September 22, 2009 – It looks like it will be a photo finish in the race for the 2009 MGA Jerry Courville Sr. Player of the Year Award, as the winners of two of this year’s MGA major championships are locked in a tight battle with just a few weeks left to earn points.

Mike Ballo Jr. of Woodway, the 2009 Ike champion, has led the player of the year race since June, compiling 755 points so far. Ballo, the 21-year-old captain of the St. John’s University golf team, finished fourth in the Bergen County Amateur on September 13 to earn 35 more points and hold his lead.

However, closing in on the top spot is Met Amateur and Carter Cup champion Cameron Wilson of Shorehaven. Wilson shot a second-round 63 to win the Bergen County Amateur, a victory which earned him 75 points to increase his total to 750, just five points behind Ballo. Wilson, 16, is a senior at St. Luke’s School in New Canaan, Conn.

The other players in the top five in the MGA player of the year points standings are well behind the leaders. Chris Scialo of Spook Rock is in third place with 507.5 points, Joe Saladino is in fourth with 417.5, and last year’s Ike champion, Kevin Foley of Neshanic Valley, is in fifth with 360. Saladino, who was the 2008 MGA Player of the Year, did qualify for next week’s U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship at Kiawah Island in South Carolina, giving himself another opportunity to earn a large number of points if he were to advance far in match play.

Upcoming Met Area events that would give the two leading players a chance to amass points include the Nassau Invitational, October 1-3 at Nassau Country Club in Glen Cove, N.Y., and the Boff Invitational, October 8 at Shackamaxon Country Club in Scotch Plains, N.J. Follow all the developments in the exciting year-end race for the MGA Jerry Courville Sr. Player of the Year award on www.mgagolf.org. 

Past Winners—MGA Jerry Courville Sr. Player of the Year Award