Greenwich native David Pastore shot a 3-under-par 67 in first round of Met Open; Paul Pastore and Jackson Fretty from Greenwich post a 2-under 68

By David Fierro on August 25, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

Photo by David Fierro: Paul Pastore, left, shot a 2-under-par 68 in the opening round of the 106th Met Open Championship at Hudson National Golf Club in Croton On Hudson, N.Y. Pastore is tied for seventh place. David Pastore, Paul’s older brother, is tied for fourth place.

The first round of the 106th Met Open Championship saw 139 players test their skills at Hudson National Golf Club’s 7,151-yard layout and three golfers with Greenwich ties are near the top of the leaderboard.

David Pastore, a Greenwich native, is in a three-way tie for fourth place following the opening round with a score of 3-under-par 67 at Hudson National Golf Club in Croton On Hudson, N.Y. Paul Pastore, David’s younger brother and Jackson Fretty, a 2019 Greenwich High School graduate, are tied for seventh place at 2-under-par 68.

The Pastore brothers, also Greenwich High graduates, represent Greenwich’s Fairview Country Club, while Fretty, is playing out of Greenwich Country Club. Matt Dobyns, the 2019 MGA Met Open champion, is atop the leaderboard after the first day of action. Representing Meadow Brook Club, Dobyn shot a 6-under 64 on Tuesday.

Andrew Svoboda (Engineers Country Club) carded a 5-under-par 65 and is in second place at one shot off the pace. Svoboda won the Met Open tournament in 2018 at Wykagyl Country Club in New Rochelle, N.Y., in 2018. Stamford native Peter Ballo, who claimed the title at the Connecticut Open at Country Club of Darien last month, is just two shots back, after registering a 4-under 66 in Tuesday’s opening round. Jay Card (Gardener’s Bay Country Club) and Tom Lovelady (Silo Ridge Field Club) are tied with David Pastore for fourth (3-under 67).

A 2010 Greenwich graduate, who played golf at the University of Virginia, David Pastore teed off on Hudson National’s 10th hole Tuesday. He holed birdie putts on the par-4 15th hole and the par-3 No. 16. Pastore, the 2014 MGA Player of the Year, Nos. 2 (par-3), 6 (par-5), 7, (par-4) and 9 (par-5). Recently, Pastore competed in the PGA Tour’s Barbasol Championship at Keene Trace Golf Club in Kentucky.

Consistent throughout, Paul Pastore, who graduated from Greenwich in 2014, was pleased with how he started the Met Open Championship, which features both professional and amateur players from the tri-state area.

“I played pretty solid,” said Paul Pastore, a golf professional at Fairview Country Club. “I hit it straight off the tee, I hit a lot of greens and just had one mistake on 18, where I hit a bad drive and made six, but overall I played good.”

He also parred 13 holes on his way to shooting an impressive 68.

“This is a tough golf course, so this is a good start for sure,” Paul Pastore said. “My driver and putting were working. Tomorrow (Wednesday), I’m going to try and do the same thing I did today – hit my drives straight, make my putts and control my emotions.”

Paul Pastore is four shots behind leader Matt Dobyns after the first round of the 106th Met Open Championship.

A 2019 Greenwich graduate, Fretty, a member of the Princeton University golf team, is also among the seven players tied for seventh at 2-under 68. Fretty tallied six birdies and parred seven holes en route to his solid round. Peter Kampmann (Manhattan Woods Golf Club), who also hails from Greenwich, shot an even-par 70, while Shaun Powers (Fairview Country Club) carded a 4-over 74 in the opening round of the three-day tournament. The Head Professional at Fairview, Powers is proud to see four players from the club competing in the storied Met Open Championship.

“It’s something that I take a lot of pride in,” Powers said. “The members support us a lot, so it’s an honor to get to play and represent Fairview Country Club.”

Powers is aiming to shoot lower on Wednesday.

“I hung in there,” he said. “I didn’t have my best stuff today, but I hung in there. I made a couple of bad bogeys, but I also made a couple of pars. It wasn’t the start I hoped for, but I didn’t shoot myself out of it. I’ve been playing better than I’ve been scoring. I play a lot with the Pastore brothers and they’re making me better every day, so it’s a lot of fun and I’m looking forward to the second round.”

Hudson National Golf Club is the site of the 106th MGA Met Open Championship.

Casey Pyne (The Stanwich Club, 5-over 75), Rick LeBeau (Round Hill Club, 5-over 75), Connor Belcastro (Sleep Hollow Country Club, Brunswick School graduate, 8-over 78), Michael Dominci (Stanwich Club, 9-over 79), Ryan Kalista (Tamarack Country Club, 79) and James Giampaolo (Fairview, 83) were also among the players with Greenwich ties that played are playing at the Met Open.

The top-25 players from this year’s Met Open Championship are exempt into the 107th Met Open next year at Bethpage Black. The winner of the tournament will receive $27,500, with the runner-up being awarded $15,000. The low amateur will receive a special trophy. The tournament continues Wednesday and concludes Thursday at Hudson National Golf Club.