News

WILLIAMSVILLE, N.Y. – For the first time in the club’s great history, an NYS championship will be held at Country Club of Buffalo. The 2026 Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship will serve as a celebration for the modern course’s 100th birthday. The venue has hosted four USGA championships, with two more on the horizon, but never an NYS championship. 

Related: Championship Info / Pairings / Scoring / Qualifying Results / 2025 Recap / Past Winners 

CHAMPIONSHIP QUICK FACTS

Dates: October 5-7, 2026

Host Site: Country Club of Buffalo

Defending Champion: Kyle Downey went wire-to-wire to win his second consecutive Mid-Am. The Locust Hill Country Club member shot rounds of 65, 69, and 73 at Country Club of Troy. Downey became the third player to win the championship in back-to-back years and the ninth player to have won it multiple times. 

Format: 54 holes of stroke-play. There is a cut after 18 and 36 holes to the low 60 and 30 players (and ties), respectively.

Eligibility: The championship is open to players with an up-to-date USGA Handicap Index of 8.4 or less issued by their NYSGA member club. Participants must be at least 25 years old as of October 5, 2026.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 4 - PRACTICE ROUND

MONDAY, OCTOBER 5 - ROUND 1

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 6 - ROUND 2

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7 - ROUND 3

THE FIELD

Past NYS Men’s Mid-Amateur Champions in the Field

Kyle Downey, 37, of Locust Hill Country Club, is the two-time defending champion. Downey won last year’s event at Country Club of Troy and the year prior at Schuyler Meadows Club by ten shots. He also took home the Men’s Am title in 2023. Downey finished T12 in the Men’s Am earlier this year.

Billy Hanes, 40, of Crag Burn Golf Club, is one of three men to have won back-to-back NYS Mid-Am’s. Hanes won in 2022 at Seven Oaks Golf Club and the following year at Crag Burn Golf Club. He also secured the 100th BDGA Individual Championship and the 2026 district Match-Play Championship. Hanes captured six NYSGA titles over a span of 25 years, including three state four-balls and a boys’ 14U. He missed the second in last year’s championship. 

Jamie Miller, 41, of Crag Burn Golf Club, won the 2014 Mid-Am at Teugega Country Club and in 2018 at Wanakah Country Club. Miller is one of nine men to have won the Mid-Am multiple times. Miller and partner Billy Hanes won the 2017 NYS Men’s Four-Ball Amateur at Leatherstocking GC. He also claimed a NYS Mixed Team title in 2022 at Brook-Lea with Chelsea Dantonio. Miller has been on the NYSGA Executive Committee for several years and served as the NYSGA’s President from 2024-2025. 

Other NYS Champions in the Field

John Duthie, 37, of RTJGC at Cornell, won the 2007 Men’s Am at Yahnundasis Golf Club. He turned pro in 2011 and spent a decade as a touring professional. Duthie won the 2023 CNY PGA’s AIM Championship, setting a tournament record for the lowest four-round score at -9. At last year’s Mid-Am Duthie finished T24.

Jeff Wolniewicz, 40, of Crag Burn Golf Club, brought home the 2008 Men’s Amateur title at Pinehaven Country Club. He also won the 2016 and 2017 NYS Men’s Four-Ball Championships at Leatherstocking Golf Club, with partners Billy Gaffney and Jonathan Clark respectively. Wolniewicz played collegiately at Binghamton University where he was a 3x all-region selection and two-time captain. He was inducted into their Hall of Fame in 2018. Wolniewicz missed the second cut at last year’s tournament.

Andy Bernatovicz, 59, of River Oaks Golf Club, claimed last year's NYS Men’s Senior Amateur at Brookfield CC. Bernatovicz also won the Senior Mixed Team Championship in August with Bethany Bernatovicz. He also won the 2025 BDGA Senior Championship at Wanakah CC. It was his second straight title and he’s claimed five BDGA Senior Championships. He also captured the 2023 NYS Men’s Senior Four-Ball with partner Ken Riter at Turning Stone Resort. He recently qualified for the 2026 U.S. Senior Amateur and made match play. Bernatovicz missed the second cut at last year’s championship. 

Shane Dobesh, 34, of Sheridan Park Golf Club, won the Men’s Four-Ball with Yaroslav Merkulov at Leatherstocking Golf Course in May. In 2025 Dobesh won the BDGA Mid-Am, becoming the first public-course player to do so. He played on the Roberts Wesleyan golf team in college. Dobesh will be competing in his first state Mid-Am

Christian Chapman, 27, of RDGA eClub, was the 2016 NYS Boys’ 18U champion. Chapman also won this year’s RDGA Mid-Am at Cobblestone Creek Country Club with an eagle on the final hole. The former St. Bonaventure golfer also finished third at this year’s Men’s Am and at last year’s Mid-Am. He’s also won the 2024 and 2023 CNY Open Championship. 

David Hanes, 28, of Crag Burn Golf Club, is a two-time winner of the NYS Men’s Four-Ball with older brother, Billy. He captured the 2025 Buffalo District Golf Association Individual title at Cloverbank CC by a stroke, finishing at 8-under for 54 holes. He also won the same title in 2018. He played collegiate golf at Canisius College in Buffalo.

Tony Hejna, 58, of Crag Burn Golf Club, qualified for two USGA Championships last year, including the U.S. Senior Amateur and U.S. Mid-Amateur. He captured his lone NYSGA title in 1982, winning the NYS Boys’ 14U at Clifton Springs. His best finish in the NYS Men’s Mid-Am was a runner-up result in 2005.

Jim Hirsh, 39, of NYSGA eClub - Central NY, captured the 2024 NYS Men’s Four-Ball with partner Bill Virkler at Turning Stone Resort. Last season, he claimed the CNY PGA’s AIM Championship and the SDGA Mid-Am. Hirsh finished T17 at last year’s state Mid-Am. 

Michael Carrig, 36, of Springville Country Club, won the 2022 Mixed Team Championship with Gaelin Carrig at Transit Valley Country Club. He played collegiate golf at Canisius. Carrig finished 21st at the 2025 BDGA Mid-Am. 

Other Players to Watch 

David Wagner, 34, of Elma Meadows Golf Club, won the BDGA Mid-Am at Park Country Club in May. It was the first district win of his career. Wanger’s only other appearance at the Mid Am came in 2023 at Crag Burn. 

Joe Petrin Jr, 30, of Bellevue Country Club, won the 2026 SDGA Mid-Am at Lakeshore Yacht and Country Club. He also claimed the Father-Child championship with his father this year. Additionally, Petrin Jr won the Gerry Ashe Memorial in 2023 at Tuscarora Golf Club. The Cicero-native golfed at LeMoyne College. This will mark the first state Mid-Am appearance for Petrin Jr. 

Michael Donner, 26, of Crag Burn Golf Club, qualified for the U.S. Mid-Am through sectional qualifying at his home club in August. Donner missed the second cut at last year’s championship. 

Chris Blyth, 33, of RDGA eClub, won the 2018 RDGA District Championship. Blyth has also finished runner up and the 2018 Men’s Am and finished fifth in 2025. At his last Mid-Am appearance, 2023, Blyth finished 12th.

Kristopher Boyes, 37, of Sheridan Park Golf Club, has claimed the last two Erie Country Amateur Championships. Boyes also won the 2023 BDGA Mid-Am at Cherry Hill Club. He finished T3 at last year’s state Mid-Am.

Wills Reardon, 38, of The Onteora Club, was the runner-up at the 2024 Mid-Am. Reardon shot 70 in the opening round of this year’s Men’s Amateur. He did not compete at last year’s championship. 

Jack Angelucci, 26, of Yahnundasis Golf Club, won the 2024 Gerry Ashe Memorial hosted by the SDGA. Earlier this year he finished T18 at the Men’s Am in Glens Falls. At last year’s state Mid-Am, the former St. Bonaventure golfer finished T24.

Austin Teal, 32, of Schuyler Meadows Club, got 68 in rounds 1 and 2 of last year’s Mid-Am. He finished the tournament in fifth. Teal attended Endicott College and was the first male golfer to be inducted to their athletic Hall of Fame in 2022. 

Joseph Mitchell, 32, of Country Club of Buffalo, qualified for the 2024 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship with Jimmy Pizzutelli, also in the field. Mitchell was the runnerup at the BDGA Match Play championship. He missed the second cut at last year’s championship. 

Sectional Qualifying Medalists

Country Club of Buffalo Members in the Field

Michael Bliss
Liam Knott
Brian Kumiega
Joseph Mitchell
Jake Rosen
Matthew Santora
Robb Walter

Youngest Competitors in the field

25 - Andrew Brunozzi,Yahnundasis GC
26 - Jack Maguire, Whipoorwill Club
26 - Jack Angelucci, Yahnundasis GC
26 - Tyler Edholm, Pendleton Creek GC
26 - Michael Donner, Crag Burn GC

Oldest Competitors in the field

67 - Philip Ohler, Forged Iron Golf
63 - John Harrington, Tuscarora GC
60 - Brian Kumiega, CC of Buffalo
59 - Andy Bernatovicz, River Oaks GC

Most Represented Clubs in the field

8 - Crag Burn Golf Club
7 - Country Club of Buffalo
3 - Brookfield Country Club
3 - Glens Falls Country Club
3 - Monroe Golf Club
3 - Niagara Falls Country Club
3 - Yahnundasis Golf Club

ABOUT THE VENUE

Golf at The Country Club of Buffalo dates back to 1894 when, according to history: “Club members placed an empty tomato can in the ground, and thus was born the first golf hole in Western New York.” The club moved to the city line at Main and Bailey in 1900 and Walter J. Travis updated the course in 1910 in readiness for the club’s hosting of the 1912 U.S. Open, won by John McDermott.

However, the golf course of the Country Club of Buffalo in play today is a unique 1926 Donald Ross creation, routed the course through and around an old limestone quarry. Six holes are incorporated in the quarry and three holes are routed on the level below the escarpment. The modern course was improved several times thanks to efforts from Robert Trent Jones, Geoffrey St. John Cornish, and William Craig Schreiner. In 2004, Golfweek Magazine noted the course in its list of Top 100 Classic Courses in America.

The Country Club of Buffalo played host to the 1931 US Women’s Amateur won by NYSGA legend Helen Hicks, and the 1950 Curtis Cup, which the USA team won comfortably, beating Great Britain & Ireland 7½ 1½.

The venerable club celebrates its centennial season at the modern course this year and hosts its first NYS Championship. It will also soon host the 2027 U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur and the 2032 U.S. Senior Amateur.