MGA Carey Cup Team Set for Matches

The Carey Cup Matches began Tuesday morning at The Links Portmarnock in Ireland. Visit www.mgagolf.org for live scoring and full coverage. Kate Keller, Director of Special Events at the MGA, sent an update on the Matches:

May 4
Today the lads from the Golfing Union of Ireland arrived and both teams and officials played a practice round at The Links Portmarnock to get ready for the matches. Following golf, there was a cocktail reception and an official dinner to formally introduce the two teams. It was wonderful to see old friends from the GUI again and to meet new friends from both the GUI and The Links Portmarnock. MGA team captain Gene Westmoreland and MGA President Al Small spoke on behalf of the MGA and the Carey Family, expressing the spirit of the matches and the great pride everyone has in representing their respective group. Tomorrow morning the matches begin at "half 8"!

Kate Keller

MGA Carey Cup Team Arrives in Ireland

The six-man MGA Carey Cup team traveled to Ireland over the weekend for the 8th Governor Hugh L. Carey Challenge Cup, a Walker Cup-style event against a team from the Golfing Union of Ireland, on May 5 and 6 at the Portmarnock Hotel and Golf Links (left). The MGA team is led by 2008 MGA Player of the Year Joe Saladino of Huntington and includes 2008 MGA Mid-Amateur champion Greg Rohlf of Winged Foot, 2007 MGA Mid-Amateur champ Mike Reardon of Tuxedo, and Ed Gibstein of Engineers, who is playing in his ninth MGA international competition. Sixteen-year-old Cameron Wilson, the low amateur at the 2008 Met Open, and 20-year-old Robert Cronheim of Twin Brooks, who finished tied for 9th at the 2008 New Jersey State Open, round out a strong MGA team. MGA Director of Special Events Kate Keller will send updates on all the action from the matches:

May 3
WE MADE IT! We arrived this morning at Dublin Airport at 10:15 a.m. Our flight was a little late, but Seamus Smith, the General Secretary of the Golfing Union of Ireland, was there to greet us with our bus. We picked up our rental cars, loaded the bus and checked into the Portmarnock Hotel. The team got a quick bite to eat, then it was off to golf at the K Club, site of the 2006 Ryder Cup. The group reconvened for a lovely dinner at one of the hotel's three restaurants. The weather has been great so far with just a few showers throughout the day, but that's typical here in Ireland!

Kate Keller

Three in a Row

It’s tough to pick against Tiger, but 37-year-old Padraig Harrington has flourished in the major championships the last two years, grabbing the last two and three of the last six. After an impressive playoff win over Sergio Garcia at Carnoustie in 2007, Harrington overcame an injured wrist and crowd-favorite Greg Norman to win back-to-back British Open titles and become the first European golfer to successfully defend his crown since 1906. Three weeks later, a pair of 66s over the weekend propelled him to victory at the PGA Championship at Oakland Hills Country Club in Michigan. That’s all well and good, but can he do it at Augusta with a healthy Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson back to form with two wins this year? The answer is in the numbers: Paddy has three top-ten finishes at Augusta since 2002, including a tied for fifth finish in 2008 and a tied for seventh in 2007. I expect Harrington will have to be a little more aggressive than he usually is, but his steady play and ability to withstand major championship pressure bodes well for his chances at Augusta. Here’s to rooting for the "Paddy Slam" at Bethpage Black!

The “Tin Cup” guy?: No, not Roy McAvoy. I’m talking about Rory McIlroy, the 19-year-old Northern Ireland native who burst onto the professional golf scene in 2007 when he finished low amateur at the British Open. A Masters rookie is definitely not the popular pick to win as there have only been three in the event’s history, most recently Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979, but McIlroy has the game to fill out that foursome. He snagged his first professional win this year at the Dubai Desert Classic in February and later reached the quarterfinals at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship (where he lost to eventual champion Geoff Ogilvy). Augusta National may not favor the free-swinging and charismatic teenager, but what could be more exciting than Tiger, Phil or Padraig paired with a young phenom like McIlroy in the final round of the Masters.

Bob Nielsen