ELMSFORD, N.Y. (July 10, 2025) – The 108th Met Junior Championship Sponsored by MetLife kicks off on Monday, July 14 at Southampton Golf Club. Defending champion Jack Chung of Greenwich, Conn., seeks to become the first back-to-back champion since Adam Spring in 1986 and 1987.
Chung edged Liam Pasternak from Morristown, N.J., in the championship match last year at Sunningdale, which kicked-started Chung’s strong season on his way to claiming MGA Junior Player of the Year honors. Pasternak has been the runner-up for the last two years, the first player to achieve this since James Sears in 1986 and 1987.
Related: Pairings | Met Junior History | Met Junior Records
The 108th edition will be the first time that the championship has been contested at Southampton. The club is celebrating its centennial this year.
The MGA Foundation conducts the Met Junior as part of its extensive youth programming, which is supported by MetLife. MetLife’s particular support of the MGA Foundation is a testament to the company’s longstanding mission of giving back and allows the MGA Foundation to continue instilling the values and traditions of golf in the next generation of golfers through a variety of programs and junior championships.
The list of Met Junior champions to hoist the prestigious Mandeville Trophy includes the likes of Butch and Bill Harmon, Marc Turnesa and more recently Michael Miller and Cameron Young. The field this year once again contains a deep list of rising stars looking to etch their name in MGA history as a winner of the nation’s oldest junior championship.
Twice as Nice
With a win, Chung would become the 12th player to win the Met Junior multiple times. David Pastore was the last to do it, winning in 2006 and 2009.
Familiar Faces
Three of last year’s semifinalists return. Lucas Rizo-Patron of Rye, N.Y., joins Chung and Pasternak from last year’s final four. Pasternak beat Rizo-Patron 3 and 2 in the semifinals, and Chung got past Zachary Munno 2 and 1.
Matthew DiFiore from Malverne, N.Y., Michael Clifford-Levy from East Hampton, N.Y., Ethan Weinberg from Malboro, N.J., and Luke Krombholz from Metuchen, N.J., all made match play last year and return to the championship in 2025.
Past MGA Champions in the Field
Jack Chung – 2024 Met Junior, 2024 Carter Cup (co-winner)
Owen Jessop – 2024 Carter Cup (co-winner)
Zach Berger – 2024 MGA/MetLife Boys’
Ken Fernandes – 2023 MGA/MetLife Boys’
Arjun Caprihan – 2022 MGA/MetLife Boys’
Double Up
Berger, Fernandes, and Caprihan have the opportunity to join a group of 11 players to win both the Boys’ Championship and the Met Junior Championship.
Regional Winners
Hudson Vargas of New York, N.Y., tees it up next week after claiming the Long Island Junior and Boys Championships at Smithtown Landing Golf Course back in June. Joe Carey from Yorktown Heights N.Y., who won the Westchester Junior on June 30, is in the field. Madison, N.J.’s Henry Bolster won the New Jersey Junior Championship last week and will make the trip to Long Island for the Met Junior.
Points on the Line
The Met Junior heats up the race for the MGA Junior Player of the Year Award, presented by Callaway, as the winner receives 250 points. Nine of the current top 10 in the points standings are in the field at Southampton.
Format
• 36 holes of stroke play qualifying.
• Top 16 players advance to match play to determine the champion.
• Field determined through exemptions and three qualifiers held throughout the Met Area.
Coverage
• Live hole-by-hole scoring for all 36 holes of qualifying and every hole of match play.
• Social Media: @MGA1897 on X for updates throughout the day, additional content on Facebook and Instagram.
• Scoring, recaps, interviews, and photos on mgagolf.org.
