Gene Westmoreland will be at the helm as the non-playing captain of the six-man amateur team representing the Metropolitan Golf Association at the 8th Governor Hugh L. Carey Challenge Cup, a Walker Cup-style competition against the Golfing Union of Ireland. The matches will take place May 5 and 6 at the Portmarnock Hotel & Golf Links in Dublin, Ireland.

Westmoreland, a longtime fixture at the MGA as the Senior Director of Rules and Competitions, will captain his first Carey Cup team as the MGA squad seeks their first victory since 1996.

The Carey Cup matches were inaugurated in 1996 by former New York State Governor Hugh L. Carey as a way to stimulate sportsmanship and goodwill between the U.S. and Ireland. The event is a reincarnation of the Metedeconk Challenge, which was played in 1990 and 1992 and matched teams of Irish and American amateur golfers in a Walker Cup-style competition. This year’s event marks the eighth playing of the Carey Cup. The field consists of six-man teams of amateur golfers representing the Metropolitan Golf Association and the Golfing Union of Ireland (GUI).

The first day of the competition will be Tuesday, May 5, when the foursome (alternate shot) matches are held in the morning, followed by fourball matches in the afternoon. The competition will conclude the following day with singles matches and an awards luncheon. Players from the MGA also will have the opportunity to stay and compete in the Irish Amateur Open Championship, to be held May 8-10 at Royal Dublin Golf Club.

The 2009 MGA Carey Cup squad will be anchored by reigning MGA Jerry Courville Sr. Player of the Year, and three-time MGA international team member, Joe Saladino of Huntington. Joining Saladino will be Greg Rohlf of Winged Foot, the 2008 MGA Mid-Amateur champion, who is playing in his 10th international competition with the MGA. Mike Reardon of Tuxedo, the 2007 MGA Mid-Amateur champion, will make his third trip overseas with the MGA. Former Ike champion Ed Gibstein of Engineers is playing in his ninth MGA international competition and looks to continue his strong play after a good showing at the 2008 French-American Challenge at Metropolis Country Club in White Plains, N.Y.

The MGA team also features two young players who are looking to become mainstays on future MGA international teams. Sixteen-year-old Cameron Wilson, a former MGA/MetLife Boys champion and low amateur at the 2008 Met Open, is making his third appearance in MGA international competition. Wilson was a key member of the MGA team that tied the GUI in 2007 at Trump National Golf Club in Briarcliff Manor, N.Y. Rounding out the team is 20-year-old Robert Cronheim of Twin Brooks, who finished tied for 9th at the 2008 New Jersey State Open. Cronheim, a member of the golf team at Cornell University, is the only newcomer to the competition, but his strong play over the last two years will be vital if the MGA hopes to claim a victory.

The MGA will face a tough challenge from the GUI team, which includes Paul Cutler of the Portstewart Club, Alan Dunbar of the Rathmore Club, and Dara Lernihan of the Castle Club. The team is rounded out by the 2008 Irish boys champion Paul Dunne, of the Greystones Club; Andrew Hogan of the Newlands Club, who represented Ireland in 2007 & 2008 Ireland v Wales and Ireland v Scotland Internationals; and Rory McNamara of the Headfort Club, who won the 2008 Joe Carr Award (U21 Order of Merit). The GUI is captained by Dr. Kevin Flanagan. This will be the second Carey Cup matches for Cutler as the rest of his team will be competing against the MGA for the first time. In the past, the GUI has developed players such as Rory McIlroy, Graeme McDowell, Darren Clarke and Padraig Harrington. 

  Be sure to follow all of the exciting action from Dublin on www.mgagolf.org.