SCARBOROUGH, N.Y. (August 25,
2011)– The final day of the 96th Met
Open Championship sponsored by MetLife was
a story of conquering adversity. Mother Nature
threw a curveball, bringing lightning and
occasionally heavy rains that resulted in a
nearly three-hour suspension of play. But the
best story of all belongs to newly crowned
champion Tyler Hall, whose tale includes
overcoming adversity in the form of injuries,
surgeries, and a shadow of doubt that he
would even compete this week.
Hall shot a final-round 67 to finish at 4-
under-par 206 and take home the $27,500
first-place check from the $150,000 purse, a
crowning achievement in the Met Area’s
most important championship. At the end of
the 54-hole championship at the spectacular
Sleepy Hollow Country Club in Scarborough,
N.Y., the 30-year-old Hall, who won the 1997
MGA/MetLife Boys Championship, has a
renewed interest in continuing his career as a
professional.
“I came in here with a pretty heavy
heart, being in my seventh year as a
professional,” Hall said. “Entering
this week, I was thinking this was going to be
my last event as a pro. To be honest, the day
before [the championship] I was ready to
withdraw. I didn’t think my game was
ready and my attitude wasn’t
there.”
Hall’s struggles stem partly from his
recovery from a torn labrum that he had
surgery on this past November.
“It’s been a tough road and
I’m getting married in April, so
I’ve been thinking about what’s
next. I have been telling everyone around me
that I needed to win this tournament, and to
be standing here as the champion is
incredible.”
Hall’s final round got off to a quick
start as he birdied the first hole and, after
rattling off four consecutive pars, eagled the
par-five sixth hole. He then struck a tee shot
on the par-three seventh that he thought was
“dead,” but the ball got a
favorable bounce and came to rest four and a
half feet from the hole. With that makeable
birdie putt ahead of him, the horn blew at
10:55 a.m., signaling the suspension of play.
“Sitting down during the delay, all I
could think about was that upcoming
putt.” As play resumed at 1:45 p.m.,
Hall picked up right where he left off by sinking
the birdie. A bogey on eight brought him to the
par-four ninth, where he saved himself from
dropping out of contention. An errant tee shot
into the woods forced him to punch out, only
advancing the ball ten yards into thick rough.
At a 45-degree angle from the green, Hall hit
what could be considered his best shot of the
championship—up to that
point—with the ball coming to rest ten
feet from the hole. He sank the putt to save
par.
Bobby Gage Coming down the
stretch, Hall started to falter as the pressure
grew. He had a three-putt bogey on the
picturesque par-three 16th hole, which led to
a snap-hooked tee shot on 17, where
“my ball found the second fairway,
which I thought would have been
impossible,” Hall laughed. Standing on
the 18th tee, Hall hit a good drive down the
right side of the fairway. After missing the
green to the right, Hall hit a tremendous flop
shot from the side of the hill and over a
bunker, thinking to himself, “this is a
shot I have hit a million times.” His ball
came to rest 15 feet from the hole, and with a
large gallery of friends, family and players
watching, Hall sank the par putt to safely hold
the clubhouse lead and eventual winning score
of 4-under.
Hall wasn’t the only player moving
up the leaderboard on a day that saw plenty
of drama over the legendary fairways of Sleepy
Hollow. A number of contenders got off to hot
starts, including Bobby Gage of
Forsgate, who finished alone in second place
at three-under-par 207. Gage propelled himself
from six strokes back at the start of the day
to within shouting distance of the lead by
going 5-under through the first six holes,
including an eagle on the par-five sixth.
“All in all, I had a good
week,” said Gage. “I was fighting
my putter the first two days, and then today I
just was able to roll them in. This course is a
gem, and you have to give these greens so
much respect.” The finish is the career
best for Gage, 46, who played for several
years on the PGA and Nationwide tours.
Tying for third at two-under 208 were
2005 Met Open champion John
Stoltz of Concord, who shot a 5-under
65 today; 2010 Met Open runner-up Dan
Balin of Burning Tree, who had a final-
round 68; and Joe Horowitz of
Lido, who followed up his second-round 63
with a 71 today.
Overnight leader Morgan
Hoffmann of Arcola didn’t have
the day he envisioned. Following a nice birdie
at the first hole, he then made two
consecutive bogeys to fall out of the lead for
the first time since the beginning of the
second round. The 22-year-old, who just
turned professional in June and has played
mainly on the PGA and Nationwide Tours this
summer, struggled to a three-over 73 and
finished in a tie for sixth at one-under 209.
Also finishing at 209 were Del
Ponchock of Hudson
National, David Schuster of
Haverstraw, and 1987 Met Open
champion Jim McGovern of White
Beeches, who had an impressive round of 67
that included six birdies.
“I gave myself a lot of chances
today, and it was a really good week,”
said McGovern, who won the 1993 Shell
Houston Open on the PGA Tour and also won
three times on the former Ben Hogan
(Nationwide) Tour. “I think this golf
course is phenomenal. You better be a good
player if you’re a member here.”
Two players tied for 10th, both of who
shot followed final-round 67s: 2006 Carter Cup
champion Chris DeForest of
Rondout, and Metropolis Country Club assistant
professional Keith Dicciani.
Other notable finshers include Rob
Labritz of GlenArbor, who tied for 12th at
211, along with Frank Esposito of
Brooklake. Trying to become the fifth player to
win the Met Open and New Jersey Open in the
same season, 2008 Ike champion Kevin
Foley of Neshanic Valley came undone
with a second-round 79, but finished strong
today to tie for 16th with a 4-under 66.
Former Met Open champion Mike
Gilmore of Winged Foot finished tied for
18th at 214.
Taking low amateur honors was reigning
MGA Senior Open and MGA Senior Amateur
champion John Ervasti of the home
club, Sleepy Hollow, with a three-round total
of 217.
In addition to the outstanding field and
high caliber of play, the unquestioned star of
the 96th Met Open was the golf course.
Sleepy Hollow showed that it is both an
enjoyable members’ course and a true
test of championship golf, with views and
green complexes that are equally beguiling.
Since this was the first time the club has
hosted the Met Open, many players had not
seen the course before this week, and all came
away impressed. Over the course of the
championship, the scoring average was 74.4
with 12 eagles and 724 birdies.
The top 25 finishers plus ties in this
year’s Met Open earn an exemption into
the 97th Met Open Championship, to be played
at Plainfield Country Club in Edison, N.J.
View results for MET Open
ABOUT THE MET Open
Open to:
1. Past MGA Open Champions.
2. Male PGA Members in good standing in
the
Metropolitan or New Jersey sections. (A-3
members must have their principle place of
residence in the MGA district.)
3. Male professionals, employed at a golf
facility in the MGA District, who are
enrolled in
the PGA’s GPTP.
4. Male head & assistant professionals
at
MGA Member Clubs.
5. Male professionals who are bonafide
members with full golfing privileges at MGA
Member Clubs, have a residence in the
MGA
District and a current USGA Handicap
Index of
4.0 or less at that member club.
6. Amateur members & applicants for
Amateur
re-instatement at MGA Member Clubs with
a
current USGA Handicap Index at that club
of
4.0 or less.
7. Male amateur golfers, 21 & under, in
the
immediate family of the Head Professional,
Manager, & Superintendent at MGA
Member
Clubs with a current USGA Handicap Index
of
4.0 or less.
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