Curt’s Corner

MAGA STAFF

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Curt Rohe - curt@metga.org 2020 P.J. Boatwright Interns

METROPOLITAN CHAMPIONSHIPS Amateur Championship Match Play Championship Open Championship Women’s Amateur Championship Junior Amateur Championship Senior Amateur Championship Metropolitan Cup Matches Four-Ball Championship Mid-America Junior Cup

USGA QUALIFYING ROUNDS US Open (Local and Sectional) US Senior Open US Amateur US Mid-Amateur US Girls’ Junior Amateur US Women’s Mid-Amateur US Junior Amateur US Senior Amateur US Senior Women’s Amateur US Women’s Open USAmateur Four-Ball USWomen’s Amateur Four-Ball

ADVISORY COMMITTEE Scott Thomas, Chairman Dustin Ashby Tom Barry Skip Berkmeyer Chris Kovach Ryan Eckelcamp Tom Portner Curt Rohe 2020 P.J. BOATWRIGHT INTERNS Chase Phillps Jacob Skudlarczyk Hcase Holland THE METROPOLITAN EDITOR Dan O’Neill

Curt’s Corner

Curt Rohe - Executive Director

Well, welcome back after we took a month hiatus in May due to COVID-19 and the postponement of MAGA championships and events.

To say it feels great to be conducting events finally in 2020 is the understatement of the year! What a crazy spring it has been and now we roll into summer with events rolling along. Alas, it is still awkward with the differing guideline from county to county, state to state in our case with upcoming events in Illinois.

However, through all of this so far our participating levels are up in the first few events and it is wonderful seeing the competitors back on the course. We had an unbelievable start to the season with the 15th Metropolitan Open Championship at Lake Forest Country Club June 18-20. Changing venues after 14 years as St. Albans was seamless and the players received an unbelievable experience from the Lake Forest membership.

The golf course played as well as could have been expected and we had a great champion in Seth Fair from Indiana. Many, many thanks to the Lake Forest contingent who helped with the volunteers that ultimately made the championship a great success.

The 2nd 9-Hole Championship was played on June 27 at Ballwin Golf Club, with 55 players teeing it up on the 9-hole gem in West County. Even had 16-time Women’s Amateur Champ Ellen Port tee it up and come away with yet another MAGA title, Low Gross Women’s Division.

Wrapping up June we had our 21st Junior Amateur Championship at Westborough Country Club. Look for all of those results later in this issue. Thank you all for reading The Metropolitan and it is good to be back on schedule for the remainder of the 2020 season. Enjoy the work of Dan O’Neill in this issue as he highlights the man behind the trophy - Jim Tom Blair - and the history of Meadowbrook Country Club. Keep golfing and we will be back in a month.

curt@metga.org