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Brown Leads at 22nd Callaway MGA Senior Open

Mark Brown

GLEN HEAD, N.Y. (August 27, 2018) – Familiar names rose to the top of the leaderboard on Monday in the opening round of the 22nd Callaway MGA Senior Open Championship at Glen Head Country Club, with three-time Met Open winner Mark Brown of Tam O’Shanter claiming the top spot behind a 4-under 67.

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The competition doesn’t get any lighter going down the leaderboard. Two-time Met Open champion and 2015 Senior Open winner Mark Mielke fired a 3-under 68, while two-time winner of both the Met Open and Senior Open Bobby Heins of Old Oaks and 2018 New Jersey Senior PGA Professional Championship winner Brent Studer of Metedeconk posted matching 2-under 69s.

Brown’s round started off hot, as he knocked a wedge close for a birdie-three on the second then found the par-five with a three-iron and converted the 20-footer for eagle. “From there, I hit it close the rest of the front nine and I didn’t make anything,” said Brown, who visited the club last Thursday to get yardages in preparation for the championship.

Though Brown, 51, had three bogeys on his inward nine, he also carded four birdies on the way in, including each of the final three holes.

“It’d be a nice victory to add this to the Met Open and the Met PGA Senior Open,” said Brown, who’s aiming to become the eighth player to win both the Met Open and Senior Open.

Meanwhile, Mielke had a pair of early bogeys, but shot 5-under 31 on his inward nine en route to the 68. “I hit my driver pretty well, hit a lot of fairways and a lot of greens,” he said. “I didn’t have to get up and down a lot, so I just had a lot of birdie putts. The greens are putting really good, so I made a few good putts out there.”

Mielke also cited familiarity with the course as a key, having played with Glen Head pro Scott Hawkins—who tallied a 2-over 73 on Monday—in the Pro Member-Guest. “A little course management and course strategy out there on this golf course is important,” said Mielke.

Heins had a steady day, recording a pair of birdies, two bogeys, and making an eagle-three on the 17th. Heins finished tied as runner-up in the championship last year at Forsgate. Meanwhile, Studer carded four birdies on the day—three of which came in a four-hole stretch on the back—to two bogeys.

Frank Bensel of Century, Jim McCann of Spook Rock, Len Siter of Mountain Ridge, and Sangsoo Lee of Ballyowen all shot 1-under 70 to stand well within reach.

Bensel, the 2007 Met Open champion, is making his first appearance in the Senior Open and is aiming, like Brown, to add the title to his resume. Despite starting with three bogeys over his first six holes, Bensel found a groove on the way in. “I got off to a bad start,” said Bensel. “I just missed it in the wrong spots around the greens. I didn’t hit it too bad, but here you can make bogeys pretty quickly if you get it in the wrong place.”

“I’m just happy I played better,” said Bensel of his play down the stretch. “Some days you don’t score well and the ball doesn’t go where you want it to, but I kind of straightened it out and am looking forward to playing tomorrow.”

The high-caliber leaderboard continues, as five players carded even-par 70: three-time Met Open champion and two-time Senior Open winner Darrell Kestner of Deepdale, Frank Esposito of Forsgate, Mike Meehan of Old Westbury, David Young of Sleepy Hollow and Alan Specht of Smithtown Landing.

Following Monday’s opening round of play a cut was made to the low 40 scores and ties, with 46 players advancing with rounds of 5-over 76 or better. Glen Head played to a par of 71 at 6,502 yards.

Tuesday’s final round will begin at 8:00 a.m., with the final pairing of Brown and Mielke teeing off at 10:56 a.m. Scoring will include a mix of 9 and 18-hole updates, with the last several pairings having hole-by-hole scoring.

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