June 29, 2011
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - After claiming the trophy at the Connecticut Amateur Golf Tournament at the Rolling Hills Country Club in Wilton, Conn. on Saturday, senior Tommy McDonagh (East Norwalk, Conn.) traveled down to the Somerset Hills Country Club in Bernardsville, N.J. to cap off the four-day span with a second first place finish at the Eisenhower Championship on Tuesday.
The 56th edition of the Eisenhower Championship, which was contested on the par-70, 6,690-yard layout of the Somerset Hills Country Club, will undoubtedly go down as one of the most exciting in the history of the championship. With the conclusion of the third round on Tuesday afternoon, McDonagh and Joe Saladino of Huntington led the field with three-round totals of 211 (71-68-72) (75-66-70), respectively. To break the tie, the duo set out on a three-hole aggregate playoff consisting of the first, second and ninth holes.
The pair counterbalanced each other on the first two holes as McDonagh shot par followed by a bogey and Saladino shot a bogey followed by par. The tell-all ninth hole was inconclusive as both birdied the ball, continuing the playoff in sudden-death.
The second playoff trip to the ninth hole awarded McDonagh the win as he sunk a birdie putt. The win will exempt McDonagh along with the other top 10 finishers into the 109th Met Amateur set to take place August 4-7 at the Piping Rock Club in Locust Valley, N.Y.