Day Two Results

ELMSFORD, N.Y. (July 16, 2009) – An exciting second day of play at the 92nd Met Junior Championship sponsored by MetLife at Engineers Country Club began with one of the pre-tournament favorites losing a third-round match in extra holes and ended with four players advancing to Friday’s semifinals. The semifinalists arePierce Dever of Avalon, N.J., John Torell of Bronxville, N.Y.,Peter Ballo of Stamford, Conn., and 2006 Met Junior championDavid Pastore of Greenwich, Conn.

The day began with the Round of 16, and the first match provided plenty of drama. Dever, who just graduated from the Lawrenceville Academy in New Jersey and will attend Villanova University in the fall, was matched up against 16-year-oldCameron Wilson of Shorehaven, Conn. Wilson was low amateur in the 2008 Met Open and will compete next week in the U.S. Junior Championship at Trump National-Bedminster, but Dever managed to defeat him in 19 holes.

“Everyone was telling me he was the favorite,” said Dever afterward. “So I just took it easy and tried to stay focused on each hole and not get ahead of myself. I went on a nice little run and won the 13th, 14th, and 16th holes, then Cameron came right back and birdied 17 and 18 to tie it up.

 

 

It was a tough match and I feel really good about the win.” Dever went on to defeat Jack Maerki of Brightwaters, N.Y., 2 & 1 in the quarterfinal round to advance to Friday’s final day.

Another player who many thought would perform well was 17-year-old David Pastore, and he came through with wins in both of his matches. In the morning, Pastore scored a 4 & 3 win over Colin McDade of Rye, N.Y., in the Round of 16. That set up a quarterfinal match against another accomplished junior, Michael Miller of Brewster, N.Y. Pastore drew on his extensive playing experience in this event to defeat Miller by a narrow 1-up margin.

Perhaps drawing some inspiration from older brother Mike Ballo, who won the Ike Championship earlier this month, 18-year-old Peter Ballo of Stamford, Conn., showed that he has what it takes to contend for an MGA championship. Ballo won by 5 & 4 over John Reali of Albertson, N.Y., in a Round of 16 match, and then came through with a 1-up win over Mark Reilly of Babylon, N.Y., in the quarterfinals.

The player who had to sweat the least on this warm, humid day was John Torell of Bronxville, N.Y., who closed out both of his matches on the 16th hole. Torell won his Round of 16 match over Anthony Alex of Wayne, N.J., by a 3 & 2 decision, and then cruised to a 4 & 2 win over Nicholas Delango of Stony Point, N.Y., in the quarterfinals.

The semifinal matches at the 92nd Met Junior Championship are scheduled to begin at 7:30 a.m. on Friday, July 17 with Dever taking on Torell, followed by Ballo against Pastore in the second semifinal. The winners of those matches will then meet for the 18-hole final match on Friday afternoon. Live, hole-by-hole scoring for both the semifinals and finals will be available by visiting the MGA Web site atwww.mgagolf.org.