NEW PALTZ, N.Y. — When competitors approached the scoring table of Friday’s opening round of the 73rd Ulster County Men’s Amateur Golf Championship (The Herdegen), they were greeted by a framed photo of the late Rev.
Henry E. Herdegen sitting on the table. Tournament chairman Jim Baker and other Herdegen officials, who were seated at the table at the Woodstock Golf Club, said most of the field had a quizzical look on their faces when they saw the photo of the Rev.
Herdegen. “Many of the competitors don’t know who Rev. Herdegen is,” Baker said Saturday during the Herdegen’s second round at Apple Greens Golf Course in Highland.
Several members of the scoring committee were happy to explain who Rev. Herdegen was when competitors asked. The late Daily Freeman Sports Editor Charles J.
Tiano originated the Ulster County Men’s Amateur Golf Championship in 1951 at the Twaalfskill Club, according to the Herdegen’s 50th anniversary journal. The tournament was created as a memorial to Rev. Herdegen, a priest at St.
Peter’s Roman Catholic parish in downtown Kingston. An accomplished golfer and highly acclaimed orator, Rev. Herdegen advanced to the finals of the men’s club championship at the Twaalfskill Club where he lost to John J.
Van Gonsic on the first extra hole of the 18-hole tournament. When one player was told Rev. Herdegen was a priest at a Kingston parish following Friday’s opening round at Woodstock Golf Club, he quipped, “I could have used his help t.
