On a 10 out of 10 weather day this past Saturday, our final two competitors in the Main Bracket of the 2024 Match Play Tournament, Leo Goff and Erik Rosales, faced off in an epic showdown. In a battle that came down to the very last holes of the match, Mr. Rosales was able to capture victory to become our Main Bracket champion. Well played to both finalists and congrats Ero!
And a big thank you once again to our tourney photo journalist and cover-maker extraordinaire, Mr. Chuck Roster!
MGA Closing Day Stableford — Saturday, October 26th
Sign-ups continue for the final MGA tournament of the season, our Closing Day Stableford, which is set to be played Saturday, October 26th with a 9:30 AM shotgun start.
For this 1-Day event, we’ll have both Gross and Net divisions and use the standard Stableford scoring breakdown:
To confirm your sign-up, double check the online leaderboard here.
MGA Closing Day Stableford: Saturday, October 26th — 9:30 AM shotgun start Cost: $25 — All players must be MGA members Online Registration Portal: https://mga.golf/MGA-Closing-Day-Stableford Registration Deadline: Thursday, October 24th @ 8:00 PM
For our penultimate Men’s Night of the 2024 season, we’ll be playing our 1-Man Scramble format on the Back 9. For this format, you get 2 shots off the tee and choose the best one, you then get 2 shots from the next position, choose the best, and so on until you have completed the hole.
Please record gross, individual scramble scores on scorecards with names clearly marked and turn in all completed cards to the Pro Shop. 50% of Back 9 course handicaps apply to calculate net scores — low net score wins.
—
MGA Closing Day Stableford — Saturday, October 26th
Sign-ups are now open for the final MGA tournament of the season, our Closing Day Stableford, which is set to be played Saturday, October 26th with a 9:30 AM shotgun start.
For this 1-Day event, we’ll have both Gross and Net divisions and use the standard Stableford scoring breakdown:
To confirm your sign-up, double check the online leaderboard here.
MGA Closing Day Stableford: Saturday, October 26th — 9:30 AM shotgun start Cost: $25 — All players must be MGA members Online Registration Portal: https://mga.golf/MGA-Closing-Day-Stableford Registration Deadline: Thursday, October 24th @ 8:00 PM
—
Upcoming MGA Schedule
10/17 — 1-Man Scramble: Back 9 10/24 — Final Men’s Night E9 @ 4:15 PM 10/26 — Closing Day Stableford: sign up online
MGA Closing Day Stableford — Saturday, October 26th
Sign-ups are now open for the final MGA tournament of the season, our Closing Day Stableford, which is set to be played Saturday, October 26th with a 9:30 AM shotgun start.
For this 1-Day event, we’ll have both Gross and Net divisions and use the standard Stableford scoring breakdown:
To confirm your sign-up, double check the online leaderboard here.
MGA Closing Day Stableford: Saturday, October 28th — 9:30 AM shotgun start Cost: $25 — All players must be MGA members Online Registration Portal: https://mga.golf/MGA-Closing-Day-Stableford Registration Deadline: Thursday, October 24th @ 8:00 PM
For Men’s Night this week, we’ll be playing our Chicago format on the Front 9. All players play from white tees and Rule of 75 players (age + handicap >= 75) may play golds. Please record gross scores for all holes on scorecards with names clearly marked and turn in all completed cards to the Pro Shop.
Chicago Format:
Players start with a negative number of points (based on 18-hole course handicaps) then add positive points during their round. The idea is to get from the negative to the positive, clearing your “hurdle” by as many points as possible.
Account Charges for Match Play + Stearns Cup
Our MGA accountant extraordinaire—Mr. Pete Strass—has been working diligently in the back office this week to get all charges for the 2024 Match Play and Stearns Cup tournaments added to our member accounts. Thank you as always, Pete, for your meticulous work!
MGA Digest: 2024 Stearns Cup
Finally, our virtuoso creative editor—Mr. Chuck Roster—has done it again with an amazing cover rendition for our Stearns Cup champions. Fantastic stuff, Chuck! If you missed all of Chuck’s photos and swing sequence edits yesterday, be sure to check them out!
2024 Stearns Cup: A Weekend for the NGC History Books
What an incredible day of golf we had Sunday for the conclusion of the 2024 version of the Stearns Cup which was capped off by the longest and most thrilling playoff in recent NGC history. First and foremost, we wanted to say thank you to Tiffany (who absolutely crushed it!), all the NGC staff, Chuck (our tournament photographer and Golf Digest swing sequence editor extraordinaire), and all our MGA members who made the weekend truly special. And thank you to Mr. Stearns — the spirit of competition and camaraderie that your legacy at NGC embodies is unbreakably tied to the love of the game that we all share. NGC is a place where our strongest emotions come alive and that was on full display during this year’s tournament.
Congratulations to both our champions and the teams that challenged them throughout the weekend through their outstanding performances.
In the Net Division, after a fiery Saturday, we were treated to an unforgettable Sunday that turned into an all-out sprint to the finish. Through countless twists and turns, one team rose above, proving that in the end, golf conquers all. After narrowly edging out our runners-up, Oral Pottinger & Leo Goff, who posted an impressive -14, we send our genuine congratulations and a big well played to Ed Clarke & Mark Mattis, who claimed victory with a winning tally of -15, etching their names and partnership permanently on the Stearns Cup!
Champions – Ed Clarke & Mark Mattis (-15) – 110 Chase Points – $91.87 each 2nd – Oral Pottinger & Leo Goff (-14) – 95 Chase Points – $72.19 each T-3rd – Erik Rosales & Royce Huffaker (-13) – 80 Chase Points – $32.81 each T-3rd – Kevin Dick & Bruce Sedlak (-13) – 80 Chase Points – $32.81 each T-3rd – Paul Weidenfeld & Scotty Kimmel (-13) – 80 Chase Points – $32.81 each 6th – Torey Diggs & Carl Ford (-12) – 35 Chase Points T-7th – Joey Jewell & Colin Zoski (-9) – 20 Chase Points T-7th – Ron Turner & Brian Carlstrom (-9) – 20 Chase Points
The battle for the Gross title of the Stearns Cup unfolded in spectacular fashion, with 36 holes proving woefully insufficient to crown a victor. As the shadows lengthened over the sun-drenched course on a glorious Sunday afternoon, we all played witness to a heart-pounding playoff and remarkable displays of skill, grit, and nerve. Matt Doherty & Joe Lapan faced off against Ryan White & Jared Powell in a fierce competition, with both teams pushing each other to the limit. The competitors dug deep, delivering a spectacle that had the crowd in a frenzy as the drama intensified hole by hole—including two nerve-wracking trips down the pressure-packed 18th hole and a journey back to the Front 9 for holes 1-4. Suspense truly filled the air with each swing, keeping everyone on the edge of their (cart) seats until the champions emerged. The historic playoff included…
#18: A stellar tee shot under pressure from JP was followed by a stone-cold par putt from JL
#18: Another equally fearless par by MD was answered by JP’s clutch 3 to match
After the absolutely epic back-and-forth, Matt Doherty & Joe Lapan emerged as the 2024 Stearns Cup champions, sealing their victory with heart and determination in one of the most thrilling finishes the tournament has ever seen.
Champions – Matt Doherty & Joe Lapan (-4 won on 6th playoff hole) – 110 Chase Points – $91.87 each 2nd – Ryan White & Jared Powell (-4) – 95 Chase Points – $72.19 each T-3rd – Weston Happ & James Hsiao (-3) – 80 Chase Points – $49.22 each T-3rd – Kyle Armstrong & Sam Bowmer (-3) – 80 Chase Points – $49.22 each 5th – Jim Sussmann & Patrick Escalambre (-2) – 50 Chase Points 6th – Brad Simonich & Brad Adams (+3) – 35 Chase Points T-7th – Nathaniel Burgess & Dave Krukowski (+7) – 20 Chase Points T-7th – Jim Prendergast & Matt Nolan (+7) – 20 Chase Points
Well done today, boys — what a fantastic day at the club. It was a true honor to once again have Mr. Stearns with us, and we can’t express enough gratitude for the incredible legacy he has brought to the club we all love. A special thanks to Scotty for the arrangements, to Mr. Stearns’ grandson Ryan for hitting the pressure first tee shot and, of course, to Mr. Stearns for being an absolute legend.
Attached you’ll find the groups and starting holes for tomorrow’s 2nd Round which will again start with a 9:30 AM shotgun. We have very tight competitions on the Gross and Net leaderboards — tomorrow should be a very exciting Sunday showdown!
Attached you’ll find the groups + starting holes for tomorrow’s first round of the 2024 Stearns Cup with a 9:30 AM shotgun start. Additionally, you’ll find the Tournament Rules Sheet which includes the general MGA Tee locations for Saturday & Sunday.
Scotty Kimmel has arranged for Mr. Stearns to join us tomorrow morning around 9:00 AM so we will likely start our pre-tournament announcements early.
Scoring
All tournament scoring will be handled via the NGC App. The app can be found here for iPhone and here for Android. All groups will be pre-loaded into the App. We ask that each team uses the App to track their playing competitors’ scores by selecting their name in the App.
Team sign-ups close tonight at 8:00 PM final MGA major of the season, the Stearns Cup, which is set to be played this weekend — Saturday & Sunday, October 5th + 6th.
To confirm your team’s sign-up, double check the online leaderboard here.
The format for Stearns Cup is 2-man teams playing 2-day, 36 hole, best ball for both gross and net awards. 100% of handicaps apply for net play. Standard MGA tees, with Rule of 75 for gold tee players.
Stearns Cup: Saturday & Sunday, October 5th + 6th — 2-man teams with 9:30 AM shotgun start each day Cost: $25 per player — All players must be MGA members Online Registration Portal: https://mga.golf/Stearns-Cup-Sign-Up Team Registration Deadline: Thursday, October 3rd @ 8:00 PM
Team sign-ups close tomorrow at 8:00 PM final MGA major of the season, the Stearns Cup, which is set to be played this weekend — Saturday & Sunday, October 5th + 6th.
To confirm your team’s sign-up, double check the online leaderboard here.
The format for Stearns Cup is 2-man teams playing 2-day, 36 hole, best ball for both gross and net awards. 100% of handicaps apply for net play. Standard MGA tees, with Rule of 75 for gold tee players.
Stearns Cup: Saturday & Sunday, October 5th + 6th — 2-man teams with 9:30 AM shotgun start each day Cost: $25 per player — All players must be MGA members Online Registration Portal: https://mga.golf/Stearns-Cup-Sign-Up Team Registration Deadline: Thursday, October 3rd @ 8:00 PM