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Zach Berger teeing off at the final hole at Bethpage Black on Sunday. JOSH BERGER
Zach Berger reached the New York State Federation Boys Golf Championships as an alternate and he made the most of his opportunity.
On Sunday, playing on Bethpage Black, the Westhampton Beach sophomore shot a nine-over par (80) to tie two other golfers, Leo Chu of Scarsdale and Michael Hui of Tottenville, for 10th among the best boys high school golfers the state has to offer in public, private and parochial schools. The weekend prior, Berger had placed eighth at the public high school state championships.
While on his way to Newsday’s offices in Melville to take a First Team All-Long Island photo on Monday afternoon, Berger said it was a great way to finish his season.
“I was proud of myself,” he said. “All the hard work I put in this sophomore season and getting through all of the events, from conferences, to counties, to states, and federations, it’s a long process, but I was happy to end my sophomore season playing in the federations with a top-10 finish. It’s just a cherry on top to the season.”
Berger said that it was his third time playing the world renowned Bethpage Black, the second time competitively. He had played in a tournament there last year, then played a practice round on Saturday before playing on Sunday.
Berger said it was an interesting day weather wise. The day started off with no rain before clouds came in and waves of rain, at times pretty hard, came in for the first six holes or so. The rain dissipated, and even the sun came out, he said, but then it got very windy and that made things even harder for an already difficult course.
Although he’s only a sophomore, Berger just finished his fourth varsity season with the Hurricanes, and he’s got high expectations for his final two years, not just for himself but his team.
“We’ve got a very good chance at being champions this upcoming season, in Suffolk County and even the Long Island Championship, as well,” he said. “My personal goals are to get back to where I am now and place even better in the events that I played in this year. Maybe win counties and finish top-five at states and top five in feds. That would be great.”
