The 16th hole at Sleepy Hollow CC, one of the most photographed holes in golf. Photo courtesy of USGA/Fred Vuich
The USGA Mid-Amateur Championship will bring golf pros from around the world to Sleepy Hollow CC and Fenway GC.
Top amateurs from around the globe—and several from Westchester—will be tested on two of Westchester’s world-class golf courses this week during the USGA Mid-Amateur Championship. The event is considered perhaps the top tournament for post-college amateurs and promises to be a spectacular contest.
The tournament begins September 9 with rounds of stroke play for the full field of 264 golfers. Half will play on Sleepy Hollow CC in Scarborough, the other half at Fenway GC in Scarsdale. They’ll switch courses the next day, and the top 64 will advance to match play that begins Monday, September 11 at Sleepy Hollow. Single elimination rounds will continue at Sleepy Hollow until the final championship match of 36 holes, to be played on Thursday, September 14.
The venues will be set up for golfers playing at the highest level. Fenway will play 6,657 yards to par 70 while Sleepy Hollow will stretch to 6,840 yards, par 71. Based on the championship setups, Fenway’s course rating/slope will be 73.6/138 and Sleepy Hollow’s 74.6/140.
In the field will be Brad Tilley, a Sleepy Hollow member who won the Met Amateur at Fenway and the Westchester Open at Sleepy Hollow last year and competed in the 2022 USGA Mid-Am.
Also playing will be Chris Cavaliere of Katonah, who qualified as a competitor in the 2023 US Open. Cavaliere is a well-known figure on the Westchester golf scene, having won the Westchester Amateur three times. He also won the Metropolitan Golf Association’s Junior title in 2016 and was the low amateur in the 2019 New York State Open.
Qualifying for the tournament took place at 68 sites across the U.S., where about 6,000 golfers vied for a spot in the field. Scarsdale resident Michael Cochrane qualified last month at the qualifying tournament held at Sunningdale GC.
Admission is free, and fans are encouraged to attend all days of competition. It’s a great opportunity to see some fine golf while visiting two spectacular golf courses. Sleepy Hollow, of course, is known for its expansive views of the Hudson River and remarkable clubhouse, the 75-room mansion known as “Woodlea,” built as a home for a granddaughter of Cornelius Vanderbilt.
Related: How to Spend a Perfectly Spooky Saturday in Sleepy Hollow
