly flexible and we owe them our sincere thanks. Along with the sun starting to peek out on Wednesday, came some fine play by the 68 players surviving the 36-hole cut and hoping to climb into the top 12. Westchester CC’s Danny Balin went out in 31, adding two birdies on the back nine for a bogey free round of 65. Balin’s one shot victory was solidified when runner up, Sands Point GC head pro, Rob Gick made one bad swing on the 53rd hole after playing flawlessly for the previous 52. Our two exempt players, Adam Rainaud and Matt Dobyns, finished T3 and T6 respectively. The aforementioned four players will be joined by the rest of the qualifiers: James Ondo (Apawamis), Kyle Baehler (Willow Ridge), Rob Labritz (GlenArbor), David Young (Sleepy Hollow), Greg Bisconti (Saint Andrew’s), Kyle Higgins (Inwood), Josh Rackley (Tam O’Shanter), Paul Dickinson (Atlantic), Frank Bensel (Century), and Tyler Jaramillo (Saint Andrew’s). Though most everyone has heard by now, we have yet to announce Darrell Kestner and John Kennedy as 2017 PGA of America Award winners in this publication. We are so thrilled and honored that these two exemplary professionals are being recognized for their contributions to the game, the profession, and their fellow members. Kestner will be honored with the Professional of the Year and Kennedy given the Bill Strausbaugh Award at the PGA of America Annual Meeting in Austin, TX this November. Extra holes were needed to determine a champion at the $100,000.00 NFP/Lenox Advisors New York State Open Championship. After 54 holes at the famed and immaculate Bethpage Black Course, Chris DeForest and amateur Cameron Young were tied. Both players parred the first playoff hole, but Young’s birdie on the second extra hole earned him the title. The sons of John DeForest and David Young, both PGA professionals, Cameron and Chris have grown up excelling in local events and have had great success collegiately and professionally. A BREAKTHROUGH INNOVATION JAILBREAK TECHNOLOGY Dramatically increases distance by stif ening the body to transfer more energy to the ball. And no one else has it. ©2016 Callaway Golf Company. Callaway, the Chevron Device, Epic, Great Big Bertha, Exo-Cage, Speed Step and Jailbreak Technology are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Callaway Golf Company. Ask any of the assistant (and former assistants) who have played in the Gene Borek Squire Cup Matches and they will tell you it is a highlight of their career. Applications for this year’s selection are now available. The majority of the team is selected on the basis of Professional Performance and it is not too late for applicants to demonstrate their level of commitment, involvement and service to their club, their community and to the Met Section. The event is supported by Cutter & Buck and Paul McManus. Applications are on the Assistants Link on the website. Entries for the Women’s Match Play are available now and will close on August 17th. We will announce the pairings and seedings on Monday August 21st. The match play draw will be based on points and there will be a PGA Member bracket (presented by the PGA Tour) and a non-member bracket. Matches will be arranged with a two-week window to complete each round. Head professionals and our women PGA and LPGA Members are asked to please promote this event to help us get a strong field. It’s hard to believe, but it’s time to start thinking about the Lincoln Met PGA Championship! Our Championship will again boast a $100,000 purse and will be played at Metropolis Country Club on September 18-20. There are a number of exempt categories, with the top 100 on the Met PGA POY list (after the Met Open) being the most common. A full explanation of the exemptions is posted on the web site. Qualifying for the 2017 Lincoln Met PGA Championship will be held on Monday, August 28th at Bonnie Briar Country Club. Due to scheduling conflicts, qualifying spots will also be offered in round one of the MGA Senior Open Championship. EVERYONE attempting to qualify MUST register for the Met PGA Championship qualifier event in Blue Golf, and pay the entry fee – even if you are qualifying at the MGA Seniors. Spots will be allocated directly by numbers as follows: the number of spots available is divided by the total number trying to qualify, yielding a percentage. That percentage will then be applied to each of the fields to determine how many spots are available at each site. The annual Pro Am at Innis Arden celebrating the life of William A Mitchell will return to Innis Arden on September 26th. This special event always fills up fast so make sure to get your team registered right away. “The Mitch” is also our opportunity to award scholarship dollars to Apprentices who will be attending a checkpoint in 2017 (or who have already attended this year). Over a dozen applicants have been rewarded the last three years with funds to help offset the cost of PGA education. The application deadline is September 1st and the scholarship recipients will be announced at The Mitch Pro-Am at Innis Arden on September 26th. Check out the web site in the coming weeks for updates on the point standings for our 2017 John Farley Cup Matches sponsored by Summit Brands and Fairway & Greene and this year OMEGA will also be supporting the Player of the Year event. These matches pit the best of Long Island vs.