Card, Pastore Share Top Spot at Bethpage
FARMINGDALE, N.Y. (August 23, 2022) -- After round one of the 107th Met Open Championship Presented by Callaway, David Pastore of the Golf Performance Center and Jay Card of Gardiner’s Bay lead the field at 5-under 66. Pastore fired an outstanding bogey-free round, with wind whipping in the afternoon, while Card finished with a flurry of birdies on Nos. 13-17. Pastore was the only golfer in the field without a blemish on the scorecard.
“I played really well today,” said Pastore, 30. “I was driving the ball well; my irons were solid, and I made a few solid putts to save par. My game hasn’t been great the last few weeks, so it was nice to put together a round like that.”
Pastore, who finished third in last year’s Met Open at Hudson National, said he hadn’t played the Black Course in almost 10 years, but the lack of familiarity didn’t seem to matter.
“I was surprised at how tough it was,” said Pastore, who's been competing on PGA Tour Latinoamerica and PGA Tour Canada. “It’s a great test and with how tough conditions were I was happy with the round. I know it’s going to take two more rounds under par to win so I’m ready for the challenge.”
Card, a Long Island native was level par heading into the 13th hole but birdied the long par-five before dropping birdies on the next four holes as well.
“I was battling the first 12 holes,” said the 28-year-old Card. “Anytime you can come to the Black Course and shoot in the 60’s, it’s a good day. Ball striking is so important here and for the most part I hit it well all day, the putts just started to drop on the back nine.”
Despite what is arguably the toughest stretch on the Black Course, Card, who played on the Korn Ferry Tour this year and logged a pair of top-10 finishes early in the year, was able to make up ground on the field with a hot putter and some great approach shots.
“I made a couple bad bogeys on 11 and 12 and then the putter started to get hot,” said Card. “It started with a great wedge shot on 13. Sixteen was playing into the wind and I hit a great approach to 20-feet and made the putt. You don’t expect to birdie all of those holes but it was a nice run.”
Michael Sweeney of Villa Roma was one of two players to finish the day at 2-under, along with 2017 Met Open champion Joshua Rackley. Sweeney scattered two bogeys around four birdies in his round.
"I didn't hit it particularly well today," said Sweeney. "I made just about everything inside six feet and was able to capitalize on some good shots later in my round. I made a great up and down on the 18th and that was a big way to finish the round for me.”
A slew of golfers entered the clubhouse at 1-under after the first round. Defending champion Andrew Svoboda of Engineers fell off the pace down the stretch, bogeying four of his last five to card a 70. Still, the three-time Met Open champion is well within reach of the top spot with two rounds left.
Jason Gore of Hamilton Farm was also in the mix at 1-under 70.
“If you can't get off the tee, it can make for a very long round," said the former PGA TOUR winner Gore. "I hit my driver pretty well today and once you get past point A, you can give yourself some birdie looks. I didn't putt particularly well today and that's all user error. I think I can clean that up and hopefully put together another solid round tomorrow."
Round two will begin at 7:30 a.m., Wednesday. After the round the field will be cut to the low 54 scores and ties as the competition for the largest purse in Met Open history continues. It was increased $50,000 to $200,000 overall this season, with the winner's share increasing to $36,500.
Bethpage Black is hosting the Met Open Championship for the fourth time, previously crowning notable champions Bob Rittberger (2010), Johnson Wagner (2001), and Bobby Heins (1989).