5th MGA Senior Masters Tournament heads to Tuxedo Club
ELMSFORD, N.Y. (September 21, 2016) – In its fifth playing, the MGA Senior Masters Tournament will welcome 70 amateurs aged 65 and over to compete for the title, Thursday, September 22 at Tuxedo Club in Tuxedo Park, N.Y.
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Ron Vannelli of Forsgate will be shooting for his third consecutive victory at the event, having won back-to-back titles in 2014 and 2015. However, Vannelli will have to hold off a host of competitors as the championship’s field continues to grow in strength each year. Five-time NJSGA Senior Amateur champion and 2009 MGA Senior Am champion Al Small of Fairmount will make his debut in the tournament and will play alongside Vannelli. Mark Mulvoy of The Apawamis Club and MGA eClub – Long Island member Richard Schmidt—who has back-to-back top-five finishes in the event—round out the group playing off the No. 1 tee.
Bob Howe of Winged Foot, winner of the first-ever title in 2012, is looking to match Vannelli’s mark of two victories. Howe also finished tied for third at Echo Lake in 2015, as did Long Island Golf Association Executive Director Doug Vergith of St. George’s and Allan Falvey of Panther Valley, both in the field once again this year.
Peter Friedes of Wykagyl is another top-10 finisher from last year looking to make a run at the title, while 1981 Met Amateur winner Peter Van Ingen of Deepdale is another new competitor to the event who could come out on top. The two will play alongside Vergith and Bill Henry of Forsgate off the No. 2 tee.
Joining Vergith in the field as a competitor instead of an administrator is the MGA’s very own Jay Mottola, who will look to use the knowledge of his home club to his advantage. Former MGA Tournament Director Gene Westmoreland of Winged Foot and MGA Foundation Director Peter Nicholson of Mount Kisco are also in the field.
Playing in groups of four, the competitors will tee off at 1 p.m. in a shotgun format and the MGA will have several scoring checkpoints on the course for scoring updates.
Tuxedo Club, a charter member of the MGA, continues its longstanding history of hosting MGA championships with the 5th Senior Masters Tournament. Tuxedo is one of 16 clubs to have hosted all three MGA Majors (the MGA Ike, Met Amateur, and Met Open), and hosted an event just last year in the WMGA/MGA Women’s Amateur.
Complete coverage of the event may be found on mgagolf.org, in addition to the MGA’s social media outlets, including Twitter, @MGA1897.