Anthony Naples leads Comsewogue boys golf to Suffolk title
Patrick Brennan (facing) and teammates celebrate with Comsewogue-Miller Place coach Brett Thompson after their victory over Westhampton in the Suffolk boys golf team championship at Spring Lake Golf Club in Middle Island on Monday. Credit: James Escher
The Comsewogue boys golf team lost their first match of the season, and the only place to go was up.
Comsewogue went all the way to the top.
Led by senior Anthony Naples, Suffolk’s individual champion, Comsewogue reeled off 10 straight victories, including a 207-210 win over Westhampton to claim the Suffolk team title Monday at Spring Lake Golf Course in Middle Island.
The championship round was a nine-hole playoff due to daylight concerns. The teams split their six head-to-head matches and went to the aggregate scoring to crown a county champion.
“Our guys hit big shots throughout the week,” Naples said. “And we weren’t sloppy around the greens and that was key.”
“They have a special work ethic,” said Comsewogue-Miller Place coach Brett Thompson. “We were practicing 18 holes per day.”
Naples led all scorers in the final with a 1-over par 37. Connor Riegel shot a 38, Ty Grebe a 41 and Dom Cahill a 42.
“We beat Sayville by a stroke in the semifinals,” Naples said. “Connor saved the 17th hole with a punch out, a perfect shot to lay up and then he parred it. That made the difference.”
Riegel followed the save for par with an eagle on the 18th hole.
In the final it was Comsewogue’s Erik Flannery, who parred the second hole after finding himself in a water hazard after his tee shot went awry.
“I was in a lateral water hazard and hit that shot about 80 yards to within 10 feet from the pin,” said Flannery, who used a 60-degree wedge. “It saved par.”
Comsewogue’s Patrick Brennan put the cap on a great day when he drained an eight-foot putt on the final hole.
For Westhampton sophomore Owen Jessop, who qualified for the Suffolk state team for the second straight year, the season was a step in the right direction for the program.
“We’re a young team and it’ll be our goal to get back to the final and win the county next year,” said Jessop, who shot a three-over par 39. “We were not at our best even though we had good conditions to play. There was a lot of pressure all week.”
Westhampton upset top-seeded Riverhead in the quarterfinal round and then ousted Commack in the semifinals.
“We didn’t win our league, which was very tough, but I believe it prepared us for this final stretch,” said Westhampton coach Fred Musumeci. “And we got hot at the right time and were right in it. I’m very proud of them.”
Gregg Sarra is Newsday's high school sports editor and has been on the beat since the mid-1980s.
