LOCUST
VALLEY, N.Y. (August 4, 2011)
– The 109th Met Amateur Championship
at the Piping Rock Club in Locust Valley, N.Y.,
is off to an exciting start. With near-ideal
conditions on the classic C.B. Macdonald
layout, the 63 competitors who began
today’s 36 holes of stroke play
qualifying showcased their talents, with 14
players shooting par or better in the first
round.
Leading the way
after the morning round is 2010 Carter Cup
Champion David Pastore
of Griff Harris, who jumped to the top
of the leaderboard with a round of five-under-
par 66, highlighted by five birdies on his back-
nine 31.
Allan Small“I figured that if I
could get my driver under control I’d
have a lot of chances at birdies,” said
Pastore. “I actually started off well [2-
under through 7] and then 4-putted on the 8th
hole. I was able to come back and make five
birdies on the back and really felt under control
with my driver.”
Pastore has held
the early lead in several championships
recently, including his first-round 66 at the
Connecticut Open in July, and hopes to
continue his solid play and make an impact in
match play.
Coming in just
behind Pastore with a first-round of three-
under-par 68 is fellow Carter Cup champion
(2007) Max Buckleyof
Westchester Country Club. Buckley, who won
the 2011 Hochster Memorial Tournament and
recently took medalist honors at a qualifier for
the U.S. Amateur, used his significant
knowledge of the course and improved
confidence to fire an impressive morning round.
“I love this
course. My godfather is a member out here
and I’ve played here probably 10-15
times,” said Buckley. “I feel like
college golf [at Southern Methodist University]
has really toughened me up and made my
nerves that much better.” Those nerves
will be tested this week if Buckley continues to
play well and make match play.
Alex
Edfort of Neshanic Valley, a
semifinalist in this event last year at Quaker
Ridge, joins Buckley in a tie for second at
68. Dan Abbondandolo
of Brookville and
Michael Furci of St.
George’s also posted below-par rounds
of 69. Other notable names after the morning
18 include: Ed
Gibstein of Engineers
and Sam
Bernstein of Century at two-
under-par 70; former MGA President
Allan Small of
Fairmount, who won the New Jersey Senior
Amateur on August 3 and played in last
week’s U.S. Senior Open, who fired an
even-par 71, and 2010 MGA/MetLife Boys
champion Matthew
Lowe, who also shot a 71. Small
isn’t the only MGA official to have a
strong first round as current MGA Vice
President Jeff
Holzschuh of Stanwich shot a
76.
Stayed tuned to
the MGA website for live scoring, a live chat,
updated images, interviews, and the latest
stories as we follow the second-round action
on day one of the 109th Met Amateur
Championship.