Macdonald Leads MGA Mid-Am After Round One
FAIRFIELD, Conn. (October 3, 2023) – Daniel Macdonald of Arcola leads the 17th MGA Mid-Am Championship after firing a 5-under 65 in the first round on Tuesday at Country Club of Fairfield.
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Macdonald carded six birdies with one bogey on the day. The 42-year-old birdied the par-5 first before adding another on the par-3 fourth. After five consecutive pars, Macdonald heated up on the back and rolled in four more birdies. It started right after the turn with birdies on Nos. 10 and 11, a par 5 and par 3. On the par-3 14th, Macdonald moved to 5-under with another birdie, knocking a 7-iron to 15 feet and holing the putt. Another birdie followed on the par-4 15th after an approach from 130 yards came within seven feet of the hole. Though Macdonald carded his lone bogey on the day on 18, he still carries a one-stroke lead into Wednesday's final round.
“I drove it well, so I was able to put myself in a lot of positions to make some birdies,” said Macdonald after his round. “I was pretty solid inside 10 feet today, so getting wedges inside 10 feet allowed me to make some birdies.”
Brad Tilley of Sleepy Hollow shot 4-under 66 for the low round of the morning wave. The 2019 champion shot 4-under on the front nine—his second nine—making birdies on the par-5 first, par-3 fourth, par-4 fifth, and the par-4 seventh. The only blemish for Tilley, also a two-time runner-up in the championship, was a bogey on the par-3 17th.
Mark Costanza of Baltusrol had the second-best round in the afternoon with a 3-under 67, placing him in a tie for third with Darin Goldstein of Deepdale. Costanza started hot with a 5-under 31 on the front thanks to birdies on Nos. 5-8. The 34-year-old recorded two bogeys on the back to drop back to 3-under.
Costanza said, “This is kind of a shootout, right? This is a golf course you could make a lot birdies. Whoever can go out and go low will probably have the best chance to win this thing [tomorrow].”
Goldstein, the 2017 champion, recorded six birdies on his round, with four coming on the back nine to put him well within striking distance.
Alexander Bermingham of The Apawamis Club and Jonathan Jeter of the Nassau Players Club sit at 2-under. Jeter was the runner-up in 2019 to Tilley. Bermingham tallied four birdies while Jeter carded five.
Seven competitors tallied scores of 1-under 69 and sit tied for seventh to round out the top 10. Two-time champion, 2015 and 2016, Trevor Randolph of Arcola is part of the group at 1-under.
Forty-two players made the cut at 3-over or better. Defending champion Pat Wilson of Hamilton Farm made the cut on the number, while two-time champion Niall Handley of Rock Spring shot 2-over 72. Five of the eight past champions in the field secured their spot in the final round. Players will tee off Nos. 1 and 10 on Wednesday morning, with tee times beginning at 8 a.m. The final pairing of Macdonald and Tilley will tee off at 9:30 a.m.
Country Club of Fairfield, a Seth Raynor layout, has previously hosted the 1994 MGA Father & Son won by Peter & Greg Bisconti, the 2008 Met Open won by Mark Mielke and the 2016 Met Amateur won by Stewart Hagestad.