Mike Ballo Wins The Westchester Open In a One-Hole Playoff
The 2012 edition of The Westchester Open at Wykagyl Country Club was filled with non-stop drama, which ended in one-hole sudden death playoff. Mike Ballo of Woodway Country Club birdied the first hole of the playoff to defeat amateur Max Buckley of Westchester Country Club.
Buckley, who has one semester of classes left at Southern Methodist University, held the lead for most of the third round. Buckley and Ballo were grouped together for the second and third round. Ballo made a challenging five-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole of the third round to force a playoff.
Coming into the event there was a buzz that an amateur might win the championship for the first time since 1971 and the amateur who has garnered so much attention this spring and early summer has been Michael Miller of Knollwood Country Club in Elmsford. He won the Westchester Amateur a month ago and finished second in the prestigious Sunnehanna Invitational.
Miller’s golf game is really a work of art. Despite not winning the event Miller, still showed he had plenty of game at Wykagyl, which still is very challenging despite not being a very long golf course. The greens were plenty quick and if you didn’t drive the ball in the fairway on this golf course you can still make plenty of big numbers on certain holes.
He saved his best round for the third tournament, when he birdied three of the four par-fives to finish with a three-under 69 and a total of 212, which placed him in a tie for fourth place for the tournament.
His third round score of 69 could have been several shots lowers. He missed a few short putts and was having trouble with his club selection on several holes which caused him to have several really long birdie putts.
Watching Miller play golf is like watching an artist paint a picture. His golf swing is consistent and he hits the ball with a slight draw. Despite not being one of the most physically big players in The Westchester Open Field he might be pound for pound the longest hitter of the golf ball.
He almost drove the ball on the green of the par-four 15th hole twice on Tuesday. Also when he missed a green he showed a soft touch being able to get the ball up and down numerous times during the third round.
Frank Bensel, who is a Stepinac graduate and works at Century Golf Club in Purchase, finished in a tie for 12th. In August he will play in the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island.
Golfing Notes
Once again Miller’s golf schedule will get hectic over the next month. He will play in The Porter Cup in upstate New York this week and then he has the Met Amateur. Next, Miller will play in the U.S Amateur in Colorado and then close out the summer season with The Met Open. A
After those tournaments are completed Miller will have to make some big decisions regarding playing golf professionally. This year is the final season the PGA Tour will have a Qualifying School that offers PGA Tour Cards.
Miller isn’t the only local player who has a big week ahead of him. Buckley will also play in The Porter Cup. After his playoff lost to Ballo in The Westchester Open he was asked about whether he would turn professional this year and try to qualify for the PGA Tour via their qualifying school (Q school). Buckley was strong on his answer that the earliest he would turn professional would be in the fall of 2013. He wants to try to qualify for the 2013 Walker Cup Team which will be at Nationals Golf Links in Southampton. National Golf Links hosted the first Walker Cup in 1922.
Cameron Young of Sleepy Hollow Country Club, who last week had a superb week on the golf course by finishing second in The North and South Junior Championship, is off to New Hampshire to play in the United States Junior Championship. If Young is able to make it to the final match of the United States Junior Championship he will be exempt into the U.S. Amateur Championship later in August. It would be a big milestone in Young’s short career if he is able to qualify for the U.S. Amateur at the age of 15.
Sean Trainor, who is about to begin his senior year at White Plains High School, will be playing in the 95th Annual Met Junior. The 64 -player match play tournament will conclude on Thursday.
Some of Trainor’s high school teammates will be playing in local junior tournaments this week sponsored by the Met PGA. Paul Terminello, who played on the White Plains team this year, and his brother Eric (who played at Stepinac in 2012) will be playing in a one-day tournament at Somers Pointe Golf Club on Monday.
The Terminello brothers along with the Stagg brothers (Tyler and Justin who play for White High School) will play in the New York City Championship (July 17-18) at Pelham Bay Golf Course in the Bronx.
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