NYSGA Schedules Inaugural 36-Hole Men's Four-Ball Amateur for 2011

The NYSGA has unveiled the details fo the 1st Annual Men's Four-Ball Amateur Championship beginning in 2011.  It will be held at Ravenwood Golf Club in Victor, NY, and is scheduled for May 23-24, 2011.  See the following link for further details regarding this event (2011 NYSGA Men's Four-Ball Amateur Championship).

2011 Buffalo District Schedule Released

The Buffalo District Golf Association released the majority of the 2011 Amateur Golf Schedule.  Some of the highlights for the upcoming men's events include the following:
  

May 26 - 27  Match Play Championship - Niagara Frontier CC
                   

May 31 - Men's Mid Am Championship - Orchard Park, CC

June 7 - Senior Gross Championship - Glen Oak Tournament Club

July 25  Men's Individual Qualifier - Seneca's Hickory Stick GC

Aug. 4-6 Men's Individual Championships - Brookfield CC

Remember to check back Mid January / February time frame for the release of the 2011 Buffalo Amateur Golf Schedule posted in the top right portion of the blog!  Also, the 2010 points have not yet been finalized by the Buffalo District.  As soon as these are finalized, I will also post the final points listing on the blog as well.

2011 NYSGA Schedule Released

The 2011 New York State Golf Association Schedule has been released.  Some of the highlights include the NYS Men's Am to be held at Oak Hill Country Club (West Course) July 19 - 21, and the Men's Mid Am to be held at Dutchess G&CC in Poughkeepsie, NY September 23 - 25.  See the complete schedule at the following link: 2011 NYSGA Schedule

Hume wins NYS Mid-Am

Tim Hume won his second NYS Mid-Am Championship by shooting a final round (-2) 70 at Crag Burn Golf Club on Sunday to win by one stroke over Doug Slattery of Rochester.  Hume's final round 70 was the only under par round of the week at Crag Burn.  He came from 3 strokes back to start the final round to over take 2nd round leaders Slattery and Matthew Ion of Hamilton.

Finishing in 3rd, and in contention all day, was Marc Scherrer of Park Country Club.  Scherrer made a couple early bogeys, but kept himself in cotention all day, shooting a final round 75 to finish 3 stokes back (+9), alone in third.  Other locals finishing in the top 12 included Andy Bernatovicz of River Oaks in T10th place at +16, Brian Rajczak of River Oaks and Raman Luthra T12th place at +18.

See the listing of all final scores at the NYSGA website.

Scherrer and Hume in contention at Mid-Am

Marc Scherrer is one back of the lead in 3rd place at the NYS mid-am championship at Crag Burn Golf Club.  Scherrer, a member at Park CC, has shot rounds of 74 and 76 for a two round total of +6.  Scherrer is looking to become the second mid-am champion from Park CC in as many years (2009 Champion Ken Riter of Park CC).  The leaders, Matthew Ion of Hamilton, Ontario and Doug Slattery of Rochester, NY are one shot better at +5.  Also in the hunt in 4th place is 4 time Buffalo District Champ, 2000 NYS Mid-Am Champion and 2009 Florida Mid-Am Champion Tim Hume, playing out of Diamond Hawk GC, 3 strokes back of the lead at +8.

The final round will be played tomorrow.  Scherrer will be playing in the leader group, teeing off at 9:30, and Hume in the second to last group at 9:20.  Follow live scoring at the NYSGA website.

Tom Rajczak shares lead at State Mid-Am after round 1

Tom Rajczak of River Oaks shares the lead with Doug Slattery of Rochester in the New York State Men's Mid Am Championship being held at the Crag Burn Golf Club in East Aurora.   They shot even par rounds of 72.  These scores were very solid as the winds were blowing hard, with gusts up to 40 mph.  Other local players in the top ten after round include Tim Hume (+1) 73, Marc Scherrer of Park (+2) 74, Sean Lindstrom (+3) 75, Brian Rajczak (+4) River Oaks and Mike Grace (+4) Brookfield.

The tournament is being held over 3 days, with a cut to the low 60 after round 1, and another cut to the low 30 after round 2.  To read more about it, and to follow live scoring, visit the NYSGA web site.

USGA State Team Results

The New York State team finished 27th in the USGA State Team Championship held September 14-16 at Mayacama Golf Club in California.  Leading the NYS team was Tim Spitz, 2009 U.S. Mid-Am Runner-up, finishing T17 at +4 for the tournament.  The other two members of the team, Ken Riter of Buffalo (Park CC) and Hans Albertsson of Long Island both finished T113 at +23 in the 156 man field.

Kansas won the event with a team score of -3 for the tournament, and Bryan Norton of Kansas won the individual with at 3 day total of -5.  Read more about it on the artical at the USGA Website.

Westwood Scratch Tournament Canceled

The Westwood Scratch Tournament tentatively scheduled for September 20th has been canceled.  In talking with Bruce Becker, General Manager of Westwood, they are planning to hold a tournament once again in 2011.  Be sure to check out the Tournament Calendar in late winter / early spring, as the tournament dates for 2011 will be posted as soon as they are available.

USGA - U.S. Mid-Am Qualifer Results

The US Mid Am Qualifer took place today at Yahnundasis GC in New Hartford, NY.  There were 54 participants vying for 3 spots in the prestigious USGA event.  The qualifying score was (+2) 73 (which was a playoff, 4 guys for 1 spot).  Todays successful qualifiers included two rochester natives who shot the two best scores  (James Scorse, Churchville, NY (-3) 68 & Robert Chalanick, Victor, NY (-1) 70), and Arnold Cunningham of Nashville, Tennessee who won the final spot in the playoff.  Local participants who competed in todays event include the following:

Ken Riter (Buffalo, NY)                           (+3) 74
Timothy Hutton (Williamsville, NY)          (+3) 74
Raman Luthra (East Amherst, NY)          (+7) 78
Andy Bernatovicz (Grand Island, NY)     (+8) 79
James Smith (Orchard Park, NY)            (+8) 79

See all participant scores courtesy of the NYSGA website.

New York State Mid-Am Qualifier Results

Matthew Ion-Young of Crag Burn Golf Club was medalist today at the New York State Men's Mid-Am qualifier at Transit Valley Country Club.  Ion-Young carded a bogey free round of (-3) 68 to lead the way.  John Edwards of Diamond Hawk GC was one back with at (-2) 69 and Mike Rogers of Stafford Country Club shot (-1) 70.  Forty of the ninety golfers successfully qualified for the tournament today.  See today's results for more details.

The Tournament will be held at Crag Burn G.C. September 24 -September 26.  Golfers from all over the state will compete for the NY State Mid-Am Title.  Rounding out the field will be some notable local players who were already exempt into the tournament including two past champions (2009 Champion - Ken Riter (Park CC), 2006 Champion - Aaron Tallman) and the 2009 Buffalo District Champion, Raman Luthra (Crag Burn GC).

Ken Riter Named to NY State Team

Ken Riter of Park Country Club, who works as an architect in Buffalo, was one of three men named to the NY State Team to compete in the USGA State Team Championship.  The 54-hole team event will be played September 14th -16th at the 6,726-yard Mayacama golf course, in Santa Rosa, California (65 miles north of San Francisco).

Riter earned a spot on the team with his win at the NY State Men's Mid-Amateur last fall at Glens Falls Country Club.  Riter came to the 18th hole (a par 3) of the 54 hole championship last year tied for the lead with three other players (including past champions Jim Roy of Syracuse (who now plays on the Senior PGA Tour) and John Vacarro of Albany).  He calmly hit a shot to 8 feet, and knocked in the birdie put to win the 2009 NY State Men's Mid Amateur Championship.

This is a great accomplishment for Ken, and a great honor to represent New York State in this Championship.  Best Wishes to Ken as he competes in this prestigious Championship!!

Read more about Ken Riter and the NY State Team.

Buffalo Amatuer Golf Blog

I started this blog in an effort to increase awareness of local tournaments, maintain tournament results, and hopefully add some buzz and increased participation to many of the local events.  Please check out the features on the site including the tournament schedule, tournament results (still trying to track down some results), upcoming tee times, etc.  I will also be adding the points listing, points rules, and a listing of tournaments that qualify for points when I am able to track down this information.

If anyone has any comments or suggestions, please feel free to post them or email me at nimo126@yahoo.com.  Also, if anyone knows of any tournaments that I missed on the schedule, or any additional links that I should have on here, or anything else, please let me know.

Katz Finishes T22 at Canadian Amateur

Jake Katz shot a final round (E) 72 to finish +1 and T22 for the tournament at the Canadian Amatuer in London, Ontario.  The winner was Albin Choi of Toronto, Ontario, who finished at -17 for the tournament.

Grace and Bernatovicz Win The Classic

Mike Grace and Andy Bernatovicz teamed up to win the Brookfield / Crag Burn Classic this weekend.  The winning score was (-7) 137, which included rounds of (-5) 67 at Brookfield and (-2) 70 at Crag Burn.  They won by one stroke over the team of Kyle Gay of Brookfield CC and Brian Mcgahey of Springville CC (138) who had rounds of (-3) 69 at Brookfield and (-3) 69 at Crag Burn.  The top 5 rounded out as follows:

3 - Hanes / Lessing (139)
T4 - Luthra / Patterson (140)
T4 - Cecchini / Stasiak (140)

Katz Tied for 20th after 3rd Round of Canadian Amateur

Jake Katz shot a third round even par 72 today in the Canadian Amateur.  He currently sits at +1 and in in T20th place going into the fourth and final round.  The leader, Albin Choi of Toronto, is at -11 for the tournament.

Mike Grace and Andy Bernatovicz Lead The Classic

Mike Grace of Brookfield CC and Andy Bernatovicz of River Oaks CC teamed up to lead the way at the Brookfield / Crag Burn Classic on Friday 8/13 with a (-5) 67 today at Brookfield CC.  The tournament is two rounds (one round at Brookfield CC and one round at Crag Burn GC) and the format is two-man best ball.  Greg Cecchini of Crag Burn GC and Matt Stasiak of Fox Valley CC are in second place alone with a (-4) 68.  Other teams in the hunt after Round 1 include the following:

T3 - Murphy / Digulio (69)
T3 - Gay / Mcgahey (69)
T5 - Creighton / Tallman (70)
T5 - Gaffney / Nowak (70)
T5 - Boland / Mahon (70)

The final round will be played tomorrow, Saturday 8/14, at Crag Burn GC.

Katz tied for 27th after 2nd round at Canadian Amateur

Jake Katz shot a second round (-1) 71 at the London Hunt & Country Club on Friday, which puts him at +1 for the tournament and tied for 27th.  He currently sits 8 strokes back of the leader, Albin Choi of Toronto Ontario.  Jake tees off at 9:53am tomorrow for round three.

Jake Katz shoots 74 in first round of Canadian Amateur

Jake Katz, whose recent accomplishments include winning the Buffalo District Title, runner-up in the NY State Am, a T-10 at the Porter Cup (all 3 tournaments he held a share of the lead going into the final round), is competing in the Royal Canadian Men's Amateur Championship this week in London Ontario. The Tournament is being played on two courses, the London Hunt & Country and the Redtail Golf Course. The tournament includes four rounds of stroke play, with a cut to the low 70 and ties after two rounds.

Playing the Redtail Golf Course today, Jake fired a (+2) 74. Jake was at +2 after seven holes, when he birdied three of the next four holes to get back to -1. He then bogeyed 4 of his last 6 holes (with a birdie on 18) to finish the day at +2. Jake tees off tomorrow on the London Hunt and Country Club at 1:03pm. Follow the tournament scores at the link below.

Canadian Amateur Scores