Lowe Among Final Four at the Met Junior Championship

CHATHAM, N.J. (July 13, 2011) – Reigning MGA/MetLife Boys champion Matthew Lowe of Farmingdale, N.Y., continued his dominating play during the quarterfinal round of today’s 94th Met Junior Championship sponsored by MetLife, held at Fairmount Country Club in Chatham, N.J.

Lowe, who won his Round of 16 match by a 7 & 6 margin, followed up in the quarters with an equally impressive 3 & 1 win over Jeremy Wall of Brielle, N.J. Lowe and Wall will both be competing in next week’s U.S. Junior Championship outside Seattle, Washington.

Charles Edler, a standout high school player from Fair Haven, N.J. overpowered a very dangerous Sean Kelly of Staten Island, N.Y. in a 5 & 3 quarterfinal victory. Kelly was a semifinalist in the 2010 Met Junior. Edler, 18, graduated this spring from Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School and will attend Dartmouth University this fall. Edler’s past tournament achievements include winning the IJGT Tournament of Champions in Florida.

When reviewing the turning points in his round, Edler pointed out the par-five eighth, where he drained a 20-footer to halve the hole. He subsequently birdied three of the next four holes to take control of the match.

Anthony Alex

Anthony Alex of Wayne, N.J. will join Edler and Lowe in tomorrow’s semifinal. His match against 2008 MGA/MetLife Boys champion Peter Kim of Metuchen, N.J. came down to the final hole. After two great drives, both players’ approaches landed on the fringe. Kim was first to play, and his shot rolled six feet past the cup. Next up was Alex, who nearly holed it and had the putt conceded by Kim, who unfortunately missed his comeback to give Alex the 1-up victory.

Alex is another Met Area competitor currently riding a hot streak. After what he described as a “solid beginning” started unraveling with a missed birdie putt on 8, Alex regrouped and held strong against a surging Kim. Alex, who is the third of four semifinalists, won the AJGA Golf Pride Junior Classic at Pinehurst last week and hopes to add to his trophy collection with tomorrow’s finale.

Junior tournament veteran Dylan Crowley of Glen Cove, N.Y., was the last participant to earn his way into the semifinals. Pitted against 15-year-old Theodore Humphrey of Greenwich, Conn., the two had an extremely tight battle throughout the event. “It was truly unbelievable how good Theo played today,” said Crowley. “I think in total we only had three bogeys so there was no room for error.”

After birdies on 8 and 9, Crowley lost a shot with par on the 11th and then made a clutch up and down from a tricky lie on the 12th hole to avoid losing two in a row.

The final four competitors left in the 94th Met Junior Championship have now survived four intense rounds of match play competition. The semifinals and finals take place Thursday, July 14, with Edler facing Lowe at 8:00 a.m. in the first semifinal, and Crowley taking on Alex in the other semfinal. The 18-hole final match will take place in the afternoon.

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