Round 2 Suspended as Polland Owns 3-Shot Lead

LOCUST VALLEY, N.Y. (August 21, 2019) – A one-hour, thirty-minute suspension of play due to thunderstorms forced the second round of the 104th Met Open Championship Presented by Callaway to later be halted due to darkness on Wednesday evening, leaving several groups to finish their rounds at Piping Rock Club Thursday morning at 7:00 a.m. However, Ben Polland of Deepdale continued his hot play in the morning as the 2015 Met Open champion carded a 4-under 67 to post a 12-under-par 130 total and open up a three-shot lead.

Michael Miller of Knollwood and 2019 New York State Open champion Mike Ballo, Jr., of Winged Foot lead a group of highly accomplished players on the chase, both sitting at 9-under, while Matt Dobyns of Meadow Brook, Michael Graboyes of Watchung Valley, and amateur James Nicholas of Westchester own 8-under totals.

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Despite an early bogey on the par-four 12th, Polland made birdies on Nos. 13, 15 and 16 and tacked on a kick-in eagle on the par-five 18th to make the turn in 4-under. The 29-year-old carded four more birdies on the first nine, but a triple-bogey seven on the par-four second and a bogey on the par-four eighth left him even on the first nine as he finished his round. However, Polland's play has earned him a three-shot lead and his game continues to feel strong.

"I played nicely and felt like I was hitting the ball better today, and putting better today," said Polland after his morning round. "The score doesnt say it was better than yesterday, but it felt good. The pins were tough and the wind was up."

The driver continued to serve as a key on Wednesday for Polland, who admitted that facet of the game has been a struggle this year, but he felt as if he had turned the page on it with several good practice sessions prior to returning to the Met Area.

While Miller couldn't back up his opening 63 in the same fashion as Polland, he remains in good position entering the final round. "Tomorrow, I'll go out and try to shoot the lowest round I can," said Miller, who didn't make his first bogey of the championship until his 30th hole before also adding two more on the way in. "I don't mind where I am. I would have liked to have been a little closer to the lead. I had a few opportunities, so make a couple birdies early, put the pressure on [Ben] and see what happens."

Ballo echoed Polland's thoughts on the added challenges compared to the opening round, saying, "The pins were way harder and the wind was blowing. The wind didn't really blow much at all yesterday, and today it's there, its effecting."

The two-time Ike winner found some momentum in the middle of his opening nine, rolling in five consecutive birdies on Nos. 4-8. Ballo, who led the 2014 Met Open entering the final round, is looking forward to putting more of his experience to work on Thursday.

"Just kind of building off of everything that I've learned over the last 10 years of playing pro golf and especially the New York State Open this year and some other stuff, you can only control what you can do," explained Ballo. "I'm just going to do my best, keep doing what I'm doing, stay in the moment and just kind of keep plugging away."

Upon the second round's conclusion in the morning, a cut will be made to the low 54 scores and ties. The final round is expected to begin at approximately 9:00 a.m., with groups of three going off the first tee and the final group going off around 12:30 p.m., depending on the final cut size.

Additional Highlights

• Matt Dobyns and Michael Graboyes carded the day's low score with matching 66s. Both have shot 68-66, four shots off Polland's 12-under lead.
• Dobyns is looking for a career-best finish in the Met Open, his previous best coming in 2008, when he tied for third at Country Club of Fairfield.
• Graboyes, the 2018 Ike champion, has been steady through 36 holes, making just two bogeys.
• While James Nicholas (66-68) owns a four-shot lead in the race for low amateur, the 2017 MGA Player of the Year is undoubtedly looking to earn his first-ever MGA win on the biggest stage. Nicholas shared low-amateur honors two years ago at Hollywood and was second low amateur, one shot behind Jack Wall of Manasquan River, last year at Wykagyl.
• Reigning champion Andy Svoboda of Engineers shot 1-under 70 in the second round. He is tied seventh at 7-under alongside John Duthie of North Hills. The last back-to-back Met Open champion was Johnson Wagner in 2001-02.
• Paul Pastore of Fairview, who shot an opening-round 64 carded a 3-over 74 on Wednesday.
• The championship's 54-hole scoring record appears to be in jeopardy, as the mark currently stands at 203. That was set in 1998 by Rick Hartmann at The Creek.
• The largest final round comeback in Met Open history is eight shots, done by Don Massengale in 1972 at Stanwich Club.

Quotable

• "If you're out of position here and you make mistakes on top of mistakes, you can make big numbers and I did that on number two." - Ben Polland on his triple-bogey seven on the par-four second.
• "Like I said, it's out there, but if you play a little silly, it'll bite you." - Michael Miller on the scoring at Piping Rock.
• "It's everything. You grow up here and the Met Open is the event that you look forward to every year, especially as a pro ... It's the number one event that you want to find yourself on top at least once in your career." - Mike Ballo, Jr. on what it would mean to win the Met Open.