MGA: Massachusetts Golf Association Illustration Illustration

News Release

For Immediate Release: February 1, 1999

The Massachusetts Golf Association has announced the complete schedule for 1999 Championships. The season is highlighted by the Amateur Championship to be held at the Kittansett Club, July 12-16, 1999. Please find enclosed the 1999 Championship Schedule.

The Massachusetts Golf Association Championship Committee has modified exemptions for three 1999 MGA Championships. A format change to pre-qualifying and a field size reduction to 96 teams for the 1999 Four-Ball Championship have reduced exemptions from the low 40 teams plus ties from the 1998 Championship to the low 20 plus ties.

The 1999 Mid-Amateur Championship will also involve pre-qualifying and a field size reduction to 120 players. Similarly, exemptions for the Mid-Amateur will be cut to the low 20 finishers from the 1998 Championship. Added exemptions for the Mid-Amateur include the MGA Amateur Champions from the past five years, the 1998 State Senior and Public Links Champions, and the top 15 finishers in the 1998 Richard D. Haskell Player of the Year standings.

The third Championship to have exemptions modified for 1999 is the Public Links Championship. Exemptions added for this event include the State Amateur Champions from the past five years, the 1998 State Senior, Mid-Amateur, and Junior Champions, and the top 15 finishers in the 1998 Richard D. Haskell Player of the Year standings. All exemptions are on an "if eligible" basis.

The 1999 U.S. State Team Matches will be contested at the Golden Horseshoe Golf Club in Williamsburg, Virginia, September 7-9. The MGA has modified the procedure for selecting it's three representatives for the 1999 Massachusetts Team. The Team will be made up of the top two finishers in the 3rd U.S. State Team Matches Point Standings. Points are awarded to eligible players based on

100 percent of 1998 Richard D. Haskell Player of the Year points and 200 percent of 1999 points through August 11th, 1999. The third selection will be an at large pick determined by the MGA Championship Committee. All players selected must be representative of the values of the Massachusetts Golf Association.