Presented by CallawayFrom the 1976 MGA Annual Report: This past year, the MGA inaugurate its Amateur Player of the Year Award. The Award, to be presented annually, is intended to honor the New York-area amateur who compiled the best record in selected local, national and international events in one season. A Point Ranking system is used whereby players accumulate points based on their performances in the designated tournaments.
In 1997, the MGA Executive Committee voted unanimously to re-name the Player of the Year Award in honor of Jerry Courville Sr., one of the Met Area’s most accomplished and beloved golfers. Beyond his incredible talent on the course, Courville Sr. set the highest standards of sportsmanship and fair play. It is those traits as well that should serve as a model for all golfers and especially should be embodied by any player worthy of being considered the MGA Player of the Year.
At the awards ceremony of the 1997 Ike Championship, MGA President Marty Connelly announced that the MGA’s Player of the Year Award was being permanently renamed for the late Jerry Courville Sr., a six-time winner of the Ike, who passed away in November 1996.
Jerry Courville Sr. played and respected this game like few other men in met Area history. He was a fine example of what amateur golf is, and should be, all about. We are proud to name this Award for him and hope that each player whose name appears on this Honor Roll will respect his memory by helping to carry on the great traditions of the game.
