Preview: 2026 NYS Super Senior & Legends Amateur Championship
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The 30th Super Senior & 4th Legends Amateur Championships will tee off from Bellevue Country Club from July 30-31.
The field size will be capped at 84 total golfers - 54 in the Super Senior (65+) and 30 in the Legends. Each bracket will compete in 36 holes of individual stroke play for a chance at claiming the respective titles.
Related: Pairings / Scoring / 2025 Recap / Past Super Senior Winners / Championship Central
CHAMPIONSHIP QUICK FACTS
Dates: July 30-31, 2026
Host Site: Bellevue Country Club, Syracuse, N.Y.
Defending Champions:
Jim Mueller, of Orchard Creek Golf Club, fended off Daniel Russo to win a second consecutive Super Senior Am title. Two rounds of even par were enough for a two-stroke victory for Mueller.
Robert Branham, of Canasawacta Country Club, erased a three-shot deficit and went to a playoff with Robert Dewitt. On the third playoff hole, Branham secured the victory, his second state title of the season.
Divisions:
30th Men’s Super Senior Amateur Championship (65+)
4th Men’s Legends Amateur Championship (70+)
*For the fourth season, the championships will be conducted separately from the Men’s Senior Championship which will be held at Mahopac Golf Club in September.
Format: 36 holes of individual stroke play, played over two days.
Eligibility: Play is open to male amateur golfers who are an active NYSGA Member with a USGA Handicap Index of 12.0 or less, and are 65+ (Super Senior) or 70+ (Legends), as of July 28, 2025.
Age Groups: 65-69, 70-74, 75-79, 80-84, 85+.
PAR & YARDAGE
Super Senior (65+): 6,135y - Par 71 - 71.2/133
Legends (70+): 5,312y - Par 71 - 66.7/127
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
WEDNESDAY, JULY 29 - PRACTICE ROUND
7:30am - 2:00pm. Player Registration and practice facilities open
8:00 - 11:40am. Practice rounds
THURSDAY, JULY 30 - ROUND 1
6:30am. Player Registration and practice facilities open
7:30am - 9:40am. Tee time from holes #1 & #10
11:30am - 2:30pm. Player Lunches
FRIDAY, JULY 31- ROUND 2
6:30am. Practice Facilities open
7:30am - 9:40am. Tee times from holes #1 & #10
11:30am - 2:30pm. Player lunch
3:00pm. Award ceremony
THE FIELD
Past NYS Super Senior Champions in the field
Jim Mueller, 67, of Orchard Creek Golf Club, took home the last two Super Senior championships at Soaring Eagle Golf Course (‘25) and at Crag Burn Golf Club (‘24). Along with that, he also claimed the 2024 Men's Super Senior Four-Ball Championship, alongside Kevin Broderick at Turning Stone. Mueller also finished in third at both the 2021 and 2018 NYS Men's Senior Amateur Championships.
Past NYS Legends Champions in the field
Craig McIntyre, 74, of Transit Valley Country Club, claimed the 2024 NYS Legends Championship last season in a wire-to-wire finish after posting the only score in red figures for the tournament on the first day. McIntyre was able to hold on with five pars in his last five holes. He finished 19th in the last tournament.
Other NYS Champions in the Super Senior Field
Paul Pratico, 65, of Schenectady Municipal Golf Course, was the 2016 Senior Amateur champion at Brookfield CC. He also owns eight Schenectady golf titles. Pratico did not compete in last year’s tournament.
Thomas Fletcher, 68, of Tuscarora Golf Club, claimed the 2015 Senior Amateur at Onondaga Golf & Country Club. He finished T11 in last year’s championship. Fletcher finished in the top four in 2023 and 2024.
John Gaffney, 67, of Brookfield Country Club, won the 1999 Men’s Amateur at Wanakah Country Club. Gaffney is the only person in the field to have hoisted the Ganson Depew Cup. He finished T15 in last year’s championship.
Robert Hughes, 65, of Thompson Park Golf Course, was victorious in the 2018 Senior Amateur at Mohawk Golf Club. A resident of Watertown, Hughes has amassed a record 15 City Golf championships. He finished T37 in last year’s Senior Amateur.
Robert Rosen, 65, of Country Club of Buffalo, is a two-time state champion having won the Senior Four-Ball in 2017 and 2022. Both victories came alongside Matt Clarke at Leatherstocking Golf Course. He finished T32 in last year’s Senior Amateur. This will be Rosen’s first Super Senior championship.
Daniel Russo, 68, of Schuyler Meadows Club, won the 2019 Senior Amateur at Cavalry Club and again in 2021 at The Powelton Club. Since there was no tournament in 2020, Russo is one of nine men to have won consecutive Senior Am titles. He finished T23 in the most recent Senior Am and lost by two strokes in last year’s Super Senior.
Other NYS Champions in the Legends Field
Dave Benedict, 75, of Brook-Lea Country Club, is a three-time NYS Champion. He claimed the NYS Mid-Amateur title in 1994, as well as the NYS Senior Amateur in 2011. Benedict finished T6 in last year's Legends championship as well as 5th in 2024 T9 in 2023 and T11 in the 2022 Super Senior.
Jim Burns, 72, of Durand Eastman Golf Club, won the 2025 NYS Men’s Super Senior Amateur Four-Ball with partner Jim Johnson at Turning Stone. He was named the 2025 and 2024 RDGA Men's Super Senior Player of the Year. Burns also finished tied for third in the Legends Championship last year. In 2013, he finished as the co-runner-up at the Super Senior Amateur Championship alongside Dan Levinson. Burns was also the runner-up in the 2021 tournament at the Powelton Club and finished T7 at Springville Country Club in 2022.
Andy Conway, 71, of Ravenwood Golf Club, was on the winning duo at the 2016 Mixed Team Championship at Skaneateles Country Club alongside Sara Eichelberger. Last year he did not compete in the Super Senior but finished T90 in the Senior Am.
Randy Young, 78, of Bellevue Country Club, claimed the 2014 Super Senior Championship at Cedar Lake Club. Last year, Young finished T14, and he recorded two top seven finishes previously. He also finished third at the 2022 Super Senior Championship at Springville Country Club.
Other Players to Watch in the Super Senior Field
Dennis Lynch, 65, of Nassau Players Club, has won the MGA Senior Amateur twice, 2024 and 2022. Lynch has also claimed two MGA Mid-Am championships. It will be his first Super Senior Championship.
David Mattana, 66, of Fresh Meadow Country Club, finished solo seventh at the 86th MGA Senior Amateur Championship, with rounds of 71-81, and led the tournament after the first round. He is also the men's golf coach at Adelphi University in New York. Mattana finished T25 in last year’s championship.
Tim McDermott, 67, of Tuscarora Golf Club, won the CNY PGA Senior AIM championship this May. Last year, he won the SDGA Audi Memorial Title at Lakeshore. McDermott did not compete in last year’s championship.
Jack Weinerth, 65, of Highland Park Golf Club, won the 2024 SDGA Senior Stroke Play Championship. He also won the 2019 CNY PGA Senior Aim championship. This will be Weinerth’s first time competing in the Super Senior. He finished T8 in last year’s Senior Amateur.
Other Players to Watch in the Legends Field
Robert DeWitt, 72, of Transit Valley Country Club, placed second at last year's Legends Championship after losing in a playoff. He also lost on the first playoff hole at the 2022 Super Senior Championship at Springville Country Club.
Michael McNulty, 71, of Park Country Club, finished T3 in last year's Legends Amateur Championship. The year before, he finished T15.. McNulty also finished tenth in 2024 Super Senior, fifth in 2021 and T9 at the Senior Amateur at Mohawk in 2018.
Joe Quillinan, 81, of Olde Kinderhook Golf Club, placed T12 in the 2023 NYS Men's Legends Championship at En-Joie Golf Club after shooting 76-86 for the tournament. In 2008, he placed T52 in the NYS Men's Amateur Championship at Pinehaven Country Club. He finished T17 in last year’s championship.
PAST NYS CHAMPIONSHIPS HELD AT BELLEVUE CC
2014 - Men’s Amateur Championship, won by Luke Feehan2000 - Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship, won by Tim Hume1993 - Men’s Senior Amateur Championship, won by Robert Gunnel1989 - Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship, won by Tom Flynn1975 - Men’s Amateur Championship, won by Dr. Alan Foster1963 - Boy’s 18U Junior Amateur Championship, won by Carl DiCesare1963 - Boy’s 14U Junior Amateur Championship, won by John Govern1956 - Boy’s 18U Junior Amateur Championship, won by E. Stewart Wallace Jr.1943 - Boy’s 18U Junior Amateur Championship, won by George M. Stuhr1941 - Boy’s 18U Junior Amateur Championship, won by John Ward1937 - Men’s Amateur Championship, won by Ray Billows
ABOUT THE VENUE
Designed by NYSGA Hall of Fame member, Donald J. Ross, Bellevue Country Club sits on Onondaga Hill, looking over the Syracuse skyline. Opened in 1916 with nine holes designed by Ross, the club needed expansion room and purchased adjacent land four years later to develop another nine holes. The club has hosted 11 NYS championships.
