Newman Leads 108th Met Open After Second Round
PARAMUS, N.J. (August 22, 2023) – After two rounds of the 108th Met Open Presented by Callaway at Arcola Country Club, Dylan Newman from the Meadow Brook Club leads the tournament at 6-under after firing a 5-under 66 on Wednesday.
Related: Final Round Pairings | Scoring | Day Two Photos
Newman’s card featured three birdies on the back nine, including back-to-back birdies on 15 and 16, and no bogeys. His round is the only bogey-free round of the championship, with the 5-under tally standing as the low round of the tournament through 36 holes. Only one other player shot 4-under or better—Ryan Siegler, the defending champion of TPC Jasna Polana.
"I have been in contention a bunch this year," said Newman, 32. "I want to continue what I have been doing and hitting good quality golf shots. I don't want to think too far ahead. I don't want to think about results and I'm just going to try to do my best on every shot and see where that takes me."
Reigning Ike champion Melan Dhaubhadel of MGA eClub - NJ eagled his final hole of the day—the par-5 ninth—to solidify his 3-under 68 round and move to 4-under for the tournament.
"Sticking to the process and not really getting too aggressive," served as keys to Dhaubhadel's scoring according to the rising senior at University of Louisiana Monroe who caddies at Alpine Country Club. Dhaubhadel added, "It's definitely more intense the last couple of days. It is going to be a great learning expericne before I head back to school."
Ryan Skae of Hudson National sits in solo third place at 2-under. Skae reached 5-under before carding four bogeys on the front, but ended with a birdie on the par-5 ninth.
Newman, Dhaubhadel, and Skae were the only three players to break par in both the first and second rounds.
Josh Goldenberg of Atlantic, Lukas Clark of Galloway National, 2019 champion Matt Dobyns of Meadow Brook, three-time Met Open champion Andrew Svoboda of Great River, and Peter Ballo of Connecticut Golf Club are all at 1-under, five shots off the pace.
Fifty-six players made the cut at eight-over or better, with six past champions making the cut: Siegler, Dobyns, Svoboda, Danny Balin of Fresh Meadow, Joshua Rackley, and John Stoltz of Concord Resort and Golf Club.
The scoring average during Tuesday's first round was five strokes over par, while Wednesday's average was three over. Twenty-two players broke par on Wednesday in the second round compared to just 10 in the opening round.
The final round gets underway at 7:10 a.m. on Thursday, with the final pairing of Newman and Dhaubhadel teeing off at 11:40 a.m.
Arcola’s parkland layout has already served as a stern test, playing long and requiring a deft touch on and around its famously fast greens. The club is hosting its first-ever Met Open, having previously welcomed the 2018 Met Amateur Championship as well as the 2019 Carey Cup matches, plus four MGA Senior Amateurs in the past. In 2022 it served as the stroke play co-host for the U.S. Amateur Championship.