Headline: Competitors Flock to MGA Web Site to Register for 2017 MGA Championships; Hundreds of Registrations Processed on Day 1
For Immediate Release: February 2, 2017
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Another 'First' For Andy Drohen... 2013 MGA Amateur Public Links Champion was the first competitor to register for a 2017 MGA event. |
Norton, MA — While the clock ticked midnight on the 2017 calendar year more than one month ago, the New Year celebrations at MGA Headquarters officially began on Thursday morning at 10:00 a.m. when online registration went live for all 2017 Championship events.
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2017 MGA Championship Quick Links
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“The MGA season is officially upon us!” exclaimed MGA Director of Rules & Competition Kevin Eldridge. “After spending the past several months planning for the dozens of Championships and qualifiers set for the 2017 season, we are excited that the next step in the process has begun – the day that the players themselves can begin registering for the events.”
Scheduling for those events – a total of 12 Championships between May 9 and September 27 – in addition to the nearly 40 qualifiers for those respective Championships, has been set at various clubs across the state beginning on May 15. The qualifiers, which are needed for all but five of the MGA Championships, will grant eligible players a spot in the corresponding championship proper that follow and ensures the most competitive fields for each event.
By midday on Thursday, a total of 360 entries had already been received for the aforementioned MGA events.
The first member to complete their registration was longtime MGA competitor, Andy Drohen, a former MGA Amateur and Amateur Public Links Champion who has also qualified for several USGA events throughout his playing career.
On Thursday, it was the Massachusetts Open Championship qualifier at GreatHorse on May 17 that had the attention of Drohen, a Granville resident looking to compete in his fifth straight Open Championship.
“I was wondering if I could hit number one this early in the season,” said Drohen with a good-hearted laugh. “Seriously I have been busy with work and traveling a lot. I was catching up on emails this morning and saw that registration was going live today. It was perfect timing. I looked at the site and saw the qualifying dates for the Open and Amateur and figured that I’d get signed up right away. There are some really good golf courses in this year's rotation, so I'm sure they will fill up very fast.”
Showing that he has exceptional skill both on the course and on his computer, Drohen was able to submit that registration in less than one minute. His registration was officially accepted by the MGA at “10:00 a.m.”
“Not only is the MGA one of the best state run associations in the country, but their website makes it incredibly easy to register for the championships,” said Drohen. “It was just a matter of a couple clicks, a credit card number and bam, you're signed up for a chance to win one of Massachusetts prestigious titles.”
After struggling with a back injury early in the season, Drohen was in fine form as the year wore on and capped off 2016 by qualifying for the 2016 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship which was held last September at Stonewall Links in Elverson, Pennsylvania.
He continued his hot streak by taking the first MGA honor of the 2017 season… that of #1 registrant.
“It's always nice to be first too, no matter what it is,” said Drohen. “Here's to a few more ‘1st places’ this summer for the old guys.”
By 2 o’clock Thursday afternoon, the MGA had received 360 entries across the board with special attention made to specific events on the MGA calendar.
The most popular MGA Championship qualifier? That question was posed to the MGA membership via a Twitter poll (@mgalinks) and the answer will be unveiled tomorrow.
“We are extremely happy that the start to the 2017 MGA registration was so well-received by our members,” said Eldridge. “It is always our goal to make the process of registering for our many events as easy as possible for our members, and we believe the online system we have in place does just that.”
That process, which allowed players like Drohen to register in less than one minute, allows MGA members with an active GHIN Handicap Index, to sign in to their My MGA Home account on the MGA homepage (mgalinks.org) and select which events they want to register for.
The easy process also allows players to make their payment for each respective event, which locks their registration in, and provides an update to how many spots remain in each event.
Qualifying spots are filled on a first come, first serve basis so the MGA reminds individuals to register as soon as possible to ensure their top-choice of events.
