Goldman, Scialabba, Earn First Career Richardson Victories
EAST WILLISTON, N.Y. (May 7, 2023) -- Matt Goldman of Old Westbury and Dave Scialabba of Meadow Brook claimed LIGA season-opening titles on Saturday at the RIchardson Memorial Championship Sponsored by Keystone Electronics Corporation at Wheatley Hills Golf Club.
Goldman faced off against Stephen Walsh of Baltusrol in the Championship division final; and the two had a very entertaining back and forth match for a majority of the afternoon.
A key up and down from Goldman on 16 gave him a 1-up lead with two holes to play.
“Yeah sixteen was big. From there, I felt that I could close it out if I just executed a few more shots coming down the stretch,” Goldman explained.
Holding a 1-up lead on 18 tee, Goldman would just need par to claim the title. After an iffy lag putt for his third to about 15 feet, he stepped up and drained what would be the championship winning putt.
“I really saw the line clearly and glad I stepped up and hit a good one,” Goldman said. “I feel like I have worked really hard on my game these past couple of years and two years ago I felt like I was ready to contend in one of these. So to see all that work pay off, it’s just extremely exciting and satisfying."
In the Senior Division, Dave Scialabba defeated Dennis Lynch of Baiting Hollow 3 & 2. In what was another great championship match, both Scialabba and Lynch traded blows on the front nine before Scialabba began to take control on the back.
A great up and down on 11 got things going for Scialabba. Following a near ace on the par-3 fourteenth and a solid par on the par-5 fifteenth, Scialabba found himself 3-up with three to play.
“The golf course this week was terrific, a great field… I had a lot of great matches. I was happy with my game this week and glad to get the win.” Scialabba said.
This is the first career Richardson victory for both Matt Goldman and Dave Scialabba.