Headline: Golfers Respond Well to Opening of Online Registration for 2010 MGA Championship Events
For Immediate Release: February 22, 2010
Norton, MA — The first event of the season may be months away, but that is not keeping eager golfers from securing their spots at MGA championship and qualifying events. Online registration for all MGA events has been live for only one week and the association has already received a steady and high volume of applications.
More than 260 applications were received on that first day and hundreds more have come through since that time. One of the most popular events is the Massachusetts Four-Ball Championship, which will be held on May 10-11 at Ipswich Country Club and Golf Club at Turner Hill.
"We are very happy with the response that we have received thus far," said Jesse Menachem, the MGA's Director of Rules & Competition. "Across the board, the interest has been high for all of our events. That bodes well for the golf season which should be an exciting one."
Following the Massachusetts Four-Ball Championship, a field of the region’s top amateurs and professionals will take to Wellesley Country Club to battle for the title of Massachusetts Open Champion. One year ago, Rob Oppenheim (Andover, MA) became only the seventh player in MGA history to capture both the Massachusetts Amateur and Massachusetts Open Championships. This year, he will look to take a break from competing on the Nationwide Tour to defend his title. It will be a special affair in Wellesley since the club, host of the Massachusetts Open Championship in 1985 and 1999, will be celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2010.
Another highlight of the season will be the playing of the Massachusetts Amateur Championship at Myopia Hunt Club, the site of the first-ever playing of this prestigious event back in 1903. Through the years, Myopia Hunt Club has hosted a total of four Massachusetts Amateur Championships and have played host to historic victories by Arthur Lockwood (1903), Ed Connell (1955), Steve Tasho (1985) and current PGA Tour competitor James Driscoll (1996).
In addition to an impressive list of Championship Proper sites, this year’s schedule brings change to many popular events.
New for 2010 will be a revised format for the Massachusetts Junior Amateur Championship and Massachusetts Father & Son Championship.
The 2010 Massachusetts Junior Amateur Championship will be hosted by Foxborough Country Club on July 27-29 and will feature a Championship Proper field of 120 Junior division and 30 Boys division competitors. This new format will allow Junior and Pre-Junior competitors to play alongside one another over the three-day period. Following play on Tuesday and Wednesday, only the low 50 scorers and ties will continue on to the third and final round of play. The Boys Division competitors, meanwhile, will take part in a 36-hole Championship Proper on Wednesday and Thursday.
"There is such a breadth of junior talent here in Massachusetts, and we wanted to maximize the competition for all," said Menachem, who during the off-season worked with a junior golf sub-committee that included former junior competitors, golf professionals and high school coaches. "In addition to the format and schedule changes, we also increased the number of exemptions in order to reward those competitors who have achieved success over the course of the season."
Included in that list of exemptions are the top 10 finishers and ties from the 2009 MIAA Division 1, 2 and 3 State Championships and the top 10 finishers and ties from the 2009 US Challenge Cup, NEPGA and CTPGA Player of the Year standings.
Weeks later, many of those junior competitors will join forces with their fathers to take part in the Massachusetts Father & Son Championship on August 3-4. New for this year, all Senior Division competitors (which include sons who are 18 years and older and a combined team index of 12.0) will take part in 18 holes on August 3, while the Junior Division will compete the following day. Those Junior Division teams must have a combined handicap index of 18.0 and the sons must be between the ages of 13 and 17.
The complete 2010 MGA schedule as well as links to online registration for all championships is now available online. With more than 90% of its entries received via the online system, the MGA encourages all players to sign up early and often.