WPGA - Lincoln-Mercury to sponsor Mid-Amateur Championship

The Pittsburgh Lincoln-Mercury Dealer Association (PLMDA) is the presenting sponsor of the 2008 West Penn Mid-Amateur Championship to be played on May 28 at Scotch Valley Country Club in Hollidaysburg, near Altoona.

The "mid-am movement" started about thirty years ago, as it became increasingly apparent that college golfers dominated amateur golf. Championships for golfers past college age began, and the USGA Mid-Amateur Championship began in 1981, followed shortly by state and regional mid-amateur championships. The WPGA Mid-Amateur began in 1985, and the inaugural was won by former Association President Fred Gibbons, McKeesport. The West Penn version progressed solidly and within a decade the championship was considered the third most important in the area for amateurs, topped only by the West Penn Open and Amateur, both which started in 1899.

Multiple winners include Sean Knapp (5), John Jones (3), Marshall Marraccini (2), Frank Fuhrer, III (2), Arnold Cutrell (2), and Nathan Smith (2), who also won the 2003 USGA Mid-Amateur at Wilmington, DE.

"We're pleased to have Lincoln-Mercury's support of the Association. The Mid-Am is a great fit, considering the history of the Benson family in area golf," commented WPGA Executive Director Jeff Rivard.

George Benson, Chairman of the Pittsburgh LDMA, played collegiate golf at Duke University. He won the 1982 West Penn Amateur, and teaming with brother Jack, won eight WPGA Brothers Championships, second only to the Wagner brothers, Chick and Rob, with nine. George Benson's father Jack, a top amateur for three decades, won six West Penn Amateurs, plus three Father and Son titles, two with Jack, Jr., and one with George.