Brody Nieporte carries on family tradition

Brody Nieporte does not exactly have to make a name for himself with his golf. That was done for the family by his grandfather 50 years ago. What he is doing is starting a new chapter.

The current generation of local amateurs knows his first and last name now. On his way to the final of the Long Island Amateur, he defeated the top two amateurs on the Long Island Golf Association's 2009 rankings, former Long Island Amateur champion Joe Saladino and defending champion Bryan Pendrick.

The 19-year-old who finished a strong freshman season at Fordham yesterday lost the 36-hole final against Hunter Semels at Inwood Country Club.

But his play continues a tradition that his grandfather Tom started when he won two events on the PGA Tour in 1959-60. Nieporte won the 1967 Bob Hope Desert Classic, becoming the last club pro to win on the tour.

With a large family to support, Nieporte had left the tour to become head pro at Piping Rock in Locust Valley, then took the head pro job at Winged Foot - commuting from Bayville to Mamaroneck for 28 years. "I took that ride with him a few times," the younger Nieporte said at the Met Public Links last season. "He always kept the car rides fun. He has incredible stories."

It seems that his grandson will have stories of his own.

Competition

For the third time in the past four years, Saladino and David Boccia of Huntington Country Club reached the semifinals of the Anderson Memorial at Winged Foot last weekend. The team lost in the semis of the national-class event . . . Carl Giovernale and Phil Marino of Olde Vine Golf Club in Riverhead won the Metropolitan Golf Association's Net Team Championship at White Beeches in Haworth, N.J.