No area player has won the New York Golf Association Men’s Amateur Golf Championship since Jay Gunning, then representing Town of Colonie Golf Course, took the crown in 1986.
The Capital Region will have another golden opportunity to snap that long winless streak when Albany Country Club hosts the prestigious event July 19-22.
The State Amateur will be the centerpiece of another extremely competitive area amateur schedule that also includes such individual championships as the Tri-County Golf Association Match Play Championship, the Gazette Cup, which pits the top 12 amateurs on the Capital Region Amateur Golf Association (CRAGA) point list against the top 12 professionals on the Northeastern New York PGA point list, the Gazette County Amateur, the Troy Invitational, the Eagle Crest Shootout, the Edison Invitational and the Capital Region Amateur Golf Association Stroke Play Championship.
Important single-day qualifiers include the U.S. Open Qualifier, set for May 18 at Olde Kinderhook Golf Club, the New York State Open Qualifier, to be held June 1 at Westport Country Club, the New York State Amateur Qualifier July 6 at Colonie Golf & Country Club and the New York State Mid-Amateur Qualifier Aug. 16 at Normanside Country Club.
Albany County, Saratoga County and Rensselaer County also will host championships, while CRAGA, the area’s amateur administrative and governing body, will conduct several events, including the CRAGA Points Challenge at the Country Club of Troy.
Major team events include the Stadium Two-Man Classic, the Normanside Invitational, the Haggerty Two-Man at Schenectady Municipal, the McGrgor Links Invitational, the Shaker Ridge Invitational, the Wolferts Roost Invitational, the Hutch Two-Man Invitational at Burden Lake Country Club and the Tri-County Partners.
John Vaccaro of Wolferts Roost Country Club won the CRAGA Player of the Year title and easily held off left-hander Jeb Buchanan, also of the Roost, on the point list, although Buchanan won the CRAGA Stroke Play Championship at Mohawk Golf Club.
Following are the top 12 players from last year’s point list: 1. John Vaccaro (Wolferts Roost CC) 358.33; 2. Jeb Buchanan (Wolferts Roost CC) 278; 3. Jim Welch (Winding Brook) 185.67; 4. Don DeNyse III (Capital Hills) 185.50; 5. Steve Quillinan Jr. (CC of Troy) 185.2; 6. Dan Russo (Rolling Hills at Antlers) 182.00; 7. David Hayes (Schuyler Meadows) 138.67; 8. Robby Bigley Jr. (Pinehaven CC) 114.42; 9. Jim Gifford (The Edison Club) 112.50; 10. Jim Cocca (Shaker Ridge CC) 112.13; 11. Todd Czepiel (Shaker Ridge CC) 110.17; 12. Chad Stoffer (Schenectady Municipal) 108.33.
SCHEDULE
MAY
1-2 — Stadium Golf Classic at Stadium Golf Club.
7-9 — Tri-County Match Play Championship at Colonie Golf & Country Club. 12 — Gazette Cup at Mohawk Golf Club. 18 — U.S. Open Local Qualifier at Olde Kinderhook. 28-30 — Normanside Invitational at Normanside Country Club.
JUNE
1 — CRAGA Classic No. 1 at McGregor Links CC.
5-6 — Albany County Amateur Championship at Capital Hills at Albany and Town of Colonie Golf Course. 12-13 — Haggerty Two-Man at Schenectady Municipal. 18 — New York State Open at Westport Country Club. 18-19 — Saratoga County Amateur at Van Patten Golf Club. 18-20 — Gazette Schenectady County Amateur at Schenectady Municipal Golf Course. 25-27 — Troy Invitatonal at Country Club of Troy. 28 — New York State Amateur Qualifier at Red Hook Golf Club.
JULY
6 — New York State Amateur Qualifier at Colonie Golf & Country Club. 8 — Eagle Crest Shootout at Eagle Crest Golf Club. 19-22 — New York State Amateur Championship at Albany Country Club. 20 — CRAGA Classic
No. 2 at Eagle Crest Golf Club. 23-25 — Catskill Golf Club Invitational at Catskill Golf Club. 24-25 — Albany City Championship at Capital Hills at Albany.
AUGUST
Father-Son Championship, TBA. CRAGA Stroke Play Championship, TBA. 9 — Edison Invitational at Edison Club. 19-20 — Gazette Senior Men’s County Amateur at Schenectady Municipal. 14-15 — McGregor Invitational at McGregor Links Country Club. 16 — New York State Mid-Amateur Qualifier at Normanside Country Club.
23 — New York State Mid-Amateur Qualifier at Woodstock Golf Club; 24 — CRAGA Classic No. 3 at Capital Hills at Albany. 27-29 — Shaker Ridge Invitational at Shaker Ridge Country Club.
SEPTEMBER
7 — Woodstock Open at Woodstock Golf Club.
11-12 — Rensselaer County Amateur Championship at Frear Park. 10-12 — Wolferts Roost Invitational at Wolferts Roost Country Club. 24-26 — New York State Mid-Amateur at Craig Burn Golf Club.
OCTOBER
Tri-County Partners, TBA. 8-10 – Hutch Two-Man Invitational at Burden Lake Country Club. 12 – CRAGA Points Challenge at Country Club of Troy.
Categories: -Sports-
