CROTON-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. — For a player who has spent the better part of a decade knocking on the door of a Metropolitan Golf Association title, Christian Cavaliere picked the perfect place to kick it in.
The 28-year-old from Katonah, N.Y., posted rounds of 68-68 at his home club, Hudson National Golf Club, to win the 20th MGA Mid-Amateur Championship on Wednesday. His 4-under 136 left him four shots clear of Jason Bataille of Raritan Valley, the largest winning margin in the championship's history, and earned him the Westmoreland Cup.
It is Cavaliere's first MGA title since he won the Met Junior in 2016. In between, he has been the Met Area's most dependable contender without a trophy to show for it, finishing runner-up at the Met Amateur four times — in 2018, 2023, 2024 and again this August at Deepdale.
"I've been trying to win an MGA event for a long time now, so a very nice feeling to have finally done it," Cavaliere told the MGA afterward. "I couldn't have asked for a better place to do it at."
Seven clear at one point
Cavaliere carried a one-shot lead over Bataille into the final round after an opening 68 on Tuesday, a round that survived a three-putt double bogey on the fourth hole. Bataille's 69 was the only other sub-par score of the first day.
There was no such stumble on Wednesday. Cavaliere birdied Nos. 3 and 4 to turn in 2-under, then picked off two of the back-nine par 3s, at 11 and 13, to stretch his advantage to seven shots. He told the MGA he had set a target of reaching 5-under and that the opening nine was essentially flawless.
Bogeys at the par-4 15th and the 18th, where his tee shot found the right rough and his approach came up short in the rough, trimmed the final margin. It never put the outcome in question.
Bataille, a past MGA Public Links champion, closed with a 1-over 71 to finish at even-par 140. His final round included four birdies, but a double bogey at the par-3 11th came just as Cavaliere was pulling away.
Randolph adds to his record
Two-time champion Trevor Randolph of Arcola (2015, 2016) finished alone in third at 1-over 141 after rounds of 71-70, birdying 14 and 17 on the way in. It was Randolph's 10th top-10 finish in the event, a championship record. Eric LeFante of Somerset Hills was fourth at 145 (70-75).
Jonathan Renza of Mohansic, 2024 champion Chester Patterson of Hamilton Farm and Luke Wells of MGA eClub – NJ shared fifth at 7-over 147.
Top finishers
| Pos. | Player | Club | Scores | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Christian Cavaliere | Hudson National | 68-68 | 136 (-4) |
| 2 | Jason Bataille | Raritan Valley | 69-71 | 140 (E) |
| 3 | Trevor Randolph | Arcola | 71-70 | 141 (+1) |
| 4 | Eric LeFante | Somerset Hills | 70-75 | 145 (+5) |
| T5 | Jonathan Renza | Mohansic | 147 (+7) | |
| T5 | Chester Patterson | Hamilton Farm | 147 (+7) | |
| T5 | Luke Wells | MGA eClub – NJ | 147 (+7) |
A heavy finish to a big season
The win capped a grueling stretch. Cavaliere arrived at Hudson National having played the U.S. Mid-Amateur at Sand Valley, where he reached the Round of 16, and The Farrell, all within roughly a week and a half.
That run sits on top of a 2026 season in which he reached the Round of 16 at the U.S. Amateur at Merion, finished third in the Ike at Sleepy Hollow and was runner-up to Barnes Blake at the Met Amateur. It follows a 2025 in which he won the Azalea Invitational, reached the U.S. Mid-Amateur semifinals at Troon Country Club and was named MGA Player of the Year.
He is also just the second player to win the MGA Mid-Amateur at his own club, joining Darin Goldstein, who did it at Bayonne in 2017. Cavaliere was the stroke-play medalist when Hudson National hosted the 2019 Met Amateur.
Back where it began
The 20th edition returned the championship to its birthplace. Hudson National hosted the inaugural MGA Mid-Amateur in 2007, won by Mike Reardon, and becomes just the second club to host the event twice. The Tom Fazio design, which reopened in 2024 after a Fazio Design renovation that rebuilt every green and repositioned many fairway bunkers, has also hosted two Met Opens and two Met Amateurs.
The field, which since 2025 has been open to players 25 and older, earns its invitations through finishes in MGA and other Met Area events. The Westmoreland Cup honors longtime MGA Tournament Director Gene Westmoreland, who helped launch the championship.
The 21st MGA Mid-Amateur heads to Atlantic Golf Club on Long Island in 2027.