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MGA Finishes 4th in 56th Williamson Cup

Connor Belcastro, Charlie Berridge, Will Celiberti, Garrett Kessler

Connor Belcastro, Charlie Berridge, Will Celiberti, and Garrett Kessler

UPDATE (August 12, 2019) -- The MGA finished fourth in the 56th Williamson Cup, Monday, at Irondequoit Country Club in Rochester, N.Y., as it faced of against nine fellow northeast golf associations.

Related: Williamson Cup Home Page | Scoring

Four juniors represent each association in the highly competitive event, with Connor Belcastro of Rowayton, Conn., Charlie Berridge of Scarsdale, N.Y., Will Celiberti of Ridgewood, N.J., and Garrett Kessler of North Caldwell, N.J., playing for the MGA this season. Contested over 36 holes, the best three scores from each round count toward the team's overall score.

In the morning round, Princeton-bound Belcastro led the way with a 2-under 70, while 16-year-old Berridge shot 1-under 71. Celiberti, this year's Met Junior champion who's headed to University of Maryland this fall, added a 2-over 74, helping the MGA to third place with a 1-under 216, six shots behind the pace set by the Western Pennsylvania Golf Association.

Sixteen-year-old Kessler bounced back from a morning 76, leading the MGA with a 1-over 73 in the afternoon. Berridge and Belcastro added the afternoon's other two scores, posting 74 and 77, respectively. The 8-over 224 total in the afternoon slid the MGA back one spot to third, while Western Penn continued it's impressive play with another sub-par team score en route to a 10-under 422 total and the victory.

Golf Association of Philadelphia finished second as the only other team under-par (-1/431), while Washington Metropolitan Golf Association jumped into third thanks to a 1-over 217 performance after lunch.

Berridge finished as the low individual for the MGA, carding a 1-over 145 total to tie for 7th overall, while Belcastro finished two shots further back at 3-over 147, tying for 10th.

The 57th Williamson Cup will be hosted by the Buffalo District Golf Association at the Country Club of Buffalo.

ELMSFORD, N.Y. (August 8, 2019) -- Four of the Met Area's top junior players head to Rochester, N.Y., this weekend in preparation to compete for the MGA in the 56th Williamson Cup, which the Rochester District Golf Association this year hosts at Irondequoit Country Club on Monday, August 12.

Connor Belcastro of Rowayton, Conn., Charlie Berridge of Scarsdale, N.Y., Will Celiberti of Ridgewood, N.J., and Garrett Kessler of North Caldwell, N.J., will represent the MGA.

The Williamson Cup is a highly regarded junior event, squaring off 10 northeast golf associations against each other in a 36-hole stroke play format. Four juniors represent each association, with the best three scores from each round counting toward the team's overall score.

The event was established by A. Fred Williamson in memory of his father, one of the original founders of Winged Foot Golf Club and a long-time member of the USGA Executive Committee. The event was first hosted at Winged Foot in 1964, with the Washington Metropolitan Golf Association coming away victorious.

The MGA team has a strong history of winning the event, most recently claiming victory in 2015 when the event was contested at Saucon Valley Country Club. In 2017, recent Met Amateur winner Chris Gotterup of Little Silver, N.J., won the individual title at Pittsburgh Field Club. The MGA has brought the Williamson Cup home 11 times, second only to the Golf Association of Ontario's 12 victories.

With the location of the event rotating among the participating golf associations, the MGA last hosted the event in 2013 at Sleepy Hollow.

Take a deeper look at the players set to represent the MGA in this year's Williamson Cup:

Connor Belcastro, 18

  • Winner, 2018 Connecticut Junior Championship
  • Advanced to match play in 2019 Met Junior
  • T8th in 2019 Carter Cup

Charlie Berridge, 16

  • Winner, 2018 Westchester Golf Association Junior Championship
  • 2018 WGA Junior Player of the Year

Will Celiberti, 18

  • Winner, 2019 Met Junior Championship
  • Runner-up, 2018 Met Junior
  • Winner, 2016 New Jersey Boys Championship

Garrett Kessler, 16

  • 2019 Drive, Chip and Putt National Finalist
  • Advanced to match play in 2019 Met Junior
  • Runner-up 2018 MGA/MetLife Boys Championship