NYSGA News

Stafford, N.Y. – Matthew Haefele posted an even-par 72 at his home course, Stafford C.C., on Thursday in front of family and friends for an inspiring seven shot victory at the 53^rd State Senior Championship; a win that was dedicated to Dad. Photo Gallery

Haefele dedicated his three-day, 1-over-par, performance to his father, Donald, who passed away from lung cancer ten years ago. Donald was a member at Stafford C.C. for eleven years before he motivated his son, this year’s state senior champion, to join the club. Haefele’s father was a principal at numerous schools such as Greece Athena for a period of 30 years. He also played an instrumental role in the founding of the Travis society.

The 59-year-old Haefele played the final nine holes in front of his wife, Kathy, who was able to witness her husband tally two bogeys, six pars, and a birdie en route to finishing the back nine at 1-over-par. Haefele’s brother, Steve, took time off from his illustration firm to attend the final round, despite not being able to watch after his brother Matthew carded three consecutive bogeys in front of him on Wednesday. Finally, Haefele’s father seemed certainly to be with him as an inspiration throughout the championship. On Wednesday, Haefele mentioned, “Anything that happens tomorrow, it’s for him.”

In the award ceremony that followed Thursday’s final round, Haefele hoisted the NYSGA Bill Stark Trophy in front of the scoring pavilion as he honored his father who first motivated him to become interested in the game of golf at the age of 10 years old. “I just thank him because everything that I’ve done here at Stafford, becoming a member, I owe it to him because I never would have done it if he hadn’t talked me into it. It’s the best thing I’ve ever done for myself in my whole life.”

Haefele has now amassed a state senior title and three senior club championships in his 20-year tenure at Stafford C.C. “There’s no comparison,” says Haefele in weighing how this win ranks in his list of accomplishments. “This is huge. I still can’t even imagine it. I thought I’d be really happy to be in the top ten given this field of some national caliber players.”

From his friends at Stafford to the competitors in the field, Haefele was the talk of the tournament all week as he led the three-day event from day one. Haefele entered the final round with a lead of three strokes over Alan “Doc” Foster. He cemented the idea of capturing the title in the minds of his friends after an impressive start on Thursday that included eight pars and a birdie for a front nine total of 35 which extended his lead over Foster to five shots.

Haefele opened his round with five straight pars and then notched a birdie at the par-4 sixth hole. With 130 yards in, he landed his approach to the tip of the front fringe where he drained an uphill 25-footer for birdie. From there he continued his even-keel stretch with three pars before making the turn. At the tenth, Haefele made his first bogey of the day and returned back to even. He pulled his drive left in front of a tree on the par-4 11^th and was forced to carry his approach to the right side of the green. It was here that Haefele registered his first three-putt of the day on the tricky and undulating green. Six holes went by where Haefele made par until he stepped to the 18^th tee and lined up the drive-able 271-yard par-4, a hole which he birdied the previous two days. With a five stroke lead, Haefele continued to stick to his game plan and play aggressive as he hit his drive into the left greenside bunker, setting up an optimum birdie opportunity with the flagstick at the back-right edge of the green. He spun the ball to within three feet of the hole and gently tapped in his 217^th stroke over the three days to the content of the crowd.

With an impressive 1-under-par start on the front nine, Haefele was able to fend off any last minute charge by competitors like Robert DeWitt, who turned in a scorecard ridden with circles from his round of 71 that included eight birdies. DeWitt, who plays out of Transit Valley CC, began the day in a tied for sixth position as he trailed Haefele by eight strokes. However, he catapulted to a runner-up finish along with Alan Foster after he birdied four of the first seven holes and turned in a 33 on the front nine.

Haefele’s seven-stroke victory wasn’t the only runaway performance at the 53^rd State Senior Championship. Alan Foster, who played in the final pairing with Haefele, recorded a four-over-par showing in the final round to become a six-stroke winner in the Super Senior Championship. “It’s certainly nice to win and it’s enjoyable,” says Foster. “I would have rather won the other one but Matt played well. I needed to swing well and make a few putts to put some pressure on him but Matt played very solid. I would have needed to play very well to beat him.”

With his victory, Foster becomes the first individual in NYSGA history to win all four adult male championships at the state level (Men’s Amateur, 1975; Men’s Mid-Amateur, 1992 & 1995; Men’s Senior, 2002; Men’s Super-Senior, 2009). The feat is an impressive one considering the Mid-Amateur has only been around since 1984.

Foster started Thursday’s final round three shots behind the leader but took a double bogey on the opening par-4 to fall behind by five strokes. He responded with a birdie at the par-3 fourth following a tee shot that landed six feet below the hole. Foster fired six straight pars until he went bogey-bogey through the tough stretch of Nos. 11 and 12. On the par-3 12^th, Foster missed short of the green but was able to chip to within six feet. Yet he ran his par putt over the right edge for a bogey. He was able to cut the lead down to four shots with three holes to play following a birdie at the par-5 15^th hole. Foster stuck his third shot from 60 yards in to about ten feet below the hole and buried the birdie putt in front of the audience gathered nearby since the clubhouse was in close proximity to the 15^th green.

Over the course of the next three holes, Foster hit errant tee shots that carried left of the fairways on Nos. 16 and 17. He rebounded from his pulled tee shot on No. 16 that pitted him next to a tree and at the base of a hill by firing a second shot that ran pin-high but off to the right fringe. He was able to save par by getting up-and-down from the right fringe. At the 17^th, Foster again pulled his drive and couldn’t reach the 393-yard par-4 green in two strokes. He two-putted his way to bogey, forcing the lead to revert back to five strokes in favor of Haefele. Foster ended his round with a bogey for the first time in three days at Stafford C.C. His six-stroke win in the super senior division resulted from rounds of 76-72-76 where he notched Wednesday’s low-round.

By Kevin Solan

NYSGA Media Intern