Goldstein Leads After First Round of LI Amateur

SAG HARBOR, N.Y. (June 14, 2021) -  Darin Goldstein bested the competition by three strokes to top the leaderboard at the completion of stroke play qualifying in the 98th Long Island Amateur Championship Presented by Sterling National Bank. Goldstein used his home course advantage to go low and carried over his solid play from last week's Long Island Open where he finished as the runner-up after a playoff with champion Andrew Svoboda. Goldstein carded a 4-under-68 with 7 birdies.

Related: Stroke Play Leaderboard | Match Play Bracket

Goldstein, the 2016 Long Island Amateur champion, spoke on how being comfortable at Noyac gave him an edge on the rest of the field. "[I have a] high level of comfort here. I've been out here a lot over the years so it's a good feeling knowing every hole inside and out," he said.  "I hit a lot of greens, hit a bunch of fairways, did a good job placing the ball in the right spots,'' said Goldstein. "Here it's easy to get yourself in a tricky spot off the tee and it's hard to scramble, so I did a good job controlling the ball".

The only other competitor to shoot below par was Daniel Abbondandolo of Brookville. Abbondandolo shot a 1-under 71 with 4 birdies, including a clutch finish with birdies on each of his last two holes. Just the opposite of Goldstein, Abbondandolo believed his lack of course knowledge helped simplify his game. "Not knowing the the golf course, making good swings, using the rangefinder a lot, and knowing that you can't win it today but you can lose it" were the keys to his success. Abbondandolo is coming off a T7 (1-under) finish at last week's Long Island Open at Fresh Meadow. "Coming out of the Long Island Open, it was some nice momentum but I haven't seen my golf clubs since Thursday," he said. "It's just about staying confident, picking your lines, and even though you don't know the course well, just commit to your routine".

Patrick Healy of Huntington, Rex Riefler of Maidstone, Ben Mitchell of Fresh Meadow, Sam O'Hara of Maidstone, and Christopher White of Garden City GC all qualified with scores of even par. 

Four playoff holes determined the final 31 to advance to match play for the nine competitors who carded scores of 5-over 77. Adam Silfen of Atlantic, Liam Jachetta of Nassau, Tyler Gerbavsits of Huntington Crescent, Alex Kassabian of Plandome, and Bryan Ruland  of Rockville links advanced through the playoff.  Those 31 will be joined by defending champion Carter Prince, who won on his own home course of Huntington Crescent in 2020. 

Five rounds of match play will decide the champion, with the Round of 32 beginning at 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday, June 15. The championship concludes on Thursday, June 17.