Mark Brown, head pro at Long Island’s Tam O’Shanter Club, put together three masterful rounds under par to win the 101st Met Open Championship at Glen Oaks Club in Old Westbury this week. His total score of 206 was the only performance under par for the tournament and four strokes better than runner-up Cameron Young of Sleepy Hollow Country Club. This was Brown’s third Met Open title. He also took home the trophy in 1999 and 2013, matching a distinction earned by only five other players in the championship’s history. His check for the win was $27,500.
At one point in the final round, 19-year-old Young had closed to within a stroke of the leader, but a couple of late-round bogies stopped his charge. He finished at even par for the tournament, making him the low amateur, a title he also earned last year in the Met Open at Winged Foot. The Wake Forest sophomore arrived at Glen Oaks fresh from competing in the U.S. Amateur, where he was eliminated in the round of 16 by the eventual champion, Curtis Luck. He won the MGA’s prestigious Ike tournament in 2015 and 2016.
Also in the hunt was Knollwood Country Club’s Mike Miller, who is competing on the Mackenzie Tour in Canada. Miller, 24, tied for third with Peter Ball of Old Oaks Country Club. Both had three-over 213s. Miller’s previous wins include the 2011 Met Amateur title. Other players of note included Century Country Club’s Frank Bensel, who tied for sixth with David Pastore of Fairview Country Club and Brian Mackey from White Beeches.
Glen Oaks Club proved a stern test for the field, with only 17 rounds in total played under par for the entire three days. The club recently completed a major remodeling under the direction of superintendent Craig Currier, who further burnished a reputation earned in his previous job at Bethpage Black, where he prepared the course for its U.S. Opens. Glen Oaks will join the NY rota for the FedEx Cup Playoffs in 2017.
