By Tim Hartin
Though the MGA’s championship program stands as one of the association’s longest-standing services, that doesn’t make it immune to change. In fact, 2025 features multiple updates and tweaks that help continue to dial in the MGA’s competitive offerings and make the scope of events more welcoming to a variety of players. Meanwhile, the tried-and-true MGA majors – the Ike, Met Amateur, and Met Open – remain as compelling as ever with a standout trio of hosts for 2025.
Alan Specht of Port Jefferson Country Club at Harbor Hills on Long Island has already been crowned as the season’s first champion, winning the 98th MGA Senior Amateur Championship at Metedeconk National Golf Club in Jackson, N.J. Specht led wire-to-wire, notching his first MGA victory since claiming the MGA Public Links in 1990.
The 77th MGA Public Links Championship takes place June 12 at Hominy Hills Golf Course in Colts Neck, N.J., while the 37th MGA/WMGA Women’s Public Links Championship will be contested May 28 at River Vale Country Club in River Vale, N.J.
One of the first changes of the season comes for the Women’s Met Amateur Championship at Sunningdale Country Club in Scarsdale, N.Y., June 16–17. Now a two-day event, players will battle over 18 holes on Day 1 with the champion getting crowned following a 36-hole second day of competition – the same format as the Ike.
As the field takes shape, it already looks as if it will be a deeper field than ever before. The change makes the event eligible to receive World Amateur Golf Ranking points, while long-term gives it the ability to become a USGA exemption event with the winner advancing to the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship.
The Ike comes the following week, as Hamilton Farm Golf Club welcomes its first-ever MGA major, June 23–24. You can read all about the Gladstone, N.J., club in the Club Focus feature preceding this story.
As summer heats up, so too does the junior schedule. The 108th Met Junior Championship Sponsored by MetLife takes place July 14–16 at Southampton Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y. The championship helps celebrate Southampton’s centennial season in 2025 and has plenty of opportunity for excitement as reigning champion Jack Chung of Greenwich, Conn., and runner-up Liam Pasternak of Morristown, N.J., are both eligible to compete once again.
Another exciting update comes later in the month on July 29 with the Carter Cup, which includes a junior girls’ division for the first time. The MGA’s junior stroke play championship will now crown two champions at the end of one spectacular day of golf across both the Upper and Lower courses at famed Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, N.J. Adding to the excitement of the 36-hole event: the Upper has just been restored by Gil Hanse.
The final junior event of the year, the 57th MGA/MetLife Boys’ Championship, takes place in August for the first time at Redding Country Club in Redding, Conn.
Old Oaks Country Club in Purchase, N.Y., steps into the major spotlight as host of the 123rd Met Amateur Championship, July 31 – August 3. While this is the club’s first time welcoming the Met Amateur, it’s certainly no stranger to big events. Old Oaks hosted the Met Open in 1984 and serves as a co-host for U.S. Open final qualifying alongside Century Country Club on a three-year rotating basis with Canoe Brook Country Club in Summit, N.J. The MGA was last at Old Oaks for a championship for its 2018 Senior Amateur.
In a year with several hosts making some notable firsts, the 110th Met Open Championship Presented by Callaway heads to an MGA stalwart with Meadow Brook Club in Jericho, N.Y., August 19–21. As an MGA founding member, the club has long been a supporter of championship golf, and upon hosting the Met Open for the third time will have welcomed each of the MGA’s three majors on three occasions – a feat only matched by Nassau Country Club and Winged Foot Golf Club.
Those to have won the most recent MGA majors hosted by Meadow Brook include Michael Graboyes (2018 Ike), Frank Bensel (2007 Met Open), and George Zahringer (1987 Met Amateur). While Met Area pros and amateurs have their sights on the title, the club’s professional staff itself has some of the top contenders with recent Met Open champions Matt Dobyns (2019) and Dylan Newman (2023) aiming to use their local knowledge of the championship layout to capture the Walker L. Trammell Trophy again.
The very next week, Fairview Country Club in Greenwich, Conn., welcomes the 29th Lexus MGA Senior Open Championship, August 25–26.
After a slight break in the schedule, The Farrell will have its fourth year of competition September 19–21 at The Stanwich Club in Greenwich, Conn., where champions will once again get crowned in men’s mid-amateur, women’s mid-amateur, and men’s senior amateur divisions.
Another change in 2025 comes for the MGA’s Mid-Amateur Championship, which will now be open to players aged 25 (lowered from 30) and above to better align with the U.S. Mid-Amateur’s eligibility standards. This year’s championship heads to Laurel Links Country Club on the North Fork of Long Island, October 6–7.
The season’s final individual trophy gets handed out on October 8, when the 14th MGA Senior Masters Tournament for men 65-plus takes place at Anglebrook Golf Club in Lincolndale, N.Y.
Throughout the season, players also have several opportunities to team up and compete with family members or friends. This includes the 75th MGA Father & Son Championship at Harrison Meadows Country Club in Harrison, N.Y., on July 14; the 5th MGA Parent-Child Championship on July 21 at New Jersey National Golf Club in Basking Ridge, N.J.; and the 61st MGA/WMGA Mixed Pinehurst Championship on August 6 at Cold Spring Country Club in Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.
The final change of the season comes in the team-golf realm as the MGA’s former four-ball championships get re-imagined as the MGA/MetLife Doubles Championship. The format shifts from traditional four-ball play to a two-person, better shot or scramble format, allowing for more wide-ranging, inclusive playing opportunities. Teams may be comprised of two men, two women, or a man and woman (mixed division), while there will also be a division for senior golfers. Partners don’t have to be from the same club. The Seawane Club in Hewlett Harbor, N.Y., will host the championship on October 14.
The MGA will face Golf Ireland in the 18th playing of the Carey Cup, when the region’s top men and women amateurs will travel to Portmarnock Golf Club with hopes of keeping the Carey Cup in the MGA’s possession after the 2023 win at Winged Foot.
With a mix of historic championships and new, exciting competitive opportunities, the MGA is ready for another outstanding championship season in 2025.
To view the full championship schedule and register for events, visit mgagolf.org.