Story by Bob Weiner of CapitalAreaGolf.com
 
BRUNSWICK, N.J. – Jared Mactas owes Art Griffin a dinner, and maybe an adult beverage or two.
 
The former teammates at Lafayette weren't exactly friends until each transferred to different colleges – Mactas (from New Jersey) to Elon and Griffin (from Lake Placid) to Charleston Southern. Since then, however, they've become good buddies, and it was Griffin who suggested that Mactas enter the 74th annual Troy Invitational this weekend.
 
Mactas took Griffin up on the suggestion and made the most of it, shooting an even-par 71 in the final round for a three-day total of 212 (-1), beating Griffin, who won the title two years ago wire-to-wire, by a comfortable five shots Sunday at the Country Club of Troy.
 
Defending and two-time champion Matt Horton of the host club finished third (73-219), while Poughkeepsie's Ryan Gobel (76-221) and Schenectady's Lance Hope (74-221), runner-up in last weekend's Schenectady Classic, T4.
 
"I'm very happy that we finished first and second," Mactas said. "I'm a little happier than he is right now, but we're good friends. We went back and forth at Lafayette. Art won more tournaments than I did, but I think I might have been a little more consistent. We weren't as close until after we left Lafayette, but we became really close when both us played the U.S. Amateur."
 
In 2015, Griffin, then 19, carded a 207 (-6), three shy of tying the tournament record, 204 (-9). That was set by Brett Stegmaier ten years earlier. Stegmaier played in this weekend's Travelers Championship on the PGA Tour in Cromwell, CT.
 
GRADUATION PRESENT
Mactas, 21, just graduated from Elon this spring, and his original plans for this week were to play in the Metropolitan Golf Association's prestigious Ike. But with Elon having a later graduation than most colleges, he missed all the qualifiers for the Ike. That's when Griffin told him that if he couldn't play the Ike, he should consider the Troy Invitational.
 
"This is a really nice win," said Mactas, who had his father on the bag. "I started out today with a couple of bogeys, and Ryan (Gabel) got within two shots. If I had made a couple more bogeys, it could have been a different story. The greens at this course are another line of defense when you are leading. My Dad kept checking the leaderboard."
 
Mactas made the turn at even par for the day. He started pulling away with birdies on the 11th, 13th and 17th holes.
 
Mactas, a native of Woodcliff Lake, NJ, plays out of Arcola Country Club. He plans on playing in the U.S. Amateur and hopes to turn professional in the fall, either through the Web.com Tour Q-school or the Latina America PGA and Canadian PGA Tours.
 
BEST OF REST
Meanwhile, Griffin had one of the best rounds of the day with five birdies during his 70 (-1). "I figured if I couldn't win it, I'd bring Jared in to win it," Griffin said with a laugh. "This was a disappointing weekend. I hit the ball fine off the tee, but the greens are the key here. I had a really tough week putting. I made more than 36 putts every day."
 
Griffin agreed that he and Mactas were more rivals than buddies early in their careers, but they certainly are close now. "At Lafayette, we weren't exactly friends, but we became good buddies later. Jared is one of the funniest kids I've ever met," he said.
 
As for Horton, he couldn't make the run he was hoping for: "I had some opportunities early on, but I couldn't take advantage of them. He's (Mactas) a really good player who doesn't make many mistakes. When you're up by five shots and don't make many mistakes, it's hard to catch up."
 
Dave Mooradian, the longtime Troy Invitational tournament director, won the senior division with a 73-226.
 
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (Par 71-213)
 
212 (-1): Jared Mactas 69-72-71
217 (+4): Art Griffin 70-77-70
219 (+6): Matt Horton 73-73-73
221 (+8): Ryan Gabel 73-72-76, Lance Hope 71-76-74
224 (+11): Joey Fitzsimmons 74-77-73, Jim Welch 73-74-77
226 (+13): Dave Mooradian 76-77-73
227 (+14): Jim Bologna Jr. 74-76-77
228 (+15): Taylor Bellemare 80-75-73
230 (+17): E.J. Cardish Jr. 77-77-76
231 (+18): Carter Fritch 76-81-74
233 (+20): Allan Windover 75-80-78
235 (+22): William Hadden 74-78-83
236 (+23): Tanner Donovan 79-78-79
237 (+24): Alexander Bringsjord 79-77-81, Eric McLoughlin 79-76-82
238 (+25): Steven Kirchner 76-84-78, Lonnie Palmer 79-78-81
239 (+26): Mike Altobello 81-82-76, Kevin Cassidy 79-77-83, John Malicki 83-83-73
240 (+27): John Downey 78-79-83
242 (+29): Tim Flanigan 79-83-80
243 (+30): Chad Stoffer 83-81-79
244 (+31): Ed Kinley 82-85-77
246 (+33): Brad Griffin 85-81-80
249 (+36): Stan Moore 87-80-82
251 (+38): Scott VanDenburgh 85-84-82
254 (+41): David DeGenero 89-83-82, Ben Gardenier 84-82-88
255 (+42): Dan Ireland 87-82-86
NC: David Arakelian, Justin Deitz
 
Senior Award Eligibles
Dave Mooradian 226
Allen Windover 233
Eric McLoughlin 237
Lonnie Palmer 238
Steve Kirchner 238