It was fun to finally see Bethpage play the way it was designed.

Not a single drop of rain fell during the Met PGA Assistant Championship, but the conditions were a big part of the story line. The wind was whistling all day, and only four players broke par on the Red course. Matt Dobyns, who spent the previous six years at Hudson National before moving to Deepdale, somehow managed a 66 and won with a 6-under total of 134.

He guessed better than anybody before pulling a club.

Bisconti rolled in birdies on the 14th and 16th holes, and was a shot behind coming to the 17th hole, but a great looking shot was knocked down and into a front bunker, resulting in a costly bogey.

“The whole day was pretty windy,” the St. Andrew’s assistant said. “But the end of the day was really tough.”

It’s been a pretty good season already for Bisconti, who cut his hand with a hook knife while regripping a club not long after he narrowly missed getting into the U.S. Open. He rebounded well and got into the PGA Championship, bringing home low club pro honors.

“Those were temporary setbacks,” he said. “I wish I had a crystal ball to see how things were going to work out, I probably wouldn’t have been so bothered so much. Certainly, some of the things I did this summer made up for the knife incident and missing the U.S. Open.”

Bensel was in the mix after he got to 4-under with a 30-foot birdie on the 12th, but he promptly hooked a drive on the 13th on the far side of the adjoining fairway. The Century assistant tangled with the pines on the way back, and carded a bogey. He flirted with birdies on the next four holes, but couldn’t get one to drop.

“I don’t know how to play that hole,” Bensel said with a laugh.

There is some consolation, both players qualified for the PGA National Assistant Championship next month in Port St. Lucie, Fla., which is a well-deserved week off late in the season. Anthony Casalino of Willow Ridge is also in after tying for sixth place here.