Amateur golfers can begin to pick and choose their competitive golf schedule as the area amateur golf associations have released their tournament calendars.
The Metropolitan Amateur Golf Association will be returning to Persimmon Woods Golf Club in 2013 for their major Men’s Amateur Championship. The tournament was contested at Persimmon Woods in 2003 with a local member, Scott Edwards, capturing the title.
The season gets started for the MAGA with the Invitation Only, Metropolitan Match Play Championship at Old Warson Country Club. The area’s top 16 amateur, based on the 2012 points standings, will be invited to compete on one of St. Louis’ most prestigious layouts. Players expected to tee it up in the Metropolitan Match Play include Skip Berkmeyer, Kyle Weldon, Andy Frost, Joe Migdal, Jeff Johnson, Wes Hillen, Jeremy Franklin, Ted Moloney, Phil Caravia, Brian Kennedy, Kevin Bell, Bryan Bohme, Tommy Ponce, Garrett Sneed, Mike Ehlers and Alex Cuxumano.
The first full field event on the 2013 MAGA Schedule is the Normandie Amateur. Dave Smith and the staff at Normandie Golf Club do a wonderful job in getting the golf course prepared for tournament golf so early in the St. Louis golfing season. The event will be contested on the weekend of May 18-19.
The first of several United States Golf Association Qualifying events will take place on May 15th with the U.S. Open Qualifying being held at Aberdeen Golf Club. The first Women’s USGA Qualifying will be held May 24th with the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Qualifying. A mere six days later on May 30th, the United States Women Open Qualifying will be held at Algonquin Golf Club.
In early June, the top amateurs in the St. Louis area will convene on Belk Park Golf Club for the East Side Amateur. Public golfers will have a busy couple of days as many will be attempting to qualify for the USAPL June 11-12 at Clinton Hill Golf Club.
Mitchell Gregson scorched the field last year at The Country Club of St. Albans in capturing the Metropolitan Open Championship. Playing alongside Scott Langley, 2-time past champion and T3 finisher in last week’s Sony Open in Hawaii, Gregson demonstrated how deep the pool of golf talent has become in the Greater St. Louis area. The 2013 Metropolitan Open will be contested July 11-13 and again feature the top professionals and amateurs from the area.
Norwood Hills Country Club has produced it’s fair share of outstanding amateur golf talent over the years. Equally impressive is how accommodating Norwood Hills Country Club has been to the game of amateur golf, serving as a regular host of the area’s top amateur championships. This year, Norwood Hills will welcome the United States Amateur Qualifying on July 18-19.
As the dawg days of summer engulf the St. Louis area, the top amateurs will make their way to Persimmon Woods, August 1-3, for the Metropolitan Amateur Championship. Last year’s tournament served as a break through moment for champion, Kyle Weldon, a Parkway South graduate and member of the Kansas State golf team.
As the college kids head back to school for the fall semester, the Mid Amateurs will take their game to Forest Hills Country Club for the US Mid Amateur Qualifying, August 26th. This 18-hole shootout typically sends 3 or 4 area players to the USGA Mid Amateur.
New in 2013, the Metropolitan Amateur Golf Association will be introducing a Four-Ball Championship offering both Gross and Net divisions. The date and venue for this tournament has yet to be determined.
Many of the area’s top amateur players will take their game on the road to compete the State’s best in a Missouri Golf Association championship. The premier event on the MGA Schedule every year is the Missouri Amateur Match Play which will be hosted at Blue Hills Country Club in Kansas City. Six qualifying tournaments will be held throughout the state, with The Falls Golf Club playing host to the St. Louis qualifying on May 28th.
The Missouri Golf Association will bring the 2013 Stroke Play Championship to the St. Louis metro at Meadowbrook Country Club, July 15-17. The MGA Stroke Play features the only 72 hole amateur tournament on the calendar.
Other major tournaments players should consider in 2013 include –
Ozark Amateur at Westwood Hills Country Club
Typically contested the last weekend of April on a short, but demanding golf course. Top players from Kentucky and Tennessee have been known to make an appearance, further strengthening this field.
Phil Cotton Memorial at A.L. Gustin Golf Course
Typically held the first weekend of June, the Phil Cotton brings players from all corners of the state and usually features many of the college players on the University of Missouri Golf team.
Missouri Open Championship at Club at Old Hawthorne – September 5-7
Missouri Mid-Amateur Championship at Silo Ridge Golf Club – September 14-15
To access the full list of tournaments hosted by the Metropolitan Amateur Golf Association go HERE, or Missouri Golf Association go HERE.
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