News

EAST AURORA, NY. – The 28th NYS Men’s Super Senior and 2nd Legends Amateur Championships will be played at Crag Burn Golf Club July 30-31, 2024. 

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 / Photos / Program / 2023 Recap / Past Winners

CHAMPIONSHIP QUICK FACTS

Dates: July 30-31, 2024
Host Site: Crag Burn Golf Club, East Aurora, N.Y.

2023 Champions:

Philip Stegemann of Crag Burn Golf Club posted a 76-70 (+2) to claim the Men’s Super Senior title by two strokes at En-Joie Golf Club. 

John Benware of Binghamton Country Club secured the inaugural Legends title with back-to-back rounds of 71 (-2) to finish two clear of the field. 

Divisions:
28th Men’s Super Senior Amateur Championship (65+)
2nd Men’s Legends Amateur Championship (70+)
*For the second season, the championships will be conducted separately from the Men’s Senior Championship which will be held at Corning CC in September. 

Format: 36 holes of individual stroke play, played over two days.

Eligibility: Play is open to male amateur golfers who are 1) An active NYSGA Member with a USGA Handicap Index of 15.0 or less and 2) Are 65+ (Super Senior) or 70+ (Legends), as of July 30, 2024. 

Age Groups: 65-69, 70-74, 75-79, 80-84, 85+.

PAR & YARDAGE

Super Senior (65+): 6,147y - Par 72 - 71.0/134

OUT: 3,041 yards / IN: 3,106 yards
TOTAL: 6,147 yards, Par 36-36--72

Legends (70+): 5,473y - Par 72 - 67.3/126

OUT: 2,715 yards / IN: 2,758 yards
TOTAL: 5,473 yards, Par 36-36--72

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Monday, July 29 // Registration & Practice Rounds

• 12:00pm-4:30pm........ Player Registration and driving range open
• 1:30pm-4:30pm.......... Practice round tee times

Tuesday, July 30 // Round 1

• 6:30am........................ Practice Facilities open
• 7:30am-9:27am.......... Tee time from holes #1 & #10
• 12:00-3:00pm.............. Player lunches

Wednesday, July 31 // Round 2​​​​​​​

• ​​​​​​​6:30am......................... Practice Facilities open
• 7:30am-9:27am........... Tee time from holes #1 & #10
• 12:00-3:00pm.............. Player lunches
• 2:00pm........................ Awards ceremony
  
  

THE FIELD

Past NYS Super Senior Champions in the field

Philip Stegemann, 68, of Crag Burn Golf Club took home last year’s Super Senior title at En-Joie Golf Club. Stegemann posted a 76-70 tournament to finish at two over par. Stegemann won the 2022 Super Senior Porter Cup and also finished T8 at the 2022 NYS Men’s Senior Amateur at Springville Country Club. 

Robert Branham, 69, of Canasawacta Country Club won the 2022 tournament at Springville Country Club. He fired a final round 70 to force a playoff with Robert DeWitt, whom he defeated on the first hole. Branham won the NYS Super Senior Amateur Four Ball earlier this season - his third alongside teammate Kevin Webb. 

Randy Young, 76, of Bellevue Country Club claimed the 2014 Super Senior Championship at Cedar Lake Club. Young finished runner-up at last year’s inaugural Legends Championship, going 73-71 to finish at even par. He also finished third at the 2022 Super Senior Championship at Springville Country Club. 

Past NYS Legends Champions in the field

John Benware, 75, of Binghamton Country Club won the inaugural NYS Legends Championship last year at En-Joie. Benware went 71-71 (-2) to finish two clear of the field. He will look to defend his title at Crag Burn. 

Others NYS Champions in the Super Senior Field

Andy Conway, 69, of Ravenwood Golf Club took home the 2016 NYS Mixed Team Championship alongside Sarah Eichelberger.

Thomas Fletcher, 66, of Tuscarora Golf Club won the  2015 Men’s Senior Championship at Onondaga Golf & Country Club. Fletcher finished T4 in last year’s Super Senior Championship in his first year of eligibility. 

John Gaffney, 65, of Brookfield Country Club was the 1999 Men’s Amateur Champion, winning at Wanakah Country Club. Gaffney finished runner-up at the Mixed Team Championship earlier this month. It will be his first appearance at a Super Senior championship. 

Jim Mueller, 65, of Orchard Creek Golf Club won the Men’s Super Senior Four-Ball Championship earlier this year, alongside Kevin Broderick at Turning Stone. Mueller also finished in third at both the 2021 and 2018 NYS Men’s Senior Amateur Championships. 

David Prowler, 66, of Towers Country Club won the 2017 Men’s Senior Championship by four strokes. Prowler secured his first NYS title with a three over performance at Crag Burn Golf Club, the host of this year’s tournament. Prowler also represented New York at the 2012 U.S. Senior Open at Indianwood Golf & Country Club.

Kevin Webb, 65, of Clifton Springs Country Club is a three-time Senior Mixed Team champion, having won in 2018, 2021 and earlier this month at Stafford Country Club with his wife Lisa. Webb also won the 2017 Men’s Senior Four-Ball Championship at Leatherstocking Golf Club and finished runner-up in this year’s Super Senior Four-Ball Championship at Turning Stone.

Others NYS Champions in the Legends Field

Mark Battle, 70, of Ravenwood Golf Club won both the 2013 and 2021 NYS Men’s Senior Four-Ball Championships. Battle also finished T11 at the 2022 NYS Super Senior championship at Springville Country Club. 

Dave Benedict, 74, of Brook-Lea Country Club is a two-time NYS Champion. He claimed the NYS Mid-Amateur title in 1994, as well as the NYS Senior Amateur in 2011. Benedict finished T9 in last year’s Legends championship as well as T11 in the 2022 Super Senior. 

Donald Van Gorder, 74, of Newman Municipal Golf Course claimed the 2006 NYS Men’s Senior Championship at Lafayette Country Club. Van Gorder is also a two-time winner of the SDGA Super Senior Stroke Play championship (‘17, ‘22). 

Others Players to Watch in the Super Senior Field 

Bob Cooper, 68, of Canajoharie G&CC finished T4 in last year’s Super Senior Championship at En-Joie Golf Club. Cooper shot an opening 72 (E) and led after 18 holes. Cooper also finished in fifth at the 2018 Men’s Senior Amateur at Mohawk Golf Club. 

Michael McNulty, 69, of NYSGA eClub - Western NY finished tenth at last year’s Super Senior Amateur Championship at En-Joie. McNulty shot a final round 74 (+2) and finished at nine-over for the tournament. McNulty also finished fifth at the 2021 Super Senior at the Powelton Club and T9 at the Senior Amateur at Mohawk in 2018. 

Others Players to Watch in the Legends Field

Jim Burns, 70, of Durand Eastman Golf Club finished as the co runner-up in last year’s 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. This will be Burns’ first season eligible for the Super Senior field. 

Robert DeWitt, 71, of Transit Valley Country Club lost on the first playoff hole at the 2022 Super Senior Championship at Springville Country Club. He also finished T9 at the 2017 Senior Amateur Championship when it was at Crag Burn. 

Stew McGough, 70, of Bellevue Country Club had a strong showing at last year’s Men’s Super Senior Championship at En-Joie, finishing T8 at eight over. McGough finished T3 at the 2015 Senior Amateur, T5 at the 2017 Senior Amateur at Crag Burn and won the SDGA Audi Memorial in 2021. 

Doug Vergith, 76, of Chautauqua Golf Club finished T9 at the 2021 Super Senior Championship at the Powelton Club. Vergith won the 2004 MGA Senior Amateur and formerly served as the executive director of the Long Island Golf Association. 

Previous NYSGA Championships at Crag Burn Golf Club

1986 NYS Men's Mid-Amateur Championship won by Ken Andrychuk of Clifton Springs
1999 NYS Men's Mid-Amateur Championship won by Jim Roy of Syracuse
2010 NYS Men's Mid-Amateur Championship won by Tim Hume of Williamsville
2017 NYS Men's Senior Amateur Championship won by David Prowler of Manhasset
2017 NYS Men's Super Senior Amateur Championship won by James Smith of East Aurora
2019 NYS Men's Amateur Championship won by Ben Reichert of East Amherst
2023 NYS Men's Mid-Amateur Championship won by Billy Hanes of Elma

ABOUT CRAG BURN GOLF CLUB

In the late 1960s, Frank Goodyear Jr. and his family decided to turn their rarely used polo grounds into a golf course. The family hired Robert Trent Jones Sr. to design a course on the 190-acre field where “a group of friends could play golf”. 

On May 1, 1972, Crag Burn officially opened its doors. Through the years, many course improvements have been made to Crag Burn, including some commissioned by Robert Trent Jones’ son Reese Jones. 

The gently rolling lands; the soils and the drainage pattern which so readily adapted to the creation of small lakes and streams; the mature vegetation ranging from lowland maples and ash to beautiful specimens of beech, hickory, hemlock and oaks was all ideally suited for the design of an outstanding golf course.

The physical character of the course emerges in part from the diverse nature of the site. Nearly half of the holes play through dense woods. Here, wide fairways are park-like and similar in appearance to Augusta National. The remaining holes are like an open meadowland where amply wide fairways are carved out of tall meadow fescues. The vivid contrast between lush, green bentgrass fairways and the golden color of the fescue roughs impart a character to these holes strongly reminiscent of Shinnecock Hills and the famous links of Scotland.

The course has hosted many amateur events, beginning in 1986 with the New York State Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship. Crag Burn also hosted this event in 1999 and 2010. More recently, the club hosted the 2017 New York State Men’s Senior and Super Senior Amateur Championship, the 2019 NYS Men’s Amateur Championship, and most recently the 2023 Men's Mid-Amateur.