Class of 2025
George Zahringer

Residence: New York, N.Y.
Few amateur golfers in New York State history have compiled a résumé as accomplished and enduring as George Zahringer III. He was born in Michigan, but moved to Rye, NY during his teens, and attended Stonehill College to play both collegiate soccer and golf. After graduating from college in 1975, he grew into one of the most decorated competitors in Metropolitan Golf Association (MGA) and NYSGA history, leaving an indelible mark on amateur golf at every level.
Zahringer’s early success came in the heart of metropolitan New York’s competitive amateur scene. His first of five MGA Amateur titles came in 1981. He would go on to rattle off four straight, from 1984-1987.
In the summer of ‘84, Zahringer clinched his one and only NYS Men’s Amateur championship at The Country Club of Troy. He opened the stroke play championship with a 4-under 66 and never looked back, finishing at 3-under par 281 to win by four strokes over fellow NYSGA Hall of Famer, Dr. Alan Foster of Syracuse.
In 1985, after winning his second MGA Amateur, Zahringer became the first player to win the Met Amateur and Met Open in the same season — outplaying many of the region’s top professionals along the way.
He would also win five Ike Stroke Play championships (1989, 1993, 2001, 2004, 2007) and a Long Island Amateur Championship in 1982 en route to collecting 20 MGA titles overall and earning MGA Player of the Year honors a record-setting ten times. Seven of those awards came over a decade-long stretch where Zahringer was unequivocally the best amateur in the state.
He remained a fixture of amateur golf in the Met area for more than 30 years; his excellence extending well into his mid-amateur and senior careers. His tenth and final Player of the Year award came in the summer of 2007 at 54-years-old, where he captured his 11th MGA championship and became the oldest competitor to advance to match play at the U.S. Amateur.
In 2002, at age 49, Zahringer became the oldest (and first medalist) to win the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship, a victory that not only earned him his first national title but also an invitation to compete in the 2003 Masters Tournament. That same year, he represented the United States as a member of the 2003 Walker Cup Team.
Prior to the USGA title, the NYC stock broker’s best finishes at national amateur events included making the quarterfinals during the 1991 British Amateur, the 1992 U.S. Amateur, and the 1986 and ‘87 U.S. Mid-Ams, along with a runner-up finish during the year prior’s U.S. Mid-Am in 2001, where he lost to Tim Jackson of Tennessee, 1 up. This meant he was in the U.S. Mid-Amateur final in back-to-back years, a rare feat in itself.
Even into his 50s and 60s, Zahringer remained a formidable national competitor, qualifying for 57 USGA championships — ranking him among the most prolific amateur qualifiers in history, trailing only Chick Evans and William C. Campbell. In 2017, at age 64, he became the oldest player ever to qualify for the U.S. Amateur.
Zahringer’s career reached across the Atlantic in 2013, when he captured the British Senior Amateur Championship title. He also added a runner-up finish at the 2008 U.S. Senior Amateur Championship and qualified for the U.S. Senior Open seven times, achieving a career-best T31 finish in 2005 at NCR Country Club. He was the low amateur at the U.S. Senior Open twice in 2005 and 2007.
Outside of his competitive accomplishments, Zahringer has devoted significant time and energy to advancing the game of golf in New York and beyond. As chairman of the MGA Foundation Board of Directors, he has been instrumental in raising funds and creating opportunities for the next generation of golfers, leading initiatives that have expanded junior golf and supported underrepresented communities throughout the region.
Career Highlights:
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Metropolitan Golf Association (MGA)
- 20 MGA titles
- 5x Winner, MGA Amateur (1981, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987)
- 5x Winner, MGA Ike (1989, 1993, 2001, 2004, 2007)
- 6x Winner, Hochster Memorial Tournament (1987-91, 2001)
- MGA Open Champion (1985)
- 2x Winner, MGA Senior Amateur
- 10x MGA Player of the Year
- First player to win Met Am and Met Open in same year (1985)
- New York State Golf Association (NYSGA)
- Winner, 1984 Men’s Amateur Championship
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National & International
- Champion, 2002 U.S. Mid-Amateur
- Champion, 2013 British Senior Amateur
- Runner-up, 2001 U.S. Mid-Amateur
- Runner-Up, 2008 U.S. Senior Amateur Championship
- Competitor, 2003 Masters
- Team Member, 2003 U.S. Walker Cup
- 7x qualifier, U.S. Senior Open – best finish T31 in 2005 (low amateur in both '05 and '07)
- Qualified for 57 USGA Championships - behind only to Chick Evans and William C. Campbell for all-time for career amateurs
- Oldest player to qualify for the US Amateur in 2017 at age 64
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As a Contributor
- Chairman, MGA Foundation Board of Directors
- Significant fundraiser for the MGA Foundation