News

LOUDONVILLE, NY – Kyle Downey ran away with the 40th Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship, securing his second individual NYS title in two seasons. 

Related: Championship Central / Results / Round 2 Recap / Photos

Downey, out of Locust Hill Country Club and the 100th NYS Men’s Amateur Champion, was unstoppable all weekend in his quest for the Bob Hogan Cup. The 35 year-old got off to a furious start in Round 1, lighting Schuyler Meadows on fire with an opening round 63 (-9), setting the course record in the process. 

The masterful round put Downey well ahead of the pack early and he refused to relinquish the lead. A one-under 71 in Round 2 gave Downey an eight stroke lead heading into the final round. 

While simply needing to avoid big numbers, Downey had plenty of magic left on Sunday. He added six birdies to his whopping tournament total of 19 and closed out the victory with a four-under 68. 

“It’s more of a relief than anything. Couldn’t fall asleep last night, I went through the math in my head. I think I’ve played in this nine times, and I’ve been in the second to last or final group seven out of those times and it's never come to fruition for me,” he said.

His tournament total of 14-under is the lowest recorded finishing score in the history of the Men’s Mid-Amateur. The previous record was nine under par, set by Bradford Tilley at Tuscarora Golf Club in 2019. In addition, his 63 on the first day was the lowest round in the championship’s history, surpassing his close friend Patrick Keegan’s 66 in 2017 at Yahnundasis.

“I kept reminding myself, you have an eight shot lead, what are you nervous about? If you have one bad hole you shake it off and kind of go from there. My goal every single day was to extend the lead…It means a lot to win from a big lead. I’ve never really had that. It’s a different mindset. When I won the state am in 2023, I was behind, and had nothing to lose.”

He joins a short list of individuals who have captured both the NYS Amateur and Mid-Amateur, including greats such as Don Allen, John Baldwin, Alan Foster, Jim Roy, Jim Scorse and Mike Valicenti.

Wills Reardon of Piping Rock Club finished as the runner-up. Reardon went 70-72-70 to wrap up his tournament at four under par. 

Behind Reardon was Jim Gifford of Mohawk Golf Club, who carded a three under 69 on Sunday. Gifford finished at three under par. 

Three past NYSGA champions finished tied in fourth place at two under par. They include Benjamin Bates of NYSGA eClub - Capital Region, Alec Bard of Cedar Lake Club and John Duthie of Cornell University Golf Club. 

A quartet finished at 1-under to round out the red number finishers, including host club member Sean Puleo, Patrick Nealon of Cloverbank CC, Blake Gianniny of CC of Rochester, and Benjamin Rublee of CC of Troy.

The top 20 finishers will be exempt into next year’s championship which will be hosted by nearby Country Club of Troy during their centennial celebration.

Schuyler Meadows was set up at 6,837 yards and played to a par of 37-35-72.