Buffalo Amateur Golf

Billy Hanes loses NYS Mid-Am in four-man Playoff

2011-09-25T22:17:00.000-04:00

Billy Hanes of Crag Burn shot rounds of 72 and 73 (+5) to finish in a four-way tie at the NYS Mid Am Championship held at Dutchess Golf and Country Club in Poughkeepsie, NY. Billy lost on the first playoff hole, to finish T2. Andy Bernatovicz of River Oaks finished T5 with rounds of 74 and 73 (+7). See all results as well as the NYSGA article recapping the final round of the tournament.

Hejna wins Niagara Frontier Scratch Invitational

2011-08-21T21:09:00.000-04:00

Tony Hejna of Crag Burn won the Niagara Frontier Scratch Invitational Sunday (8/21/11) with a score of 73 (+1). Finishing 2nd behind Hejna was Chris Covelli of Crag Burn with a 74 (+2), and T3 was Billy Hanes of Crag Burn and Raman Luthra of Crag Burn with scores of 76 (+4).

Hanes and Pelet win Classic

2011-08-14T16:29:00.000-04:00

Billy Hanes and John Pelet won the 2011 Crag Burn - Brookfield Classic on Saturday with rounds of 67 - 69 (136), to win in a playoff over the team of Greg Cecchini and Matt Stasiak who had rounds 68 - 68 (136). Finishing 3rd was the team of Patrick Sheedy and James Blackwell witn a 137 total.

Katz wins Buffalo District Championship

2011-08-06T23:27:00.003-04:00

Jake Katz won his second straight Buffalo District Championship (and 4th straight BDGA event, which included the 2010 Match Play, 2010 Individual Championship, 2011 Match Play and 2011 Individual Championship) on Saturday posting a (-2) 70, for a three round total of 206 (-10) at Brookfield CC. Matt Stasiak and Chris Covelli finished tied for 2nd with three day totals of 214 (-2). See Buffalo News article: Katz Says Good-Bye With Another BDGA Win

Katz Qualifies for US Amateur

2011-08-02T15:57:00.001-04:00

Jake Katz of Westwood qualifed for the US Amateur by finishing in 2nd place at the Rochester qualifier yesterday (Monday, August 1). The 36 hole qualifier was held at Webster CC, and was 53 guys for 3 spots. Jake shot rounds of 71 and 73, to finish two strokes behind the medalist, Garrett Rank of Canada. The 3rd qualifier was also from Canada. Good luck to Jake as he represents Western NY in our (amateur) National Championship.

Niagara Frontier Scratch Invitational

2011-08-02T15:17:00.000-04:00

The Niagara Frontier Scratch Invitational application is available and posted on the top left of the blog (under "Upcoming Tournaments"). The tournament is scheduled for Sunday, August 21. Dan Antonucci, head professional, does a great job running the tournament, and it always has a strong field. There will also be a Senior Division this year for those players 50 and older. Hope to see many of you there.

Stasiak claims victory at Lonnie Nielson Invitational

2011-07-26T08:35:00.000-04:00

Matt Stasiak of Fox Valley continued his awesome play this summer with a victory at the Lonnie Nielson Invitational on Monday. The tournament was a 36-hole, modified stableford format, with eagles worth +5, birdies +2, pars 0, bogeys -1, and double bogeys (or more) -3. Matt finished with two rounds of +6 for a total of +12 for the day, to cap a 2 point victory. Finishing runner-up was Chris Covelli (Crag Burn) with +10, and in third was Jake Katz (Westwood) at +9.

All three players will be competing in the Porter Cup this week, and appear to be playing well and peaking at the right time. Good luck to all three players this week!

Katz finishes 2nd, Stasiak finishes 5th at NY State Am

2011-07-21T21:43:00.000-04:00

Jake Katz finished runner-up winning the silver medal for the second year in a row at the NY State Am held at Oak Hill West on Thursday after a 36 hole finale in 100 degree temperatures. Matt Stasiak also had a great tournament finishing 5th. See details at the NYSGA website as well as final scores for all particpants.

Katz leads by 2 at NY State Am

2011-07-21T07:05:00.000-04:00

Jake Katz shot back to back rounds of 69 to lead by 2 strokes at the NY State Am being held at Oak Hill Country Club's West Course this week. They will play 36 holes today to decide the championship. Read more details at the following link: "Katz Enters Finale With 2 Stroke Edge".

See scores of all particpants and also follow live scoring available at the following link: "Scores". The State does a great job of keeping scores up to date on the website, posting scores every 3 holes, as well as maintaining a live blog of the action on their website as well: "Live Blog".

Katz Wins Buffalo District Match Play Championship

2011-07-09T23:04:00.000-04:00

Jake Katz won his 3rd Buffalo District Match Play Championship at Niagara Frontier CC on July 7-8 with a 1-up victory of Matt Stasiak. See articles at the Buffalo News and the Niagara Gazette for more details on the event.

Application Available - Lonnie Nielsen Scratch Invitational

2011-06-30T07:57:00.000-04:00

The application is now available for the Lonnie Nielsen Scratch Invitational at Crag Burn Golf Club scheduled for Monday, July 25th. The format is a 36 hole stableford format, which makes for a fun, exciting way to play the difficult Crag Burn Course. See tournament application under "Upcoming Tournaments" for more details.

Covelli Qualifies for Porter Cup

2011-06-28T08:38:00.001-04:00

Chris Covelli (of Crag Burn) was the only local player to qualify for the Porter Cup at Niagara Falls Country Club on Monday, June 27. Chris shot a 68 (-2) to finish 3rd overall (with the top 8 of 96 qualifying). Chris started the day with 4 straight bogeys and played the last 14 holes in 6-under. See related news articles at the following links: Buffalo News; Niagara Gazette

No other locals were able to qualify, with Mike Carrig shooting the next best local score with a 72. See all scores at the following link: Porter Cup Qualifying Scores

DiGiulio and Luthra win Clete Fox in 3 Team Playoff

2011-06-12T00:18:00.001-04:00

Tim DiGiulio (Transit Valley) and Raman Luthra (Crag Burn) teamed up to win the 54 hole, scratch better ball Clete Fox tournament at Transit Valley Country Club Friday and Saturday. The DiGiulio / Luthra team eliminated the teams of Joe Rosen (Transit Valley) / Billy Hanes (Crag Burn) and Nick Amigone III (Transit Valley) / Nick Morreale (Niagara Falls Country Club) on the 4th playoff hole with a par on the 18th hole after a great up and down from Luthra (almost holing out a difficult chip from up against the left collar of the green). Both Digiulio and Luthra have won the Clete Fox before, but never together as teammates. Ironically, both players were in the final group of last year's event, but playing against each other (Luthra's team prevailing). As both players prior year partners were not available for this year's event, they teamed up together, and the combination was a success.

All three teams finished with three round totals of 207 (-6). The final 18 holes were very exciting as the Digiulio / Luthra team entered the final round at -6, Rosen / Hanes at -4, and Amigone and Morreale at -2. Right away, the Rosen / Hanes team birdied four of the first five holes to take a 2 shot lead at -8, and ended the front nine up one over Digiulio / Luthra (-7 vs -6). Amigone and Morreale shot +1 on the front nine making the turn at -1 overall. While the two leading teams (playing together in the final group) battled it out on the back nine, Amigone / Morreale, playing in the second to last group, began to mount their comback. Amigone / Morreale birdied 10, 13, 14, 15, & 16 to shoot 30 (-5) on the back nine, and finish the tourney at -6, tying the other two teams and resulting in the aforementioned three-team playoff.

Each of the three playoff teams had a low round of the day, respectively, with Digiulio / Luthra shooting 65 (-6) on the Friday morning round, Rosen / Hanes shooting 68 (-3) on the Friday afternoon round, and Amigone / Morreale shooting 67 (-4) on the Saturday round.

2011 BDGA Points Listing

2011-06-09T08:08:00.001-04:00

The 2011 BDGA points listing has been updated, and a link has been included on the left hand of the page (under "BDGA Points Listings"). Additionally, I have included the BDGA Points Guidelines as discussed, and finalized by the BDGA Points Committee. Myself, working hand in hand with the BDGA, will do our best to keep this current, and up to date this year.

Gigliotti Wins BDGA Senior Championship

2011-06-08T07:28:00.000-04:00

Fred Gigliotti of River Oaks defeated Bob Goss (Associate Member) with a par on the first playoff hole to win his 3rd BDGA Senior Men's Gross Championship. Both gentlemen shot scores of 71 (+1) at Glen Oak Golf Course on Tuesday. Bob Rosen finished in 3rd place with a score of 72 (+2).

Don Schwass won the Senior flight with a score of 73 (+3), Mike Yurko of Diamond Hawk won the Super Senior flight also with a score of 73 (+3), Bill Weber won the Master's flight with a score of 78 (+8) and Bernard Tasselmyer won the Legend's flight with a score of 79 (+9).

See all scores from the tournament at the following link: BDGA Senior Scores

Jonathan Clark wins Elkdale Open

2011-06-06T07:49:00.000-04:00

Jonathan Clark of Crag Burn Golf Club won the 2011 Elkdale open with a winning score of 67 (-5). Clark edged out Billy Hanes, also of Crag Burn, who finished 2nd with a score of 69 (-3), and Justin Pfalzer (Defending Champ) of Byrncliff and Dan Smith of Elkdale who tied for 3rd with scores of 70 (-2). A complete list of finishers can be found at the following link.

16 Qualify to play in NYS Amateur at Oak Hill (West)

2011-06-05T12:12:00.002-04:00

(Recap written by Andrew Hickey of the NYSGA)

Results from the first sectional qualifier (Buffalo region) for the 2011 NYS Amateur Championship are now available (please click here). Niagara Frontier Country Club hosted 101 players who were competing for 15 qualifying spots (all ties for the 15th spot qualify as well). The cut for this qualifying round fell at 76, allowing 16 players to advance to the Amateur Championship at Oak Hill Country Club in July.

The heavy rains and lightning forced us to delay the round and ultimately shuffle the starting format from tee times to an afternoon shotgun, a daunting task given the short time frame. With the help of the Niagara Frontier staff and numerous NYSGA committee members we were able complete the round just before dark.

Eighteen-year-old Daniel Yustin, playing out of Transit Valley CC, was the medalist of Saturday's qualifying round posting a one-under round of 70. Niagara Falls CC's Nicholas Morreale, the recent BDGA Mid-Amateur Champion, finished as the second qualifier with a solid round of 71.

Double Eagle - Kyle Jeziorski had a rare double-eagle on the par-5 eighth hole (476 yards from the blue tees). He qualified with a 75.

NYSGA Men's Am Qualifier

2011-06-01T07:16:00.002-04:00

The tee times and pairings are set for Saturday's (6/4) New York State Men's Championship qualifier at Niagara Frontier C.C., as linked in the upper left corner of the page. As per the NYSGA website, the top 15 and ties will qualify for this event. Good luck to everyone.

Nick Morreale wins BDGA Mid-Am Championship

2011-05-31T21:13:00.002-04:00

Nick Morreale won the Buffalo District Mid-Am Championship by defeating Justin Pfalzer on the 2nd playoff hole at Orchard Park Country Club today (May 31, 2011). The winning score was even par 72 under difficult, wet conditions. Billy Hanes finished 3rd with at 73, and Dan Irwin finished 4th with a 75. See 2011 Tournament Results on the top right for a list of the top 20 finishers, or a full list at the BDGA website.

Buffalo District Match Play - Postponed

2011-05-26T11:47:00.000-04:00

The BDGA match play was postponed today due to inclement weather. The tournament has been rescheduled for July 7 & 8. See BDGA website for further details.

Buffalo News Article - Jake Katz

2011-04-09T10:16:00.001-04:00

There was a great article in the Buffalo News 2011 golf preview on April 7, 2011. Attached below is the link:

2011 Buffalo News - Golf Preview

2010 BDGA Points Listing

2011-02-21T07:55:00.000-05:00

The 2010 Buffalo District Points listing has been finalized and posted in the top left corner of the blog. As we go forward in 2011, I am going to do my best to get the points information simultaneously with the district so that I can keep an up to date listing on the blog.

I have started posting the 2011 schedule, with the known tournaments for this year. Please let me know if there are any tournaments in which the dates are set, but are not yet listed on the Blog (so that I can update).

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

2010-12-28T14:39:00.001-05:00

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

2010-12-21T09:21:00.011-05:00

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

2010-11-01T15:56:00.000-04:00

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

2010-09-26T20:25:00.002-04:00

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

2010-09-25T23:20:00.001-04:00

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

2010-09-25T09:45:00.000-04:00

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

2010-09-20T09:14:00.001-04:00

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

2010-09-09T10:30:00.000-04:00

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

2010-08-30T13:14:00.004-04:00

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

2010-08-25T21:51:00.004-04:00

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

2010-08-20T10:33:00.002-04:00

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

2010-08-17T09:04:00.004-04:00

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

2010-08-15T17:31:00.000-04:00

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

2010-08-14T18:21:00.004-04:00

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

2010-08-14T17:08:00.003-04:00

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

2010-08-13T21:48:00.005-04:00

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

2010-08-13T21:31:00.000-04:00

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

2010-08-12T15:24:00.002-04:00

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