Van Niekirk Captures 2025 RDGA Mid Am Title on Home Course at Caledonia
- CLICK HERE for results from the 2025 RDGA Mid Amateur Championship
- CLICK HERE for a photo gallery of the Championship
By DAVE EATON
CALEDONIA, NY – If playing in this year’s RDGA Mid Amateur Championship seemed like a bit like a homecoming celebration for Matt van Niekirk, it was due to the fact that he plays the same course several mornings each week before going to work.
In his first full season as a new member at Caledonia Country Club, the 30-year-old van Niekirk has come to know the details of Caledonia’s par-72 layout well – including the greens – all of which served him well as he outpaced the rest of the field in capturing his first major RDGA championship title by a two-shot margin over Brook-Lea’s Matthew Carey.
One of the more recent additions to the annual lineup of Rochester District Golf Association championships, the RDGA Mid Amateur Championship is open to all amateur male golfers age 25 and over who are members in good standing at RDGA clubs. All contestants must have a RDGA/USGA® Handicap Index® supplied by the RDGA.
Patterned after the USGA’s Mid Amateur, the first RDGA Mid Amateur Championship was held in 2007 to provide a formal competition for local post collegiate-age amateurs, for whom the game is an avocation, rather than a stepping stone to a professional career. The format of the event is a two-day, 36-hole, stroke play competition, conducted as two 18-hole rounds held on consecutive days.
As a junior golfer, van Niekirk competed against some of the top players in the District at the time – including Trevor Sluman, who later went on to win the District Championship three times – but he never quite closed the deal on winning an RDGA championship title. Fast forward to 2023, van Niekirk competed in his first District Mid Am, finishing in 22nd place – then came back last year and finished in a tie for fifth place, gaining confidence along the way.
Gaining Confidence
Following that trend, van Niekirk set out to convert his confidence into victory by claiming this year’s RDGA Mid Amateur – and if familiarity with his home course added fuel to the fire, it was all the better.
While most of the field in this year’s RDGA Mid Amateur struggled to better par during the first round, van Niekirk and Carey did better than the rest, each finishing at even-par 72 to set up a head-to-head battle for the title in Round 2 of the 36-hole Championship. Regular Mid Am contenders Cody Clement of Lake Shore and Jayson Clarke of Wayne Hills put their hats in the ring as well, finishing the first day with rounds of 74 and 73, respectively.
In his bid to overtake van Niekirk for his first RDGA title, Carey at first struggled on the front side during Tuesday’s second round, posting a bogey on the par-4 3rd hole – and a double bogey on the par-4 7th, while van Niekirk went out in even-par 35. Meanwhile the rest of the field gradually slipped away as par was hard to come by as the day got warmer and the greens got faster.
On the back nine, Carey turned up the heat, birdieing all three par-5s – including a spectacular up-and-down on the final hole – but with another two bogeys on the back, it was not enough. Despite a double bogey of his own on the par-4 14th hole, van Niekirk also added three birdies to maintain a two-shot advantage at the close of the round to finish with his second even-par 72 and claim his long-awaited victory.
The Thrill of First Victory
“It was a back-and-forth day out there – Matt played great,” said van Niekirk of the final round. “I just joined here this year, so it’s been really nice to play a tournament at my new home course. It’s very exciting to win – that doesn’t happen a lot in golf – or to me – so, I’m thrilled.”
Aside from getting his first RDGA Championship title, van Niekirk received two more thrills with his victory in the 2025 RDGA Mid Amateur: he becomes the first winner of the event to get his name engraved on the new Mid Am Championship trophy – AND, he also gets an exemption into next year’s RDGA District Championship John H. Ryan Jr. Memorial at Stafford Country Club.
“That is fantastic,” he added, referring to the Ryan exemption. “At least I don’t have to stress about that.”
This article was written by RDGA Communications Director Dave Eaton.
Photos are credited to RDGA Intern Ella Savoca and Dave Eaton.
CLICK HERE for the final results of the 2025 RDGA Mid Amateur Championship
The RDGA would like to thank Caledonia Country Club PGA Head Professional Mike Roeder, Caledonia Head Superintendent Dan Hartford, General Manager Toby Weitzel, as well as the hospitality of the Caledonia membership and staff – all of whom helped make the 2025 RDGA Mid Amateur Championship a success.
The Rochester District Golf Association is led by Executive Director Tim Vangellow and is a proud Allied Golf Association of the USGA, serving Rochester area golfers since 1929.
