Summer Sports

Pastore brothers excel at Met Open

Photo by David Fierro: David Pastore, a Greenwich native, placed third in the 106th Met Open Championship.

The 106th Met Open Championship included more than 130 players and two brothers hailing from Greenwich finished among the top-six.

Those brothers, of course, were David and Paul Pastore, who have made a habit of flourishing at Metropolitan Golf Association events.

David Pastore posted an impressive third-place finish in the three-round MGA Met Open Championship, shooting a 7-under-par 203 at Hudson National Golf Club in Croton On Hudson, N.Y. Paul Pastore finished in a sixth-place tie at 1-under-par 209.

Andrew Svoboda, representing Engineers Country Club, became a three-time Met Open champion, winning the tournament with a score of 10-under 200 and earning the winner’s purse of $27,500. His score matched the lowest three-round total in Met Open history, tying Matt Dobyns’ championship performance at Piping Rock in 2019.

Tom Lovelady of Silo Ridge Field Club was the Met Open runner-up, carding an 8-under 202. Jack Wall (Manasquan River Golf Club) was fourth (4-under 206), while Dobyns placed fifth (3-under 207). David Pastore entered Thursday’s third and final round two strokes behind Svoboda.

A 2010 Greenwich High School graduate, David Pastore shot an even-par 70 on Thursday, after recording rounds of 67 and 66 on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.

“It was a good finish, a solid week,” said David Pastore, who has won five MGA events (Met Amateur, two Met Junior titles, Ike Championship, Carter Cup). “Just today, I never really got anything going. I didn’t make any big putts that I needed to, or any saves. Andy played well and I was always two or three back, so it was difficult.”

Photo courtesy of Metropolitan Golf Association: David Pastore turned in a strong performance at the Met Open.

Pastore’s final round featured a birdie on the par-5 sixth hole and birdies on No. 9 (par-4) and No. 17 (par-4).

“It’s a difficult golf course, so to shoot 7-under for three days was good,” said David Pastore, who earned $10,000 for this third-place Met Open finish. “I definitely felt I could have won had I played a little better, so I’m pretty happy with how I played. It takes a lot to win sometimes.”

Hudson National’s 7,151-yard layout provided a stiff challenge, especially in 90-plus degree temperatures.

“It is very long and can be intimidating,” said David Pastore, who has played in five PGA Tour events during his career. “I feel like you can make a double on any hole. Even the birdie holes you can find a way to mess up pretty quickly. You can’t take any shots off, there’s no relaxing holes.”

Up next for David Pastore are two Forme Tour events in the upcoming weeks, one of which begins Wednesday at Rolling Green Golf Club in Philadelphia.

“Hopefully if I do well in those it will give me some type of Q-School exemption for this year,” said David Pastore, who represented Ridgefield’s Golf Performance Center in the Met Open. “These tournaments are important. I had a long lay off, but once June hit I had eight weeks of tournaments in a row. I love playing tournaments and competing and it’s nice to play again.”

Paul Pastore, who graduated from Greenwich High in 2014, shot a 68 in the opening round a 73 in the second round and 68 on Thursday to finish the tournament at 1-under-par 209.

“I feel good considering today I started off with three bogeys in a row,” said Paul Pastore, who represented Greenwich’s Fairview Country Club. “It could have went the other way, but I reminded myself to play hard for 18 holes and you never know what could happen, so I played well after that.”

During Thursday’s round, Paul Pastore registered six birdies.

Photo by David Fierro: Paul Pastore of Fairview Country Club finished sixth at the 106th Met Open.

His birdies came on the par4 third hole, par-5 sixth hole, No. 9 (par-5), No. 11 (par-3), No. 14 (par-5) and No. 17 (par-4).

“I made a nice birdie on the fourth hole and that got my round going,” Paul Pastore said. “It’s a tough course but I knew I could play good and I kept plugging away. In a competitive tournament this is one of the hardest golf courses. It’s very long and you have to drive it straight and putt – you have to do everything good.”

Next month, Paul Pastore will compete in Q-School in Alabama.

“I feel like my game is in a good spot, I’m putting the best I ever have,” he said. “I just have to control my emotions and I think I’ll do fine.”

Stamford native Peter Ballo of Silvermine Golf Club tied with Pastore at 1-under 209. Peter Kampmann, a Greenwich native who plays out of Manhattan Woods Golf Club, shot a 213 for the tournament. Shaun Powers of Fairview Country Club carded a 220 in the event, while Jackson Fretty of Greenwich Country Club finished with a 222 for the tournament.

Categories: Summer Sports

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