Snouffer Leads 100th Met Open with Opening 65
MAMARONECK, N.Y. (August 25, 2015) – Several players, including a pair of past champions, have carded under-par rounds as the 100th Met Open has begun on the East Course at Winged Foot, but amateur Ryan Snouffer of Essex County owns the early lead following his 5-under 65. In all, four competitors carded sub-par rounds in the morning wave, while three more posted even-par 70.
Related: Scoring | Photos | Interviews
Snouffer, who is entering his senior year at Seton Hall, continues his hot play in MGA majors this season after finishing tied third at the Ike and being the runner-up at the Met Am. For his opening round, Snouffer credited the combination of accurate approaches and a strong putting performance. “I was putting really well,” Snouffer remarked. “I made some pretty long putts out there—a bunch of 20-25 footers for birdie. That helped a lot. It was really about placement and making sure you’re in the right spots. I did that today and it worked out for me.”
Snouffer’s placement was stellar, as he hit 17 greens and his lone bogey came where he was forced to try to get up and down.
“I was lucky enough there wasn’t much wind out there this morning,” he continued. “It can play very very tough. Some of the holes you just have to know where to hit it. You just kind of play the slopes and keep it below the hole as much as possible. It’s in phenomenal shape, so this is just a treat to be able to play here.”
Past champions Tyler Hall of Upper Montclair (2011) and Danny Balin of Burning Tree (2012) began their quest for a second Met Open with red-figure numbers, posting rounds of 3-under 67 and 1-under 69, respectively. Hall had five birdies in his round, including three on his opening four holes. An opening bogey didn’t deter Balin, who had four birdies in the round. Anthony Aruta of North Shore also joined Balin with a 1-under 69.
Corey Brigham of Beacon Hill, Steve Sieg of Navesink and Rob Labritz of GlenArbor each came in with even-par rounds. Labritz’ was the cleanest of all, carding a bogey and a birdie along with 16 pars.
The afternoon wave is on the course with wind picking up on the grounds of Winged Foot. The East Course is playing to a par 70 at 6,768 yards. Follow all the day’s live coverage on www.mgagolf.org.
