Mamaroneck native and Bucknell junior Andrew Cohen captured the Patriot League championship with rounds of 71, 68 and 69 this past weekend at West Point Golf Club (par 70). The score was eight strokes better than the second-place finisher and was the best in conference tournament history.

Cohen and Rye Neck graduate Brian Bartow also guided Bucknell to a team championship, edging Navy by five strokes. Bartow, a junior, posted rounds of 77, 76 adn 74 to finish tied for ninth in the field of 41 golfers. Bucknell earns a bid to the NCAA championships for the third time in four seasons.

It’s been a very strong season for Cohen, who won last week’s Caves Valley Intercollegiate tournament, the first victory of his college career. Cohen was 16th out of 117 at the George Washington Invitational in late March and tied for fourth at the Monmouth Invitational the following week.

In the fall, Cohen had four Top 10 finishes in six tournaments, including a fourth-place showing at the ECAC Championship. He led the team with a 75.25 scoring average.

The NCAA championships are held at various regional sites on May 14-16. Bucknell will learn its destination next Monday.

If you are looking for a quiet place to play golf, consider yourself invited to play a complimentary round at The Sedgewood Club.

Yes, it’s a nine-hole course. No, it’s not that kind of a nine-hole course.

Don’t come expecting to find 265-yard par 4s. Actually, there is one, the sixth hole, which allegedly showed up on a list of the 100 most difficult holes in America put together by Golf Digest nearly 50 years ago. I played it on Friday, hit a 3-wood to within 40 yards of the green and still bogeyed.

“I don’t think it’s gotten any easier over the years,” said head pro Jonathan Margolies, who hit a hybrid onto the green and three-putted for par.

The hole plays down a hill that was once used for skiing back in the 1920s, when people like Babe Ruth used the club to get away from big city life. Willis Reed used to spend time at Sedgewood as well.

And the rest of the course is challenging.

Sedgewood is situated on a hilltop in Kent Lakes, right off Route 301, where you can see Indian Point in one direction and Danbury in the other. You need to control distance carefully to find the even lies. And the greens are in very nice shape because they don’t get a lot of traffic.

A tip, stay below the hole. I can’t stress that enough. Stay below the hole.

There are distinct sets of tees on several of the holes that change angles, so an 18-hole round isn’t overly redundant. And here’s the best part of membership at Sedgewood, you can roll up just about any time of day, hop in a cart and go.

Initiation fees have been waived, and membership programs start at $1,500.

Margolies also has a very competitive pro shop. He’s got a way of tracking down really good deals on equipment. So if you want to visit, call Margolies at 845-225-5227, and set up a visit. There is a $20 charge if you want to use a cart, which is a good idea.

On the way back down the hill, you have to check out China Lake and the boathouse. Not many clubs in the area have that kind of a facility.

If your heart rate jumps every time you reach into the bag for a wedge or putter, the Dave Pelz Scoring Game School might be the answer.

The one-day putting and wedge clinics are returning to Centennial Golf Club in Carmel, a facility that was built with this kind of educational forum in mind. The daily sessions run from May 6-23 and June 10-27.

Instructors from the school will spend three hours on putting and three hours on wedges. Students will work on proper set-up positions and techniques to make repeatable swings for wedges, chips and bunker shots. They will also get help with reading greens, putter path and face angle, set-up and sweet-spot impact.

Class size is limited to 12, and the fee is $425.

For information or to enroll, call 800-735-9868 or visit www.pelzgolf.com.

We’re starting to see a number of special deals from local daily-fee courses looking to capture the club golfers who might have been priced out of membership.

Hudson Hills is among the facilities making a pitch.

Westchester County’s high-end course is offering annual passes, which include unlimited greens fees and the opportunity to schedule a tee time 14 days in advance. The seasonal program also includes access to membership events like tournaments and social mixers, and pro shop discounts.

The unlimited pass is $3,350 for county residents and $3,950 for non-residents. The weekday pass is $2,250 for county residents and $2,950 for non-residents. The twilight pass allows access after 1 p.m. and is $1,950 for county residents and $2,350 for non-residents. The senior pass for those 60-and-up allows play on weekdays and is $1,950 for county residents and $2,350 for non-residents.

Now, you need to play a lot of golf to cash in on these deals. A county pass holder pays $55 a round on weekdays and $85 on weekends.You would have to play 30 weekday rounds and 20 weekend rounds to break even.

I saw the course a couple of weeks ago. There are some rough spots here and there, but overall, Billy Casper Golf does take good care of the facility and the improvements have been well received.

For information about the annual passes, visit the Hudson Hills website or call 914-8643000.

“We’re confident area golfers will find our annual pass program to be of unbeatable value,” said Cale Avila, General Manager of Hudson Hills. “We’re proud of the quality turf, overall course conditions and for creating excellent golf experiences from parking lot to the 18th green.”

The first two weeks of the high school golf season are always a little deceiving. It’s never really a measure of who the best players and teams are. It’s more an indication of who can play best with wet socks, shivering knees and through biting winds.

We usually see scores begin to drop around this time. Despite some soggy conditions yesterday, you could see it beginning to happen.

Mark Mumford of Rye had one of the top rounds of the day, shooting a 1-under-par 35 at Winged Foot Golf Club’s West Course as the Garnets beat Iona Prep, 7-2. Mumford had been struggling, shooting rounds of 48 and 45 in two matches at Rye, a course he’s mastered in his five seasons. Don’t be shocked if Mumford starts living in the mid- to high-30s from here on out. He’s got his confidence back in his putter, which goes nicely when you can drive the ball 315 yards or longer (his 3-wood goes a measly 275).

Max Christiana of Fox Lane carded a 4-under 32 at Bedford Golf & Tennis, which I believe is the lowest round of the season. That’s a staggering 17 strokes better than what he shot on Monday at Mahopac Golf Club.

Brewster posted the lowest aggregate of the season — 189 — in a tri-match with Somers and Horace Greeley at Somers Pointe East (par 36). Reigning Journal News player of the year Mike Miller was 2-under for the Bears, and Andrew Kallmeyer was 1-over. Five Brewster players shot 41 or better.

Scarsdale wasn’t far behind, carding a 192 at Fenway (par 35) against New Rochelle. Dave Spiro (36), Peter Friedman 37, Greg Bel 39, Frank Ingrisell 39 all broke 40 for Scarsdale. State tournament qualifier Dylan Newman had a 38 for New Rochelle.

Perhaps the most surprising score of the day was by John Jay, which carded a 200 and knocked off Mahopac at Waccabuc (par 36). Scott Turecamo of John Jay shot 39 and was two strokes behind Mahopac’s Joe Raitano. No John Jay golfer shot worse than 42 as the Indians improved to 2-0.

The match of the day was North Rockland 219-220 win over rival Clarkstown North at Dellwood in a showdown of Rockland County’s top two teams. Amazingly, North had the two lowest scores with Derrick Kim and Bobby Dugan each shooting 41.

White Plains eighth-grader John Morrissey shot a 2-over 37 against Mamaroneck at Bonnie Briar.

Nope, this isn’t a trick ball. This is an actual Titleist DT Solo, a ball Iona Prep golfer Joe Patalano used earlier this week.

Today, Patalano put it on his tee on the first hole of Iona’s match with Rye at Winged Foot West and absolutely smoked it down with a powerful swing. So powerful that the ball split in half on impact, twirling about 50 yards before falling in the rough before the fairway.

Had I not witnessed it, I would have assumed it got caught in a mower. I actually walked up with Patalano and the rest of the group to survey the damage, and found the ball split in the middle and hanging on by a tiny piece of gutta-percha, which is what the exterior of golf balls are apparently made of.

The funniest part was Patalano’s reaction after he hit the ball. As a confused silence fell over the group of 10-12 watching, he immediately turned around with a stunned look.

“Um,” he said. “I think my ball just broke.”

Rye coach Pat Romano and Iona coach Kevin O’Meara shrugged at each other before O’Meara told him to just hit another ball. Patalano got a new ball and smacked his drive down the middle of the fairway.

Rye ended up winning the match, 7-2, in its strongest effort of the young season. Mark Mumford shot a stellar 1-under-par 35 to earn medalist and guide the Garnets to a 201-209 victory in the aggregate. Ted Bugniazet carded a 37; John Davies a 40; and Justin Uzcantequi a 45 as Rye won four of the six head-to-head matches. Andrew Gladstone helped the aggregate with a 44 in a four-stroke loss to Iona sophomore Rich Korzelius.

Mumford had three birdies in the round, including a 60-foot putt on No. 8 and a nice 12-footer on No. 9. Shooting a 35 on Winged Foot is pretty impressive and should get Mumford back on track after a slow start to the season.

It was a pretty solid day all around considering 10 of the 12 golfers shot 45 or better. Shane Malloy shot a 40, Ryan Hudson a 41, Patalano a 43 and John Martinelli a 45 for Iona Prep, which is 3-2.

UPDATED, WED., 5:07 p.m.: Out of curiousity today, I called over to the Metropolitan Golf Association to get a rules interpretation from yesterday’s Iona Prep-Rye golf match. As you can see in the photo to the right, Iona’s Joe Patalano had a ball split in half on his tee shot on the first hole.

The coaches in the match allowed Patalano to hit another tee shot without penalty. According to Brian Farrelly, the assistant tournament director at the MGA, that was the correct ruling.

If you consult your 2008 Rules of Golf manuel by the USGA, see Rule 5-3. Ball Unfit for Play:

If it is determined that the ball has become unfit for play dur-
ing play of the hole being played, the player may substitute
another ball, placing it on the spot where the original ball
lay. Otherwise, the original ball must be replaced. If a player
substitutes a ball when not permitted and makes a stroke at the
wrongly substituted ball, he incurs the general penalty for a
breach of Rule 5-3, but there is no additional penalty under
this Rule or Rule 15-2.

Zagat has published the sixth edition of “America’s Top Golf Courses” for those who are influenced by popular opinion. Guess which course rated the best? It’s going to spend a lot of time in the spotlight this summer.

Bethpage Black.

This year’s survey included more than 6,000 golfers that averaged 8.8 rounds per month. It covers 1,149 of the top public, semi-private and resort courses.

Here are the top 10 in overall rating:

1. Bethpage Black – Farmingdale, N.Y.

2. Arcadia Bluffs – Traverse City, Mich.

3.. Bandon Dunes (Pacific Dunes) – Coos Bay, Ore.

4. TPC Sawgrass (Players) – Jacksonville, Fla.

5. Whistling Straits (Straits) – Kohler, Wis.

6. Kiawah Island (Ocean) – Charleston, S.C.

7. Bandon Dunes (Bandon Dunes) – Coose Bay, Ore.

8. Syglass Hill – Monterey Peninsula, Calif.

9. Pebble Beach – Monterey Peninsula, Calif.

10. Paa-Ko Ridge -Albuquerque, N.M.

Locally, the highest-rated courses in the Lower Hudson Valley are Mansion Ridge, Centennial and The Links at Unionvale, which all seem to have a loyal following.

It’s been a month since they all camped out in cars for the better part of a week to secure time slots for the season, and now the gentlemen of the Sprain Valley Golf Club are enjoying the payoff.

They held an opening day tournament last Sunday at Sprain Lake.

Marty King took first place, but they didn’t pass along his score. Mike Glover came in second. Ash Raiji placed third.

If anybody out there wants to report scores from their club as the golf season goes along, by all means send me an e-mail. Include a contact number and plenty of details.

It’s going to be one heck of a wake.

There simply wasn’t enough room in this morning’s paper for all of the people I reached out to yesterday after learning that Gene Borek passed away. I figured this would be a good place to share the stories from some of the people who knew the longtime Metropolis head professional over the years.

“Gene really did have a great sense of humor, but you had to know him really well to bring it out. I was constantly needling him, and was probably the only person in the world that could get away with it. I was always trying to get his goat. … He worked hard on his game, and loved competing. … He was a giant among me. … He was a great Christian.”
—Carl Lohren, a lifelong friend and former pro at North Shore Country Club who roomed with Borek when they played on various winter tours around the world.

“I’ve known Gene since I was 11 years old. Even after he retired he was always there. You’d see him out on the course, or collecting balls from the pond like he always did when he was working.”
—Andrew Katcher, Metropolis member

“I met Gene when I played a tournament at Metropolis and was scared to death of him. Later they had a job opening, so I met with him and he was like a teddy bear. There was a coat of armor, but Gene had a soft side. He made me feel a part of his family. He was like an uncle. I always felt he was looking after me. … He had a lot of tricks to get people to change their swings without getting too technical. He really helped people build a golf game.”
—Cheryl Anderson, a former Metropolis assistant under Borek who is teaching at the Mike Bender Golf Academy in Flordia.

“I knew Gene for more than 30 years. I admire the example he set for all of us, the high standards. First, he was a main of great faith. I thought that was important. Second, he was a complete professional who really made sure he stayed on top of his teaching and playing, and not just the business.”
—John Kennedy, the director of golf at Westchester Country Club

Arnold Palmer is expected to attend the Metropolitan Golf Writers Association’s 58th National Awards Dinner on June 16 at the Hyatt Regency Greenwich.

The icon plans to be on hand to recognize his longtime assistant Donald ‘Doc’ Giffen, who is to receive the 2009 Winnie Palmer Award, which honors an individual who has consistently given time and energy to those less fortunate.

Palmer last attended the event in 2001 when he received the association’s Golden Anniversary Award with Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player. He also received the the Gold Tee Award, the MGWA’s highest honor, in 1965.

Anyone wishing to attend should contact Kate Keller at 914-347-4653 or kkeller@mgagolf.org for advance tickets. Proceeds from the dinner are distributed among three Metropolitan area caddie scholarship programs and the MGA Foundation.

More than $950,000 has been raised over the years for charitable endeavors.

(Photo: Chris O’Meara/AP)