Area rankings give late summer and fall golf additional meaning

Rankings have always captivated me, no matter what the sport. What would college football and basketball be without its top 25? Tennis seedings are based on computer rankings.

Golf has welcomed rating players since the Official World Golf Ranking began in 1986. On the local level, I compiled the Capital Region Amateur Golf Association rankings for two decades, and the Northeastern New York PGA uses a points system to determine its Player of the Year.

Besides the comfortable weather, it gives late summer and fall golf additional meaning.

A new points system for area amateurs was initiated this year with the Capital District Golf Association, a subsidiary of the New York State Golf Association. Mohawk’s Tom McGinn, off his victory in the Tri-County Match Play and top-five finishes in the Schenectady Classic and Troy Invitational, has a comfortable lead in the men’s division

With only the State Mid-Am — Sept. 22-24 at Crag Burn — remaining, McGinn (590 points) leads Ben Bates of eClub Capital District (422.5) and Lance Hope of Schenectady Municipal (415).

There’s also a women’s point list, topped by Troy’s Samantha Schuffernecker, who won the Women’s Mid-Am. Area juniors also are ranked in boys’ (Carter Sica of Saratoga Springs) and girls’ (Kennedy Swedick of Albany) divisions.

The NENYPGA rankings for area pros traditionally gain a lot of attention. Scott Berliner, teaching pro at Glens Falls, had his 11-year stranglehold on the Player of the Year trophy ended last year by Justin Hearley of Burden Lake.

With two majors still on the calendar — the Match Play championship Sept. 19-20 at Colonie and the Tour Championship on Oct. 3-4 at Wyantenuck — the standings could shift, but Berliner (1,815.83 points) has a solid lead on No. 2 Chris Sanger of Woodstock (1,355.00) in...