The intimidation begins with the warning sign at the first tee.
“The Black Course is an extremely difficult course which we recommend only for highly skilled golfers.”
Indeed, Bethpage Black is one of the most coveted tee times around and one of the most humbling experiences for recreational and amateur golfers alike.
But for Matt Lowe, it’s just the neighborhood golf course.
“This being my home course is kind of like a treat,” said Lowe, who lives about a quarter-mile away from the home of the 2009 U.S. Open.
On Sunday, the Farmingdale freshman captured the New York State Federation title with a one-over 72, two strokes better than Xander McDonald-Smith from Scholars Academy.
“It’s a pretty great feeling,” Lowe said.
McDonald-Smith led with a 37 on the front nine, but Lowe was just one stroke behind. Although he said his driving was “sporadic” and he couldn’t putt, Lowe’s 34 on the back nine was what won him the prestigious title.
McDonald-Smith had his best finish in his fourth appearance, shooting a three-over-74. The three-time PSAL champion said he used the tournament as a chance to experiment a change in his swing ahead of the prestigious FootJoy Invitational in Greensboro, N.C. this week.
“I changed my grip a couple of days ago so that’s why I didn’t have expectations coming into today,” he said. “When you make a swing change you have to wait a bit. The only time success comes before work is in the dictionary.”
The Penn State-bound McDonald-Smith had a shaky start, bogeying the first hole, but he putted consistently throughout.
“Overall, I’m pretty happy with it,” McDonald-Smith said. “I could have done better, but I’ll take it.”
While McDonald-Smith’s remarkable high school career, which featured three PSAL individual titles and just two losses in his four years, has come to an end, James Edgeworth still has another year left at Tottenville, which won the PSAL title last week.
The junior finished fifth overall in the field of 24 with a six-over-77, beating Fernando Morett of Loyola HS in a playoff.
“I hung in there,” Edgeworth said. “I was scrambling a lot. My driver was giving me a problem in the beginning, but then it straightened out and I felt I played solid on the back.”
Staten Island Academy’s Jesse Clemente finished seventh with an eight-over-79, defeating Fieldston’s Will Bernstein in a two-hole playoff.
Clemente figured his day was done after the 18th hole and then scrambled to be ready for an unexpected playoff hole.
“It was very strange because I already put my clubs and shoes in the car and my dad had to run about a half mile,” the sophomore said. “I played pretty solid the first four or five holes. I had two or three bad holes, but other that I was pretty solid.”
Bernstein is just a freshman, but he won the independent schools championship last month and was pleased with his eighth-place finish.
“I played alright,” said Bernstein, whose older brother Sam was a standout at Fieldston and is now golfing at Yale. “I left some strokes out there and I missed some short putts, which killed me. My goal was to break 80, which was good. I can sleep tonight.”
Matt Yun has the distinction of becoming the first individual champion at Robert F. Kennedy HS, winning the PSAL title on May 26 and handing McDonald-Smith only his second loss in four years during the regular season.
But the Nyack-bound senior couldn’t make it two tournament wins in a row as he finished tied for 11th with an 11-over-82.
“My chipping and everything was good. It’s just that my putting let me down,” Yun said. “This is the first time I’ve made it to the states. It was a good experience. I just have to practice more, I guess.”