Past RDGA Match Play Champions
Winning his first RDGA Match Play Championship in 2019 was Ben Kircher of Monroe Golf Club, right, who won the title at Mill Creek Golf Club. Tom Linehan of Brook-Lea Country Club, left, was the runner-up.
The RDGA Match Play Championship
Now in it's 24th year as one of the Rochester District Golf Association's top annual championships, the RDGA Match Play Championship returns to The Golf Club at Blue Heron Hills in 2020 for just the second time in the event's history.
Each year, the starting field for the RDGA Match Play Championship is filled by invitees based on the top point leaders from the RDGA's Player of the Year Award points list from the previous season - a list that incorporates points earned based on performance by players in certain local, state and national events.
Through the years, the RDGA Match Play Championship has produced many memorable champions. Jim Scorse - the four-time RDGA District Championship John H. Ryan Memorial winner from Stafford Country Club - leads all past Match Play champions, having won the title nine times since 1998 and finishing as runner-up in 2008. Monroe Golf Club's John Kircher - another four-time RDGA District Championship winner - has won the Match Play Championship title twice.
In recent years, three of the RDGA's top younger players - Gavin Hall, the three-time District Championship winner from Mendon Golf Club; Oak Hill Country Club's Trevor Sluman, winner of the 2014, 2015 and 2016 District Championship; and former Locust Hill Country Club member Dominic Bozzelli (now a touring professional on the PGA Tour) - have each won the District Match Play title.
The RDGA Match Play Championship also has a unique connection to the RDGA District Championship, dating back to the earliest days of the RDGA in 1930. For the first 38 years of the RDGA District Championship, the event was conducted as a match play competition - until 1969, when a 72-hole stroke play format was adopted, which has continued to be used to this day. When the RDGA Match Play Championship was added to the District schedule in 1997, it restored the tradition of top match play competition that had been absent from the RDGA for nearly 30 years.
Between 1997 and 2015, the RDGA Match Play Championship featured a starting field of 32 players, with the top 31 RDGA Player of the Year point winners from the previous season joining the defending champion to form the starting field. Beginning in 2016, the size of the starting field was reduced to the top-24 point winners (including the defending champion), due to the growing popularity of the RDGA Senior Match Play Championship and the need to accommodate a larger number of players competing for the two Championships on the same host course.
Beginning in 2020, the process by which players are invited and ranked for the RDGA Match Play Championship will change. This year, tracking the RDGA Player of the Year races will not be done via a points schedule and ranking - instead, Player of the Year candidates will be tracked internally and ultimately determined by a select group of local golf industry leaders. Without a points system, rankings and invitations for the 2021 RDGA Match Play Championship will be determined by order of finish by players in RDGA events throughout the 2020 season.
In 2019, the RDGA's "May madness" visited Mill Creek Golf Club and featured an exciting final match between two first-time RDGA Match Play finalists: Ben Kircher of Monroe Golf Club and Tom Linehan of Brook-Lea Country Club.
In the 2019 Men's Match Play Championship Final, Kircher won three holes in a row on the back nine to take a 3-up lead with 4 to play. The two parred the next two holes and Kircher claimed a 3-and-2 victory for his first career local amateur championship title.
CLICK HERE to view the complete results from the
2019 RDGA Match Play Championship
In 2020, the RDGA Match Play Championship is scheduled to take place between May 29 and 31 - although those dates may change, depending on the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak. (Stay tuned to RDGA.org for updates as we get closer to the actual dates.) This year, the Match Play Championship returns to The Golf Club at Blue Heron Hills for just the second time in the 24-year history of the Championship. The last time Blue Heron Hills hosted the Match Play Championship - in 2016 - Stafford's Jim Scorse won his seventh of nine RDGA Match Play titles to date.
Contestants in the 2020 RDGA Match Play Championship will be invited based on the 2019 RDGA Player of the Year Point Standings. The Top 32 Point Leaders will have until April 30 to guarantee a spot in the Match Play Chamionship. Beginning May 1 and continuing through May 22, all remaining spots in the field are open to registration for all qualified golfers on a first-come, first-served basis. Players must have an active WHS GHIN Handicap Index of less than 10.0 to register. (CLICK HERE to view the 2019 RDGA Player of the Year points standings.)
As added incentive, ALL RDGA Match Play finalists AND semi finalists will also earn exemptions to the 2020 RDGA District Championship John H. Ryan Memorial, to be hosted by Oak Hill Country Club from July 21 to 25.
CLICK HERE to register for the
2020 RDGA Match Play Championship
at The Golf Club at Blue Heron Hills
| Year | Champion | Runner-Up | Tournament Site |
| 2020 | Yarik Merkulov | Ben Caruso | The Golf Club at Blue Heron Hills |
| 2019 | Ben Kircher | Tom Linehan | Mill Creek Golf Club |
| 2018 | Jim Scorse | Shawn Baker | Stafford Country Club |
| 2017 | Jim Scorse | Adam Condello | Clifton Springs Country Club |
| 2016 | Jim Scorse | Zak Ottman | The Golf Club at Blue Heron Hills |
| 2015 | Shane Dobesh | Shawn Baker | Ontario Country Club |
| 2014 | Jim Scorse | Sean Flint | Locust Hill Country Club |
| 2013 | Gavin Hall | Chris Malec | Ravenwood Golf Club |
| 2012 | Trevor Sluman | Brian McKenna | Brook-Lea Country Club |
| 2011 | Jim Scorse | Doug Slattery | Cobblestone Creek Country Club |
| 2010 | Jim Scorse | Dominic Bozzelli | Webster Golf Club |
| 2009 | Dominic Bozzelli | Jim Burns | Mill Creek Golf Club |
| 2008 | Dominic Bozzelli | Jim Scorse | Midvale Country Club |
| 2007 | Jim Scorse | Larry Sand | Stafford Country Club |
| 2006 | John Kircher | Jim Mason | Oak Hill Country Club |
| 2005 | Jim Mason | Michael Colosi | Caledonia Country Club |
| 2004 | Jim Scorse | Mike Mercier | Country Club of Rochester |
| 2003 | Andrew DiBitetto | Jim Mason | Shadow Pines Golf Club |
| 2002 | Jim Mason | Mike Mercier | Oak Hill Country Club |
| 2001 | Ken Starkweather | Larry Sand | Brook-Lea Country Club |
| 2000 | John Kircher | Jim Mason | Cobblestone Creek Country Club |
| 1999 | Roger Champagne | Kevin Haefner | Ridgemont Country Club |
| 1998 | Jim Scorse | Dave Benedict | Cobblestone Creek Country Club |
| 1997 | Bob Brooks | Tom Vogt | Stafford Country Club |
The RDGA Senior Match Play Championship
In 2015, the RDGA Match Play Championship format was opened up to include a new competition: the RDGA Senior Match Play Championship - open to all eligible amateur male golfers ages 55 and older who are RDGA members in good standing.In the inaugural Senior Match Play Championship finals in 2015, past RDGA Senior Championship winner Mark Battle became the first player to claim the "Senior Slam" - having won both the RDGA Senior Championship title as well as the District Senior Match Play title.
In 2016, Bob Chalanick of Ravenwood Golf Club became the second "Senior Slam" winner in as many years, following up his 2015 RDGA Senior Championship title with the Senior Match Play title.
In the 2019 Senior Match Play Championship, Jim Burns from Canandaigua Country Club was looking to win his first RDGA title since the 2017 RDGA Super Senior flight championship, going up against Ridgemont's Ron Plummer. Plummer took a 1-up lead on three different occasions - only to fall back to all square each time as Burns won the next hole. All square at No. 12, Burns then won the next two holes to take the lead for good, eventually winning the match and title by a 1-up decision.
This year, the RDGA Senior Match Play Championship returns to The Golf Club at Blue Heron Hills - to be played concurrently with the RDGA Match Play Championship, as it has been since 2015. Scheduled for May 29 through 31, the dates may be subject to change, based on the progress of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Players will be invited to compete in the 2020 RDGA Senior Match Play Championship based on 2019 RDGA Player of the Year Point Standings. Eligible senior players that are also in the Overall Top 32 and have been invited to compete in the Match Play Championship (non-senior) will have the option to compete in the Match Play Championship or the Senior Match Play Championship. Those players eligible for the Senior Match Play Championship must register by April 30 to secure a spot on the 2020 Senior Match Play Championship; Beginning May 1 and continuing through May 22, all remaining spots in the field are open to registration for all qualified golfers on a first-come, first-served basis. Players must have an active WHS GHIN Handicap Index of less than 10.0 to register. (CLICK HERE to view the 2019 RDGA Senior Player of the Year points standings.)
CLICK HERE to register for the
2020 RDGA Senior Match Play Championship
at The Golf Club at Blue Heron Hills
| Year | Champion | Runner-Up | Tournament Site |
| 2020 | Rich Luther | Colm Murphy | The Golf Club at Blue Heron Hills |
| 2019 | Jim Burns | Ron Plummer | Mill Creek Golf Club |
| 2018 | Chris Sorci | George Kavanagh | Stafford Country Club |
| 2017 | Stuart Harris | Brad McAreavy | Clifton Springs Country Club |
| 2016 | Bob Chalanick | Steve Hakes | The Golf Club at Blue Heron Hills |
| 2015 | Mark Battle | Steve Schickler | Ontario Country Club |