Golf

Head Coach:  John Graham (seventh year)

johnrgraham@hotmail.com

Coach Graham begins his seventh year as head coach of the MCC Tribunes.  His team reached the pinnacle of the NJCAA world in 2006, winning the team national championship while also boasting the individual medalist at the national tournament.

Coach Graham is a class “A” member of the PGA and the Director of Instruction at Webster Golf Club.  His students have won numerous national junior events, collegiate events and a National Player of the Year awarded from the PGA for junior competition. 

Coach Graham was voted Coach of the Year for Region III in 2006, 2007 and 2008.  He also handles all the player statistical data for the regular season and served as the Region III Coaches Association President from 2006-2008.

The 2008 season featured six regular season tournament wins and the WNY Athletic Conference Championship.  In Region III-Division III golf, your play at the Regional Championship determines whether or not you proceed to the National Championship.  MCC went into the Regional Tournament with the lowest team scoring average in the region but placed fourth in the tournament.  Monroe missed the qualifying for the National Championship by two shots and that hurt the sophomores.  However, we sent one player to Nationals in Kevin Kaye.  Kevin fired rounds of 79-73-73-73 to place ninth and received second team All American honors. 

The 2007 season was an example of how important timing is.  Throughout the regular season, the MCC Golf team won all but one of its tournaments.  In Region III-Division III golf, your play at the Regional Championship determines whether or not you proceed to the National Championship.  At the Regional Championship, we fell to third after a first day lead and our season was over.  However, we did have Brett Semple and Dave Mon advance individually to the National Championship.  Dave finished in the middle of the field, but learned a lot about how the tournament course is set up and how to play it.  Brett Semple finished eighth individually and became Coach Graham’s second two-time All American.  The 2007 season was a learning experience.  Better time-management and higher expectations will be the theme for the upcoming year. 

The 2006 season will go down as one of the best seasons ever put together by an NJCAA Division III golf team.  That team broke just about every record possible for Region III and at the National Championship Tournament.  The past four years have shown consistent improvement culminating in Monroe Community College’s first team National Championship in golf and another Individual National Champion in Mike Colosi. 

The 2006 season also included a third straight Region III title and nine other regular season tournament wins.  Graham graduated three national All-Americans in Mike Colosi, Bobby McCartney and Justin Pfalzer bringing the total to six All-Americans in four years.

The 2005 season was a very successful season.  Included in their wins were 10 regular season victories, the WNY Athletic Conference championship and the Region III championship.  The year concluded with a very successful runner-up finish at the 2005 NJCAA National Championship held at Chautauqua GC in Jamestown, NY.  Graham graduated two national All-Americans in Scott Harris Jr. and Nick Grasso.

The 2004 season was also a successful season with six regular season wins, a WNY Athletic Conference Championship and a Region III Championship.  That year concluded with a fourth-place finish at the 2004 NJCAA National Championship.

The 2003 season included one regular season tournament win and the WNY Athletic Conference Championship.  The Tribunes finished fifth at the Region III Championship.