Engel Captures 84th MGA/MetLife Junior Championship Title

DENVILLE, N.J.–After three long days of tournament tough golf, the MGA/MetLife Junior Championship came to an end with 17 year-old Garett Engel of East Rockaway, NY, crowned the 2001 champion and Devin Drobbin of Holmdel, NJ, the runner-up.  The Long Islander drove almost 2 hours in the early morning each day to tee off against some of the Met area’s best youngsters but made the long trip well worth it.  The feat is the junior’s first championship in and what he labels, “the biggest win” of his life.  After sinking a 20 ft. chip shot for birdie on the 3^rd hole as well as a 30 ft. putt to save par on the 10^th, a confident Engel knew it was his day.  He survived two challenging matches yesterday, which seemed to boost his confidence and prepare him for today’s showdown.  Engel polished off the tournament with a 3 & 2 win over Drobbin, who recently qualified for the 2001 US Junior Amateur Championship

Earlier this morning in the semifinal round, Drobbin eliminated a wearisome Dean Gultula of Haskell, NJ, 4 & 3 to earn his shot at the title.  After a long day of golf yesterday, Gultula was ill prepared for Drobbin’s determination and tournament experience.   Drobbin took the first hole and kept the lead for the remainder of the match closing it out on the 15^th.  Gabriel Menjivar, a 2000 U.S. Junior qualifier and runner-up from last year’s NJPGA Junior Championship proved a force to be feared from the start of the tournament, however, but fell short of the finals giving Engel a run for his money for 21 holes.  Engel’s road to the finals was met by matches with three exempt players- Brian McArdle, the 2000 LIGA Junior Champion; Johnny Schiano, 2000 MGA/MetLife Boys Champion and 2000 Met PGA Junior Championship runner-up; and the Denville local Menjivar.  Needless to say, Engel’s first major victory was well earned.