Garrett Sneed captured the 18th Metropolitan Match Play Championship last weekend. Sneed joined Dustin Ashby, Adam Frillman and Dr. Tobin Lingafelter on The Back Nine Radio Show.

The University of Missouri, University of Missouri-St. Louis and Maryville are all experiencing success as of late. The Metropolitan Amateur Golf Association kicked off their Amateur Series on Friday at Far Oaks Golf Club.

When the annual spring competition between the area’s top amateurs and Gateway Section professionals was reignited, many questioned whether or not the amateurs could compete. The Amateurs answered that question the very first year defeating the Gateway Section professionals, but since then it’s turned once again into a lopsided affair.

While the individual matches were competitive, the overall outcome has favored the Pro’s as of late. All that being said, the Amateurs are looking to validate their win of several years ago this year at The Country Club of St. Albans.

Starting the day with a slim 1 point lead, the Amateurs have held their own in the morning Foursomes matches. Fourteen points remain up for grabs, half of the total allotment, in the afternoon Singles matches. Leading 8 – 6, the Amateurs need 6 1/2 points to recapture the Gateway Cup.

Andy Frost and Andy Fogarty bounced back from a 5&4 defeat yesterday to earn a half point against a very strong duo of JC Anderson and Brian Fogt of the Gateway Section. A similar outcome was realized in the Eli Grant / Brett Meeske vs. Ryan Roy / Gideon Smith match.

Jeff Johnson and Chad Niezing remain perfect for the weekend after earning another point with a 1up victory over Jeff Whitfield and Nash Haxel.

Patrick Britt and Joe Migdal made easy work of the Gateway Section’s Ty Zimmerman and Scott Brauer. Both Zimmerman and Brauer will be looking to earn their first points this afternoon in Singles competition.

Phil Caravia and Scott Edwards defeated Brett Moomey and JD Auping, 3&1 in their match. Moomey and Auping will also be looking to earn their first points this afternoon.

St. Albans very own, Rob Sedorcek and Bellerive’s, Mike Tucker defeated arguably the Amateurs strongest pairing of Ted Moloney and Skip Berkmeyer, 3&1 to earn the first full point for the Gateway Section on Monday.

Fortunately for the Gateway Section, Mike Suhre and Bob Gaus also delivered with a resounding 6&4 victory over Brevin Giebler and Tom Barry. Suhre will be looking to remain perfect for the weekend in his Singles match against Phil Caravia this afternoon.

Singles pairings can be found at the Metropolitan Amateur Golf Association website – HERE.

Several interesting match ups could ultimately decide the outcome of the 2013 Gateway Cup Matches. The second match of the day has a very Norwood Hills Country Club flavor as Amateur Patrick Britt will face Ryan Roy.

Past Metropolitan Amateur Champion, Eli Grant will get the pleasure of playing one of the Section’s hottest players in JC Anderson. Anderson will be teeing up in just a few weeks at the Sr. PGA Championship at Bellerive Country Club.

Scott Edwards and Jeff Whitfield are very familiar with each other from their days at Persimmon Woods and are off in the 6th match of the afternoon.

In a battle of the East Side, Phil Caravia will get a chance for a little revenge after losing his first round Four-Ball to a team that included Mike Suhre in Match #13.

The final match of the afternoon offers a look we’ve seen many times before at The Country Club of St. Albans. Skip Berkmeyer and Bob Gaus have shared many a memory down the stretch of the Metropolitan Open Championship that is contested on the Lewis and Clark course at St. Albans. Berkmeyer and Gaus are scheduled to tee it up at 2:10pm in the final pairing.

The Four Ball pairings for the opening day of the 2013 Gateway Cup Matches have been set. The respective Captains introduced Sunday’s pairings via Twitter.  Skip Berkmeyer (@SBerkmeyer) and Brett Moomey (@BretskyPGA) will once again lead their respective teams in the annual showdown of the area’s best amateurs and top professionals.

Four Ball Pairings

12:33     Chad Niezing / Jeff Johnson     vs.     Bob Gaus / Rob Sedorcek

12:42     Phil Caravia / Joe Migdal      vs.       JC Anderson / Mike Suhre

12:51      Patrick Britt / Brevin Giebler       vs.        Ryan Roy / Gideon Smith

1:00        Eli Grant / Brett Meeske         vs.         Jeff Whitfield / Ty Zimmerman

1:09         Andy Frost / Andy Fogarty         vs.         Nash Haxel / Mike Tucker

1:18         Skip Berkmeyer / Ted Moloney        vs.        Brian Fogt / Justin Auping

1:27         Tom Barry / Scott Edwards          vs.           Brett Moomey / Scott Brauer

The 2013 Metropolitan Amateur Match Play Championship field of 16 was finalized this past weekend.  This annual competition featuring the top players from the previous season will again be conducted at Old Warson Country Club on May 4 & 5.

Two time defending champion Justin Bryant has moved on to the professional ranks, which opens the door for a new champion in 2013. 5-time champion of this event, Skip Berkmeyer will be the top seed after his 2012 Player of the Year performance.

The remainder of the 16 player field is as follows:

#2 Seed – Joe Migdal (T5 Metropolitan Amateur, T3 MGA Stroke Play, T17 at MGA Match Play, T10 Metropolitan Open, T5 STLDGA)

#3 Seed – Jeff Johnson (Champion STLDGA, 3rd Normandie Amateur, T6 East Side Amateur)

#4 Seed – Ted Moloney (US Amateur Qualifier, T13 Metropolitan Amateur, T10 Normandie Amateur)

#5 Seed – Phil Caravia (US Mid Amateur Qualifier, T13 Normandie Amateur)

#6 Seed – Andy Frost (Champion Normandie Amateur, T17 Metropolitan Amateur, T5 STLDGA)

#7 Seed – Kevin Bell (T2 Metropolitan Amateur)

#8 Seed – Brian Bohme (T8 Metropolitan Amateur, T13 East Side Amateur, T5 STLDGA)

#9 Seed – Tommy Ponce (US Amateur Public Links Qualifier, T19 Metropolitan Amateur)

#10 Seed – Garrett Sneed (T19 Metropolitan Amateur, T13 East Side Amateur, T33 MGA Match Play, T19 MGA Stroke Play)

#11 Seed – Mike Ehlers (T2 East Side Amateur)

#12 Seed – Alex Cusumano (T3 Metropolitan Match Play, 2nd STLDGA, T33 MGA Match Play)

#13 Seed – Mike Kendrick (T6 East Side Amateur, T3 STLDGA)

#14 Seed – Matt McKiernan (T5 Metropolitan Amateur, T8 East Side Amateur)

#15 Seed – Corey Choate (T5 Metropolitan Amateur)

#16 Seed – Tommie Wuennenberg (T2 East Side Amateur)

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.