Miller, Polland Share Met Open Lead at Piping Rock

LOCUST VALLEY, N.Y. (August 20, 2019) -- Paul Pastore's 7-under 64 led the way for most of the opening day at the 104th Met Open Championship Presented by Callaway at Piping Rock Club, but afternoon fireworks from Ben Polland and Michael Miller placed the two familiar names atop the leader board at day's end with 8-under 63s.

Related: Rd. 1 Results | Photos | Interviews

Polland, winner of the 2015 Met Open at Winged Foot, began his round on the right foot, making birdie on the par-four first. Polland continued to gather momentum by making eagle-three on the sixth and backing that up with a birdie on the par-three seventh. Though a bogey on the par-three biarritz served as a blip on his card, he responded with a birdie on the par-five 10th.

"I'm hitting it a lot better off the tee than I have been," said Polland, who competed on the Korn Ferry Tour this year. "And putting and short game is pretty solid. I came out early today to putt and get a feel for the greens and the course is in great shape," he continued.

His driving accuracy displayed on the 13th, as he found the green and had a tap-in for eagle. Polland, 29, tacked on two more birdies on Nos. 16 and 18 en route to his 63.

Meanwhile, Miller -- winner of the 2011 Met Amateur at Piping Rock -- played one group behind Polland and found a similar groove, going bogey-free for his 63. 

Miller, who finished the season 86th on the Korn Ferry Tour points ranking, tallied four birdies in his first six holes to get off to a blistering start. After six consecutive pars, he found his grove again on the way in. Birdies came on Nos. 13 and 16, before making eagle on 18. Miller hit 3-wood off the tee, catching a slot in the fairway to have just 170 in. His approach danced around the hole and left just a tap-in as the finishing touch on his 63.

"This golf course is demanding off the tee, and then if you get the ball in the fairway, you can attack," said Miller. "The greens are a bit soft with the rain. I'm sure it will firm up. It wasn't really windy today, we kinda got lucky."

For Miller it's nice to return to a familiar place and see lots of familiar faces, and after a few days away from the game, he made one last-minute change in the bag. "I built a putter yesterday morning before I got here," said Miller. "My father thought I was crazy. But, usually when he thinks I'm crazy, it ends up working out in my favor,"

Miller and Polland's 63s match the second lowest score in Met Open history, one shot behind Timothy Hegarty's 62 in 2008 at Country Club of Fairfield. Joe Horowitz (2011, Sleepy Hollow), Rick Hartmann (1998, The Creek) and Pete Cooper (1951, Forest Hill) have also shot 63s.

Round two begins at 7:30 a.m., Wednesday, with players aiming to make the 36-hole cut of the low 54 scores and ties. In all, 46 players shot under-par in Tuesday's round.

The Met Open is making its first-ever appearance at Piping Rock, which has previously hosted five MGA championships. The classic C.B. Macdonald layout exemplifies golden age architecture, especially following a restoration by Bruce Hepner in 2015 – work that earned “Best New Remodeled” recognition from Golf Digest the following year.

Additional Highlights

• Reigning champion Andy Svoboda of Engineers sits just two shots back following an opening 6-under 66. Svoboda is aiming to become the 8th player in Met Open history to win the championship in back-to-back years, with the last being Johnson Wagner in 2001-02.
• Mike Ballo, Jr., of Winged Foot, began his day with a double-bogey seven on the 10th hole. But, the 2019 New York State Open champion kept a spotless card the remainder of the way, making seven birdies en route to a 5-under 66.
• In the battle for low amateur, James Nicholas of Westchester and 16-year-old MGA eClub - NYC member Luke Sample both fired 5-under 66s, while Christian Cavaliere of Mahopac is just one shot back after a 4-under 67.
• Polland and Nicholas both tallied a pair of eagles during their respective rounds. Polland did so on the par-5 6th and drivable par-4 13th and Nicholas on No. 13 and the par-5 18th. There were 16 eagles on the day, 7 coming on the par-5 18th.

Quotable

• "That feels good. I know how far back the history goes with this event and how many great players and how many great courses that this tournament has been at and it feels good to have a good round like that. I haven't had that the whole season." - Ben Polland on how his 63 stands among the lowest single round scores in Met Open history.
• "I've loved this place. This place has always treated me really well. It's just nice to get off to a good start. There's two more days and hopefully it's as easy as it was today." - Michael Miller on returning to Piping Rock
• "I kind of just stuck to my game plan, didn't hit many drivers and whenever I had a look, I putted pretty good and made some putts. I'll go and try to do it again tomorrow." - Paul Pastore on how he played Piping Rock.
• "I haven't really played much, I just had a baby boy on Tuesday, so I stepped away from the game for a little bit, but it's nice to be back out here." - Brian Mackey of Hollow Brook, who opened with a 4-under 67.
• "I think they probably wish that it was a little bit faster, but I guess they got a lot of rain last night. But, it's an incredible place. The greens are perfect, the fairways are perfect..." - Timothy Hegarty of Sleepy Hollow, who opened with a 3-under 68.