WGA Amateurs Begin Tuesday
ELMSFORD, N.Y. (June 9, 2017) – Brackets are set for the 98th WGA Amateur Championship, as well as the 2017 WGA Senior Amateur and Super Senior Amateur championships at Whippoorwill Club in Armonk, N.Y. Competitors will look to advance through their respective brackets June 13-14, while each division will crown a champion on Friday, June 16.
Related: WGA Amateur Bracket | WGA Senior Am Bracket | WGA Super Senior Bracket
James Nicholas of Westchester Country Club secured the top seed for the 98th WGA Amateur in qualifying at Ardsley, as he shoots to claim the title for the first time. In May, Nicholas—who will be a junior at Yale this fall—made the cut at the Irish Amateur Open. Another top competitor seeking his first WGA title is Paul Pastore, who recently competed in U.S. Open sectional qualifying and last year advanced to match play of the U.S. Amateur. Luke Feehan of Mahopac is the lone past champion in the field and will begin his quest for another title against Winged Foot’s Drake Ferriter.
Gray Barnes of Centennial, 2012 WGA Mid-Am champion Michael Karger of Century, and James McHugh of Rye will look to build upon quarterfinal appearances in last year’s event. McHugh defeated top-seeded Feehan last year as he moved to the second day of competition.
Several additional past WGA champions are also in the field. Met PGA Junior member Matthew Ferrari, the 2016 WGA Boys champion will square off against two-time WGA Mid-Am champion Patrick Pierson of Hollow Brook in the opening round. John Ervasti of Sleepy Hollow is another former WGA Mid-Am titlist in the field, having won in 2013. Meanwhile, Christian Cavaliere of Mahopac is hoping to add to his past WGA success, which includes taking both the Boys and Junior titles in 2012.
In the Senior Amateur, Jon Groveman of The Connecticut Golf Club takes the top seed, looking to defend his title and claim the championship for a fourth time since 2010. His top challengers include 1991 WGA Amateur champion Tom Yellin of Stanwich and 2014 WGA Senior Amateur champion Jim Romaniello of Shorehaven.
Shawn McLoughlin of Ridgewood is going for an unprecedented fourth consecutive championship in the WGA Super Senior Amateur. He’s looking to join Peter Friedes of Wykagyl, who owns the No. 3 seed in the event, as the only four-time champion in WGA Super Senior history.
The WGA Amateur will include periodic scoring updates for the Round of 32, while live hole-by-hole updates will be available for each match beginning with the Round of 16.