Alfieri Wins MGA/MetLife Public Links Title
ENGLISHTOWN, N.J.-Ralph Alfieri, of Darlington GC, in Mahwah, NJ, fired a three-under par 141 (73- 68) to capture the 56th MGA/MetLife Public Links Championship at Charleston Springs GC, in Englishtown, NJ. Alfieri, a junior at Elon University in North Carolina, fired a flawless four-under par 68 (34 – 34) in the afternoon to follow his opening round 73 (36 – 37) for a three-under par total of 142. David Solomon, of Concord Resort, in Kiamisha Lake, NY shot an even-par 144 (71 – 73) to claim second place.
After the first round of the 36 hole championship, Alfieri was tied for 5th, two strokes behind David Solomon, the Hudson Valley sectional qualifying round medalist, and Harry Goett III, from Ashbrook, who both shot one-under-par 71’s. In the afternoon round, Alfieri carded four birdies, including consecutive birdies on the 11th and 12th holes, and no bogeys, to finish at three-under-par for the Championship. He finished strong with six pars to claim the Public Links title. After his one-over par opening round in the morning, Alfieri’s goal for the afternoon was “to get back to even par, for the tournament” and ultimately “place in the top five.” Alfieri’s afternoon round of 68 was his lowest round in competition to date.
Keith Hendrickson, from Oyster Bay, finished alone in third at 146 (72 – 74) while Bill Bartell, of Nassau Players (72 – 75), Bobby Bennet of Griff Harris (74 – 73), and Adam Fuchs of Hamlet Windwatch (73–74) finished tied for 4th, each with a total of 147. Defending champion Peter Meurer of Silver Lake never seemed to get it going, and finished tied for 22nd at 155 (76-79). Final round real-time scoring was once again provided by Blue Golf.
