Giving It “Hall” or Nothing

The highly anticipated Metropolitan Open Championship held at St. Alban’s Country Club concluded with resounding success, captivating golf enthusiasts and showcasing the pinnacle of golfing excellence over three exhilarating days. The championship brought together a field of exceptional golfers, professional and amateur, who demonstrated unparalleled skill, unwavering determination, and a true passion for the game. With every swing, chip, and putt, the players exhibited remarkable precision, strategic brilliance, and nerves of steel under the watchful eyes of avid spectators and fellow competitors.

The first morning started with a thick fog that postponed play by 15 minutes. Aside from the hazy morning, the conditions were nothing short of perfect. Four players were tied for the lead at an impressive six-under par (-6) after Round 1 of the Championship. The first of the 6 players to come in was Eric Ansett of Spring Hill, TN. Ansett fired an impressive bogey-free round. Ted Smith of Orlando, FL held a solo lead at seven-under par (-7) until the last hole where a bogey brought him back down to tie for first with Ansett at six-under (-6). Matthew Walker of Ottumwa, IA - the third player to post six-under par (-6) - had a rollercoaster start to his day. Walker began with a bogey on the first hole, then proceeded to eagle Hole 2, which catapulted him into two birdies on Holes 3 & 4. After these three players posted low rounds, the work was cut out for the afternoon wave of players. David Erdy of Mainville, OH came ready to match the score by also shooting a bogey-free, -6. There are eight players following closely behind at five-under par (-5): Luke Long, Joe Weiler, Tyler Gray, Stephen Stallings, Christian Salzer, Blake McShea, Sean Walsh, and Kyle Kochevar. The leaderboard was stacked with 56 players under par, leaving no room for error in the following rounds for those on top.

After the results of Round 1, players knew that going low in Round 2 may be imperative to make the cut. Arriving with a mindset to tackle the course, many players in the field were able to post rounds under par again today. Going off early in the day, Blake McShea of Zebulon, NC was looking to duplicate his score from Round 1, and he did. Sitting at five-under (-5) par after around 1, McShea started on the back nine and made improvements as the day went on to have a bogey-free second nine and finish with another fiveunder (-5) par. This brought his total to ten-under (-10) par and gave him the solo lead. Also going out early was David Erdy of Mainville, OH. Erdy was one of the players tied for the lead at six-under (-6) par after Round 1 and fought his way around the course to not drop any strokes. He finished the day two-under (-2) par, placing him at eight-under (-8) par for the Championship. The afternoon wave saw how the morning players were performing and were ready to take a stand. Gavin Hall of Delray Beach, FL began the day at four-under (-4) par. Aside from a bogey on Hole 10, Hall had a near perfect round with five birdies and an albatross on Hole 14. Finishing the last four holes with par, his double eagle brought him to seven-under (-3) for the day, eleven-under (-11) par for the championship, and the solo lead. Perhaps the round of the day came in the afternoon from Chris Naegel of Wildwood, MO. After finishing Round 1 oneover (+1) par, Naegel was determined to turn his game around and move up the leaderboard. He came out hot, shooting a 28 on the front nine with not just one, but two eagles. Despite a bogey on Hole 12, Naegel nearly pulled off a third eagle on Hole 14, and then finished his round with a birdie on Hole 18 to finish the day with a whopping nine-under (-9) par. This catapulted Naegel up the leaderboard to be tied for third at eight-under (-8) par.

After Round 2, the field was cut to the low 40 and ties, which resulted in 44 players making the cut at twounder (-2) par. This is the lowest a cut score has ever been in championship history. Ryan Cole of Mount Airy, MD started the morning at seven-under (-7) par, and we quickly started to see his score fall further into the red. Cole showed his determination throughout his round with three birdies on the front and four birdies on the back, finishing with a bogey-free 64. This phenomenal round pushed him up the leaderboard into solo second place. Blake McShea did not have the round he wanted but managed to stay under par with a two-under (-2) par round and a final score of twelve-under (-12) par. McShea ended the championship in solo third. Brian Richey of Winter Park, FL began the day at six-under (-6) par. Richey improved on his first and second round scores by shooting a great round of 66, five-under (-5) par, which tied him for fourth place with David Erdy. Erdy had a rough start to the day but pushed through to come in with a score of 30, five-under (-5) par, on the back nine. This brought him to finish the round with a 68, three-under (-3) par.

Gavin Hall knew coming into the day that he needed to put together another good round to stay on top. Hall started his bogey-free round with two birdies on the front nine and continued to add four more on the back nine. His bogey-free round was almost threatened by a rogue tee-shot on Hole 17, but a lucky bounce off a drain, kicked him into the middle of the fairway. Talking about this potential setback, Hall states, “When these guys are so good, and to compete against them, you need a little bit of breaks to go your way, but I’m really happy with the way I played.” He kept his mind and game steady by not looking at the leaderboard during the round. He knew he could not do anything about how others were shooting, but he could control his own game and mindset. Gavin came in at seventeen-under (-17) par, the lowest winning total score in championship history, with a final round of 65. Following three incredible days of golf, first-time competitor, Gavin Hall, rose to the top and is leaving St. Louis a Champion. With this win, Hall earned a $25,000 payout.

Sunday afternoon, the teams took to the course in the Four-Ball Matches. Team MAGA came ready to show Team Gateway PGA that they were not to be underestimated, winning 4 of the 7 matches. Malench and Neeman of Team MAGA took an early lead on the first hole, but were unable to hold off Fogt and Whitfield of Team Gateway who won the match 3 & 1. Allen and Niezing put together a strong front for the amateurs, never letting Sedorcek and Auping bring the match to tied or better for the pros. Team MAGA won the second match 3 & 2. In Match 3 of the Four-Ball, Migdal and Kovach kept the match at bay against the pros, Smith and Roy, until Hole 5, where the amateurs took the lead and refused to let go until the match was won 2 & 1. In a back-and-forth match, Gumper and Eckelkamp for Team MAGA and Williams and Lee for Team Gateway PGA found themselves in a fight to the finish, where the amateurs would come out on top after 18 holes, 1 Up. Also showing