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(UPDATE 8/30) - Kenneth Bakst and Bob Royak were the only two New York connected players to advance to match play at the 67th U.S.Senior Amateur Championship.

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Both players advanced through the Round of 64, Bakst winning 1 up and Royak prevailing 6 and 5.

The two met each other in the Round of 32, and it took 21 holes to decide a victor. The four-seeded Royak would eventually eliminate the 36-seeded Bakst.

In the Round of 16, Royak would defeat Virginia’s Matt Sughrue, 3 and 2, to advance once again into the quarterfinals of a U.S. Senior Amateur. 

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MARION, Mass. - Seven players with ties to New York state will take to The Kittansett Club to compete in the 67th U.S. Senior Amateur Championship. 

Players will begin stroke play on Saturday, August 27. After 36 holes, the field will be reduced to the low 64 scorers heading into the first day of match play on Monday, August 29. The championship will conclude with on Thursday, September 1.

Kenneth Bakst is playing out of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. but hails from Baiting Hollow, N.Y. He won the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship in 1997 and earned an exemption to play at Augusta National in The Masters Championship in 1998. Bakst competed in the 2021 U.S. Senior Amateur. He was one of five players who qualified for the USGA championship during the qualifier at Alpine Country Club in New Jersey.

Michael Dunsmore, of Elizabethtown, has competed in numerous U.S. Senior Amateurs. His best result came in 2016 when he reached the quarterfinals. He would lose to eventual champion Dave Ryan but added another feather in the cap of a long career in golf. He qualified for this year's championship, and was the medalist at Manchester Country Club in Vermont where he shot 72.

Dunsmore gained notoriety by caddying for long-time PGA Tour professional Fred Funk on the PGA Tour Champions. He also caddied for Scott Simpson and Larry Mize.

Two of the New York players have the distinction of being the oldest players in the field.

Bergen’s Matthew Haefele, at 72-years-old, is the oldest player in the field and a former NYS champion. He captured the 2009 Men’s Senior Championship at Stafford Country Club. He is set to play in his first USGA Championship.

2018 NYS Men’s Super Senior Amateur Champion Jim Hamburger is the second oldest player in the field at 71-years-old. The Clinton Corners native also qualified for the U.S. Senior Amateur in his NYS Super Senior title year, 2018. He qualified for this year's championship out of Alpine CC in Demarest, N.J.

Bob Royak now plays out of Alpharetta, Ga. But holds a NYS Boys’ Junior Amateur Title. In 1979, he won the State Junior at Soaring Eagles Golf Course at Mark Twain State Park. Royak brought home the 2019 U.S. Senior Amateur title, and just last year won the Georgia Mid-Amateur Championship at 59-years-old.

Pulaski’s Kevin VandenBerg is a staple at NYGA events. He finished as the runner-up in the 2021 NYS Men’s Senior Amateur Championship. VandenBerg has several other top-five finishes in NYSGA championships and has competed in the last two U.S. Senior Amateurs.

Tom Yellin, of New York City, played in the 2014 U.S. Senior Amateur. The former captain of the Harvard men’s golf team went on to be the executive producer of ABC News and owner of a documentary film company. He finished fourth in the 2021 NYS Men’s Senior Amateur. He also qualified for this year's championship out of Alpine CC in New Jersey.

The Kittansett Club will be set up at 6,638 yards and play to a par of 71.

Tee times are as follows (all times in EDT):