LIGA Celebrates Matt Lowe, Dave Scialabba, and Michael Sullivan
(Matt Lowe, Jay Sessa, and Dave Scialabba)
ELMSFORD, N.Y. (November 27, 2024) – The Long Island Golf Association held its annual Awards Celebration and Dinner on Tuesday, November 26 at the Cherry Valley Club in Garden City, N.Y. Highlights of the evening included presentations on the 2024 Long Island Players of the Year as well as the Distinguished Service Award.
Matthew Lowe of the MGA eClub – Long Island and Dave Scialabba of Meadow Brook have both claimed another Player of the Year title after stellar play on Long Island and throughout the Met Area.
Final Standings: Player of the Year | Senior Player of the Year
Lowe’s win at the 2024 Richardson Memorial Championship and his fifth-place finish at the 100th Long Island Open played vital roles in the quest for a third-straight Player of the Year honor. Lowe also tied for third at the New York State Open and was low amateur.
This is Scialabba’s fifth consecutive Senior Player of the Year honor. Scialabba won the Arthur Weber Memorial Senior Amateur in October and was a semifinalist at the Richardson Memorial Championship and 114th Travis Invitational.
In the championship match at the Richardson, Lowe beat Michael Auerbach of Bellport 6 and 5. Lowe won 6 and 4 in the Round of 16 and 6 and 5 in the quarterfinals of the Richardson before beating Prescott Butler of Piping Rock 1 up in the semifinals. Lowe was also the low amateur at the Long Island Open. Lowe finished at 4-under to finish by himself in fifth. In the first and third rounds, Lowe fired 4-under par 66s.
Scialabba’s win at the Arthur Weber Memorial was by one shot over David Boccia of Huntington Crescent and three shots over Dennis Lynch of Baiting Hollow. At the Richardson, he was edged by Thomas Trakoval of Port Jefferson in the semifinals. Later in May, Scialabba beat Jim Graham of Winged Foot and Lynch before falling to Matt Sughrue from Trump National (Va.) in the semifinals of the Travis Invitational.
Peicheng Chen of Rock Hill was second to Lowe in the Player of the Year standings, 885 points off Lowe’s pace. Josh German of Meadow Brook rounded out the top three in the final standings.
In the Senior Player of the Year standings, Trakoval was second, 153 points before Scialabba. Lynch finished in third, 340 points off Scialabba.
LICSF Vice President Don Hendler (left) and DSA Recipient Michael Sullivan
Michael Sullivan, the president of the Long Island Caddie Scholarship, was honored with the Distinguished Service Award for his service to the game on Long Island and throughout the Met Area. Sullivan, a recipient of a Long Island Caddie Scholarship in 1980, has been a longtime advocate for youth caddieing. A former caddie at Wheatley Hills, he competed on the golf team at St. John’s University.
Golf in the Met Area has greatly benefitted from Sullivan’s leadership. He has served as part of the board and then as president of the LICSF since 1999, was president of the LIGA in 2015-2016, and president of the Metropolitan Golf Association in 2017-2018. For all that he continues to contribute to the game of golf, the LIGA was honored to recognize Sullivan as the 2024 recipient of the Distinguished Service Award.