Joe Saladino (2008)

Coming off a strong end to the 2007 season Joe Saladino carried momentum into the 2008 season, where he won or finished runner-up in four of the first six events of his MGA season. He followed up the hot start with steady play throughout the rest of the season and found himself at the top of the Player of the Year leaderboard with 1,117 points.

Saladino graduated from St. John’s University in 2002 and turned pro shortly after, playing on min-tours in Florida. He soon discovered the pro life was not for him and reclaimed his amateur status. He, along with his brother Don, co-own Drive 495, a fitness club focused on golf and proper nutrition, in New York City.

Early on, Saladino collected a win at the Havemeyer Memorial, and followed that with a runner-up finish at the Travis Invitational. Then, with a 5^th place finish at the Long Island Open, Saladino found his name atop the points list for Player of the Year by Mid-June.

In the off season, Saladino dedicated his time to fitness and adopted a more positive outlook, and both improved his game greatly. Later in the season, he took home a win at Hochster Memorial and runner-up at the Long Island Amateur to permanently pull ahead of Michael Quagliano, whom he had been battling with earlier in the season. He continued his season with a third-place finish at the NY State Open and a dramatic performance coming in second at the Met Amateur at Friars Head. He topped of the season by playing in his fourth U.S. Amateur, and finished second in the Long Island Amateur Stroke Play Championship.

With his final tally of 1,117 points, Saladino became the first player to earn more than 1,000 points since 2003.