Pat Mainey was the leading qualifier for the club championship at the Storm King Golf Club. But he may not be around when the competition starts in Cornwall this weekend. He may have a conflict.
During the week, Mainey will try to qualify for the Metropolitan Amateur Championships. He made it once in the past. If he’s successful again, he’ll be busy on Aug. 1 (the day when match play starts at Storm King).
Mainey, an owner of Painter’s Tavern, is new to the club. But he’s familiar with the course. He played here as a member of the NFA golf team in the late 1990s. That’s when he met Tom Howe, Cornwall’s high school golf coach and a former club champion.
The two men played together on July 25-26, and secured two of the top qualifying spots. The coach took an early lead. With the help of an eagle, he dropped to two under par during the first round. But Mainey rallied to finish ahead of him.
The Newburgh alumnus carded a 144 (70-74) for 36 holes compared to 149 (74-75) for Howe. The two men will be seeded second and third this weekend, with the top spot going to Derek Krom (the defending champion and an automatic qualifier).
The pairings for the first round matches will be: Derek Krom (1) vs. Mike Cast (8); Pat Mainey (2) vs. Chris Hoerup (7); Tom Howe (3) vs. Paul Balfe (6); and Ed Burgess (4) vs. Lynn Beesecker (5).
The seedings are indicated in parentheses. If Howe and Mainey win their opening matches, they’ll meet again in the semifinals on Saturday afternoon. That’s assuming Pat Mainey is not playing in the Metropolitan championships.
