Mark Costanza Earns Trip to 40th U.S. Mid-Amateur Finals
Photo Courtesy of USGA/Chris Keane
SIASCONSET, Mass. - Mark Costanza of Morristown is moving on to the U.S. Mid-Amateur championship match on Thursday afternoon at Sankaty Head Golf Club. Costanza, the 100th New Jersey State Open Champion and 2020 NJSGA Player of the Year defeated Nicholas Maccario of Haverhill, Massachussetts, 2&1 to advance to the championship match.
Costanza, 32, is set to face 2016 U.S. Mid-Amateur Champion Stewart Hagestad in the finals at 12:45 p.m. ET on Thursday afternoon. Due to weather delays earlier in the tournament, half of the 36-hole finale will be played Thursday and the remaining 18 holes will be played Friday.
Costanza controlled the entirety of the semifinal match, opening to a 4-up lead through nine holes. He dropped back-to-back holes on No. 12 and 13, but rebounded on the 14th with a birdie on the 141-yard par 3.
Following his semifinal victory on Thursday morning, Costanza credits his past experience in high-intensity situations, like the 100th New Jersey State Open on his current success.
"Yeah, it'll mean a lot. Even today as the pressure was building a little bit, I thought back to the State Open when there was a big crowd out there watching and the pressure sort of mounts a little bit," Costanza reflected. "If I hadn't been in those situations and come through victorious in New Jersey and in the Met section, I think I would have been feeling a little bit more uncomfortable. To have those experiences to fall back on is really important."
Costanza's Road to the Finals
Stroke Play: T16 (70-69 -1)
Round of 64: Mark Costanza, Morristown, N.J. (139) def. Thomas Parker, North Palm Beach, Fla. (141), 4 and 3
Round of 32: Mark Costanza, Morristown, N.J. (139) def. Nathan Colson, Mequon, Wis. (137), 2 and 1
Round of 16: Mark Costanza, Morristown, N.J. (139) def. Brett Viboch, Sacramento, Calif. (139), 4 and 3
Quarterfinals: Mark Costanza, Morristown, N.J. (139) def. Andrew Bailey, Cleveland, Ohio (138), 5 and 4
Semifinals: Mark Costanza, Morristown, N.J. (139) def. Nicholas Maccario, Haverhill, Mass. (142), 2 and 1
