Jeff McNeil didn’t make the NL All-Star team, but the Mets left fielder still spent Tuesday hitting a ball … a golf ball.
McNeil finished his first day at the New York State Open by shooting a 7-over 78 at Bethpage Black to leave him tied for 107th on the leaderboard.
He’ll tee off for the second round on Wednesday at 8:43 a.m., in Farmingdale, L.I., paired with Kent St. Charles and Cody Smith.
McNeil will need to finish the second round in the top 60, or within 10 strokes of the leader, to advance to the final round on Thursday, which coincidentally will be the last day of the All-Star break.
The first round was a bit of a mixed bag for the golf-loving major leaguer, who shot 1-over through his first nine holes after starting on No. 10.
He parred the first two holes before carding a double bogey on the 12th hole, his third.
He also had a birdie on No. 17.
The course’s first hole hurt him the most.
McNeil shot a seven on the par four.
He also bogeyed three more holes and went 6-over on his back nine.
The New York State Open is taking place at the storied Black Course at Bethpage State Park, which has been the site of U.S. Opens and the PGA Championship.
Bethpage Black also will host the Ryder Cup in 2025.
Past winners of the N.Y. State Open include Cameron Young, who became the first amateur to win it in 2017.
McNeil, who was on the 2022 NL All-Star team, got into the Open thanks to the scheduling of MLB’s 2023 All-Star Game, which was Tuesday night in Seattle.
“I sense that Jeff had always been interested in potentially trying to play, but a Major League Baseball player’s schedule doesn’t really correspond with the opportunity to play in golf tournaments that are finite in terms of their dates and scheduling,” Metropolitan PGA executive director Jeff Voorheis told The Post.
“It just so happened that this year’s New York State Open was scheduled during the All-Star break, so it landed at a time where Jeff knew that there wouldn’t be daily games and practices and training and activity.
“It worked out well in that regard.”
