Joe Saladino (2010)

A top player in the Met Area, Joe Saladino added another Player of the Year title to his resume after his excellent 2010 season including four Met Area victories and career-best performances at the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Mid-Amateur.

Saladino hovered near the lead of the point standings early thanks in part to wins at the Havemeyer and Mittelmark Invitationals, and a top-five finish at the Ike. Later in the season, the Long Island native made match play for the first time at the U.S. Amateur and earned 125 Player of the Year points for that performance on a national stage.

As a result of the strong start, Saladino carried this momentum into the final stretches of the season. He found the winner’s circle again at the Bergen County Amateur. The victory gave Saladino another 75 points with one more national event still on the schedule, the U.S. Mid-Amateur. Contested on a course he knew well, Atlantic Golf Club in Bridgehampton, N.Y., Saladino used the hometown comfort to his advantage as he won two matches and advanced to the Round of 16. That gave him another 160 points, narrowing the margin between himself and season rival Evan Beirne to 21 points.

With one event left on the calendar and Beirne’s Met Area season complete, Saladino went into the Nassau Invitational with another MGA Player of the Year title in his sights, and he delivered. He won the Nassau on the strength of an opening-round 63, a new course record, and emerged with a lock on the Player of the Year title. His 1,002 points for the season are the second-highest total in the last seven years, falling just shy of his 1,117 points in 2008, when he won the award for the first time.