For the first time, the men’s and women’s fields of the Porter Cup will be played simultaneously.
Previously, men and women played on separate weeks, but for the 64th edition, they will play on the same schedule from Wednesday to Saturday at Lewiston’s Niagara Falls Country Club.
Tournament committee member Dustin Riggs said, “Many high-end amateur events are heading in this direction, and more specifically college events.”
14-year-old Lily Chan from Williamsville finished in 93rd place.rd She won the New York State Women’s Amateur title at Corning Country Club this week, becoming the second-youngest player to win the event.
The tournament field will feature approximately 30 women and 65 men from six countries and dozens of NCAA programs.
Among notable participants is Williamsville’s Lily Chan, 15, who attended the Nichols School and won the 93rd New York State Women’s Amateur title in June. Zhang had just turned 15, making her, at 14, the second youngest player in the competition.
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Valparaiso University’s Anthony Delissanti, a Niagara Wheatfield alumnus, is a three-time Buffalo District Golf Association individual champion and has returned with two consecutive Missouri Valley Conference individual champions. . He also recently placed fifth in the 123rd North & South Amateurs.
Auburn University graduates Carson Bochá and Katie Cranston, who won the 2022 Men’s and Women’s Championships respectively, are not competing this year. 2019 Women’s Champion Jackie Rogowitz of Penn State is returning to the tournament. John Daly’s son, John Daly II, who plays golf at the University of Arkansas, also competes in the men’s event.
“This year there has been a tendency to focus on younger kids, such as college freshmen and high school seniors, due to the fact that many of the older kids are already scheduling elite amateur series. It’s turning,” Riggs said of the field’s hiring.
Riggs said navigating the men’s field was easy, reuniting with past Porter Cup players who made it to the top 20, and checking out the list of World Amateur Golf Rankings. . For the women’s side, it was a little more difficult as the Women’s North & South Amateurs are held at the same time as the Porter Cup.
“We had a really hard time getting women, so we reduced the number of women and increased the number of men so that we could still play golf all day long,” said tournament co-director Dena Armstrong. , referring to their respective original goals. There were 60 players on the field.
Riggs added that he will adjust the dates for next year to find the best fit among other tournament schedules.
Composite fields have been the focus of discussion for a few years, Armstrong said, adding that country club members would rather return for a week of golf than the course would be occupied by tournaments. He added that he was satisfied. When I spoke with college coaches about this idea, the feedback was mostly positive.
The only downside, according to Riggs, is that the schedule of the tournament means fewer men and women will participate each year, but more women will be featured in the Buffalo community.
“The women didn’t get as much attention as the men because the men’s Porter Cup was so established and the women were relatively new,” Riggs said. “We see this as a great opportunity for women to get involved in the media and show what they can do for their communities.”
It will also be the first time that women and men will play a four-round, par-70 course. They have played 3 rounds and a par 72 before. The 5th and 17th holes, which were previously women’s par 5 holes, are now par 4s.
The first two rounds – Wednesday and Thursday – alternate between morning and afternoon slots. On Wednesday, the girls play in the morning, the boys in the afternoon, and vice versa on Thursday. Porter Cup attendees take the Maid of the Mist tour of Niagara Falls on non-game afternoons.
Friday and Saturday rounds are score based. Men and women play rounds simultaneously at the Niagara Falls Country Club. Several groups of female pairs tee off, followed by several groups of male pairs and so on. His six tee times at the end of each day are allocated to the top three male and female groups.
“It’s that generation now, and we want them to compete with us,” Riggs said. “We want them to play the same course, the same feel (and) conditions, and just compete with each other and have fun.”
