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The Ike Heads to Century

ELMSFORD, N.Y. (June 23, 2017) – The Met Area’s top amateur competitors are set to take on Century Country Club in Purchase, N.Y., June 26-27, in the 62nd Ike MGA Stroke Play Championship Presented by Callaway. The championship, which is making its first-ever appearance at the esteemed club, stands as the area’s premier stroke-play event and is the MGA’s first major of the season. “The Ike” perennially features a deep field, which this year was completed through qualifying rounds at five sites throughout the Met Area.

Related: Pairings | Ike History | Ike Records | Preview Video

Three-peat?
Cameron Young
of Sleepy Hollow has the opportunity to become the first player ever to win the Ike Championship in three consecutive years, following wins at Friar’s Head in 2015 and Essex County in 2016. Young—coming off his sophomore year at Wake Forest—however, is nursing an injury from earlier this month.

Seeking Redemption
Peter Kim
of Royce Brook birdied the 18th hole at Essex County last year to set up a thrilling playoff with Young. After closing his collegiate career at Army with a Patriot League individual title, the 2015 Met Amateur champion is certainly aiming to add another MGA major to his resume.

College Ranks
The field includes a host of competitors who are, like Kim, coming off successful collegiate seasons. Cornell’s Michael Graboyes of Watchung Valley claimed the Ivy League’s individual title to also advance to NCAA Regionals. Meanwhile, Campbell’s Thomas LaMorte of Haworth helped his squad win the Big South Championship with a second-place individual finish, and Matthew Lowe of Colonial Springs helped Richmond to the Atlantic 10 title with his fifth-place individual finish.

Feeling at Home
Several Century members will aim to hoist the Ike trophy at their home club, including Sam Bernstein, Philip Mintz and Michael Savitt. Bernstein finished as runner-up in the 2014 Ike at Montclair. They’d also like to make it two year’s straight in which the host club wins the Ike Team Championship, after Essex County’s Kieran Purcell and Ryan Snouffer combined to win the title last year.

Consistently in Contention
James Nicholas of Deepdale has had a strong start to his season and has been on the verge of claiming several titles. The rising junior at Yale advanced to the semifinals of both the Westchester Amateur and Long Island Amateur, and finished tied third at the Hochster Memorial.

Another Title?
A host of former MGA champions are in the field, looking to add another MGA title to their name. Standing among the group are 2016 Met Junior and recent Westchester Amateur titlist Christian Cavaliere of Mahopac, 2016 Carter Cup champion Ethan Ng of Fiddler’s Elbow, 2014 Met Junior and recent New Jersey Amateur victor Dawson Jones of Jumping Brook,2016 Public Links winner Michael Miranda of Bethpage, and two-time Mid-Am champion Dennis Lynch of Nassau Players.

Top-10 Streaks
Aside from Young, only two competitors slated to be in this year’s field have logged top-10 finishes in the Ike each of the last two years: Trevor Randolph (T4/8) of Arcola and Evan Grenus (T7/T3) of Sterling Farms.

Format

  • Two days, 54 holes of stroke play
  • Field cut to low 40 players & ties following Monday’s opening round
  • Ike Team Championship runs concurrently
    • Title goes to the two individuals from the same club with the lowest combined score for 54 holes

Century Country Club

  • Club established in 1898, and settled at current location and course in 1926
  • Course designed by British architects H.S. Colt and C.H Allison
  • Serves as a co-host (with neighboring Old Oaks) for U.S. Open sectional qualifying on a three-year rotating basis
  • Club implemented a master plan in 2005, which included a new short game area, draining, bunker renovation, fairway contouring, resurfacing of new tees and introduction of several new tees
  • Has hosted five different MGA championships (including Met Amateur four times), but is hosting its first Ike Championship

Coverage

  • 9 and 18-hole updates for the first two rounds (Monday, Tuesday morning)
  • Live hole-by-hole scores during the final round, Tuesday afternoon
  • Social Media: @MGA1897 on Twitter for updates through the day; additional content on Facebook and Instagram
  • Scoring, recaps, interviews, and photos on mgagolf.org
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