The Metropolitan
August 2021
Kovach, Berry Win Open and Senior D
Chris Kovach - Open Division Winner
Tom Barry - Senior Division Winner
St. Louis, MO – Chris Kovach and Tom Barry won their respective divisions on Sunday at the Normandie Amateur. The 35th running of the tournament went 36 holes over two days at Normandie Golf Club. Kovach came from behind to take first in the Open Division. Beginning the day four shots back, Kovach made the turn at 2-under on the day and was tied for the lead headed into the par 3 12th with Joe Migdal and Jason White. He then made a birdie putt above the hole for the outright lead at 6-under overall. The Old Hickory member drove the green on the par 4 13th and had an easy two-putt for birdie to get to 7-under overall. Migdal birdied No. 17 to tie Kovach at 7-under down the stretch, but Kovach matched it minutes later and went into No. 18 with a two-shot lead after Migdal made bogey on the last. An errant tee shot had Kovach in trouble on the right side of the long par 3 18th, but he hit an incredible shot to put it within 20 feet, and a four on No. 18 gave him the one-shot victory. “The key here is just keeping the ball in play,” Kovach said. “If you hit fairways, you can hit some good wedges in and take advantage, if not, there’s a lot of bogeys. I did a good job with the driver, when I did miss, I played pretty smart and gave myself opportunities to recover.” With the win, Kovach moves into tenth in the Rapsodo Men’s Player of the Year points standings. Top 16 make the Old Warson Cup, MAGA’s match play championship, next season. “That was the main reason I came out here. The beginning of the summer I didn’t quite have it, found it the last month or so. Had a rough second round at St. Louis Country Club, just wasn’t making anything out there and knew I was around 12th or 13th (points standings). Old Warson Cup is one of my favorite events of the year and I don’t want to miss it so wanted to get a couple points here.” Joe Migdal finished runner-up after a final round 4-under 67. A birdie on No. 9 got him to 2-under on the day, 5-under overall and just one shot back. He would go on to birdie the par 3 12th to tie for the lead at 6-under overall.
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