Seinfeld theme: Newman edges Costanza to win 108th Met Open golf title
PARAMUS – Dylan Newman experienced a golfer’s nightmare: He had the lead, the wind kicked up, the rain came down.
Newman gave back a trio of strokes, yet the New York pro held on down the stretch to win the 108th Met Open golf championship on Thursday at Arcola Country Club.
“I honestly had no idea where I stood, because I wasn’t looking at the scoreboard,” said Newman, 32, who hails from Long Island and represents Meadow Brook. “I was just trying to play golf and do the best that I can.”
Newman closed with 2-over-par 73 and his three-round, 4-under 209 gave him a two-shot win and paycheck for $36,500. He was on the 15th green when bad weather started to get worse and he double-bogeyed the 16th and bogeyed the 18th.
This Metropolitan Golf Association event featured a “Seinfeld” theme: While Newman, 32, finished first, New Jersey amateur Mark Costanza was runner-up and low amateur. Costanza, representing Baltusrol, shot a second consecutive 69 for 211.
“I’m really proud of the way I played, battled back from a pretty poor start [Tuesday],” said Costanza, 34, a Morristown resident who won the New Jersey Open in 2020. “And with so many great players in this event, to be able to hoist the low amateur trophy, I’m super proud.”
New Jerseyans also shared third. Pro Dawson Jones of Eagle Oaks and amateur Melan Dhaubhadel of MGA eClub New Jersey were third at 212. Jones rallied with a Thursday-best 66, while Dhaubhadel, in the final twosome with Newman, carded 74.
This represented the best finish by New Jersey golfers in a dozen years. In 2011, pro Tyler Hall of Upper Montclair won and pro Bobby Gage of Forsgate was runner-up, and a Garden State player hasn't won since.
Newman, who grew up in New Rochelle and starred at Iona, was at 7-under and held a five-shot lead when the weather went sideways Thursday. He built his five-shot lead by making a 25-footer on the par-5 15th just as the rain began falling.
Newman labeled the par-4 16th “a bit of a nightmare.” He pulled his tee shot, had a bad lie and suffered a double-bogey. His lead fell from five to three shots, and, “Things were getting a little bit scary at that moment, especially with the rain.”
He stayed composed and parred the par-4 17th after hitting a 6-iron within 12 feet and two-putting. He bogeyed the par-4 18th, after hitting his drive way to the right and getting up-and-down, but giving back one shot gave him a two-shot win.
“I asked my caddie where we were,” Newman said, referring to his lead, “and he said, ‘Make bogey and you’ll be fine.’ So I just got up there, chipped it close, and it’s all good.”
Costanza is more than a little familiar with Arcola. He grew up in Bergen County, starred at nearby Bergen Catholic, and played here last year in the U.S. Amateur. That U.S. Amateur also had a Seinfeld theme, as Costanza was placed in a stroke-play threesome with players named Kremer and, you guessed it, Newman.
Costanza had an eagle, three birdies, one bogey and a double-bogey. On the ninth hole, a 555-yard par-5, he eagled after landing his second shot on the green’s false front and sinking an uphill 50-footer. On the 11th, a 195-yard par-3, he hit a bad tee shot and suffered his double-bogey. He played that hole at 5-over.
Dhaubhadel’s final round was nowhere near as good as his first two rounds. He did not have a birdie Thursday to go along with his three bogeys.
“The first two rounds I played a lot better than today,” said Dhaubhadel, 22, a Cresskill resident and incoming senior at Louisiana-Monroe. “My execution just wasn’t quite there today, unfortunately, where I needed it. Putts weren’t falling. And I wasn’t quite getting the breaks that I had in the first two rounds. And fortunately for my playing partner [Newman], he had the breaks going his way.”
Except for when the wind picked up and the rain came down.
108th Met Open Championship
At Arcola CC, Paramus
Par: 71; Yardage: 7,230
Final
Dylan Newman, Meadow Brook 70-66-73-209
a-Mark Costanza, Baltusrol 73-69-69-211
Dawson Jones, Eagle Oaks 73-73-66-212
a-Melan Dhaubhadel, MGA eClub NJ 70-68-74-212
Peter Ballo, Connecticut 72-69-72-213
Matt Dobyns, Meadow Brook 72-69-72-69-72-213
Ryan Siegler, Jasna Polana 75-67-71-213
Ryan Skae, Hudson National 70-70-73-213
Andrew Svoboda, Great River 72-69-74-215
David Pastore, Fairview 75-73-68-216
Max Theodorakis, Ridgewood 75-69-72-216
Josh Goldenberg, Atlantic 69-72-75-216
Alex Beach, Westchester 70-72-75-217
Frank Esposito, Mountain Ridge 73-74-71-218
a-Dylan Gallagher, Rockland 75-69-74-218
a-Jackson Fretty, Greenwich 75-75-69-219
Mark Anguiano, Golf v.2 74-73-72-219
a-Christian Cavaliere, Hudson National 73-74-72-219
Michael Graboyes, Watchung Valley 75-72-72-219
Peter Bradbeer, Fishers Island 71-73-75-219
Lukas Clark, Galloway National 71-70-78-219
Sam Goldenring, Galloway National 76-70-74-220
Michael Miller, Knollwood 76-70-75-221
Sunny Kim, Clearview 74-76-71-221
a-Gregor Tait, Fiddler's Elbow 81-68-72-221
Will Halamandaris, Baltusrol 74-74-73-221
Bill Hook, Knickerbocker 71-74-76-221
a-Matthew Lowe, Bethpage 72-73-76-221
Andres Acevedo, MGA eClub NJ 73-72-76-221
Daniel O'Rourke, Oak Hill 71-73-77-221
William O'Neill, Spring Brook 77-73-72-222
Danny Balin, Fresh Meadow 74-74-74-222
Danny Lewis, Hollywood 72-75-75-222
Tom Lovelady, Silo Ridge 70-76-76-222
Gregory Bisconti, St. Andrew's 76-68-78-222
John Stoltz, Concord 77-73-73-223
a-Tanner Little, Fiddler's Elbow 73-77-74-224
Timothy Rosenhouse, Rockaway Hunting 75-73-76-224
Nick Bova, Hamilton Farm 73-74-77-224
Patrick Clark, Wee Burn 81-69-75-225
Patrick Schwarze, Wykagyl 74-74-77-225
Steve Shellock, Suneagles 75-72-78-225
Brent Ito, Links at Union Vale 75-73-78-226
a-Thomas McCarthy, MGA eClub Conn. 75-71-80-226
Brent Paladino, Fiddler's Elbow 76-74-77-227
Timothy Hegarty, Winged Foot 73-77-77-227
a-Arav Patel, Forsgate 78-70-79-227
Johnny Bush, Plainfield 76-72-79-227
Kyle Brey, Bethpage 72-75-80-227
a-Daniel Macdonald, Arcola 79-71-78-228
a-Bradford Tilley, Sleepy Hollow 76-70-82-228
Michael Winter, Seawane 76-72-81-229
Philip Cardwell, Rockville Links 75-69-85-229
Sean Kelly, Silver Lake Men's 76-73-81-230
Joshua Rackley, former champion 78-72-81-231
a-George Fricker, Canoe Brook 79-70-84-233
a-denotes amateur
New Jersey clubs in bold
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Met Open golf championship: Dylan Newman wins over Mark Constanza
