Stewart Hagestad watches a shot at Fairfield Country Club
(MGA Photo)

Hagestad bested the field by a whopping 10 shots and set a new overall MGA championship scoring record in the process, breaking Timothy Hegarty’s mark of 62 shot at the 2008 Met Open—which also took place at Fairfield. Meanwhile, he blew past Jerry Courville Jr.’s 36-hole medalist scoring record at the Met Am, which formerly stood at 132.

“I rolled it really well in the morning,” remarked Hagestad, a 25-year old who is playing his second season in the Met Area. “I hit it really solid and had a lot of stress-free looks at birdie. In the afternoon, I didn’t hit it quite as good but I rolled in a few more putts.”

Hagestad’s incredible play came despite him seeing the course for the first time upon arrival for the championship. “My caddie and I just talked through a lot of shots and had a bunch of committed lines,” explained the native Californian. “I’ve been working hard on my wedges, and there are a few wedges out here.”

The 25-year old registered eight birdies and an eagle during the morning round, while making one bogey. He birdied the opening two holes and after a bogey on the par-4 third, he reeled off three birdies in a four-hole stretch. He added two pars to turn in 4-under 32, then began his inward nine with an eagle-three to quickly move to 6-under overall. After four-straight pars, Hagestad closed with another birdie barrage, making three over the final four. His afternoon featured much of the same, as he tallied seven birdies to just one bogey once again.

Though Hagestad was excited for his record day, he’s still looking forward to the end goal. “It’s a good start, that’s really all it is,” he said. “Match play is what it’s all about. It’s a great match play course—a lot of options off the tees, a lot of ways you can play certain holes. I’m looking forward to it, it will be great.”

Taking the No. 2 seed is Max Greyserman of Crestmont, who shot even-par 70 in the morning before a 5-under 65 in the afternoon. The rising senior at Duke made his move as he made the turn, birdieing Nos. 18-4, after starting on the 10th hole. While he added in a double-bogey, he bounced back with birdies on two of the final four.

“I just felt like I was stalling all day up until that point and then once those putts started dropping I made five in a row, which really kick started my round and got me going,” Greyserman explained.

MGA eClub – New Jersey member Ryan Siegler, Wednesday’s Carter Cup champion Ethan Ng of Fiddler’s Elbow, and William Rand of East Hampton tied third at 3-under 137. Siegler matched the afternoon low of 64, making seven birdies to one bogey. Ng was steady through the day with rounds of 69-68, while Rand went 66-71 to seal his spot in match play.

Also advancing to match play are Josh Goldenberg of Fenway (72-66), Thomas La Morte of Haworth (66-72), 2003 Met Am champion Mike Stamberger of Manasquan River (69-70), 2010 MGA Public Links winner Brian Komline of Black Oak (68-71), MGA eClub – New Jersey member and 2014 Met Junior titlist Dawson Jones (75-65), Kieran Purcell of Essex County (70-70), Kyle Brey of Bethpage (68-72), and 2015 Carter Cup winner Bobby Diforio Jr. of Westchester Hills.

The day closed out with a three-for-four playoff for the final spots, with Joey Martinez of Maidstone, John Felitto of Echo Lake and Connor Daly of Siwanoy making their way to the next stage of competition.

Two rounds of match play are scheduled for Friday, cutting the field down to the final four. The MGA’s oldest championship continues with semifinal play on Saturday, and is scheduled to finish on Sunday with a 36-hole championship match.

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