Pastore and Lowe advance to Final at the 112th Met Amateur
LOCUST VALLEY, N.Y. (August 2, 2014) – After two grueling semifinal matches at The Creek the championship match is set for tomorrow at the 
112th Met Amateur. The final will be between Ike Champion David Pastore of MGA eClub – Westchester/Fairfield and Matthew Lowe of Colonial Springs. Both matches needed the 18th hole to decide a winner and par would be enough to get the job done for both golfers. Pastore defeated Sam Bernstein of Century 1 up, while Lowe defeated two-time MGA Player of the Year Joe Saladino of Huntington 2 up. Pastore, a 4-time MGA Champion, knew that in order to win, you have to expect the unthinkable.
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“He (Bernstein) made a few putts that you normally don’t expect your opponent to make,” Pastore said. “Because of that mindset I was prepared for anything to happen.” The recent University of Virginia graduate and golf team member makes sure to never get to high or to low when momentum swings, which happens often in match play. “It’s just the way I kind of am,” the 22-year-old said. “It’s hard to explain, I don’t really think about it too much. It just kind of happens and it suits golf well because I don’t get to up or down.” The mentally tough Greenwich, Conn. product could put himself a step closer to the “Met Slam” (Ike, Met Am, Met Open all in same year) with a win tomorrow, something that hasn’t been done since Johnson Wagner pulled it off in 2002. “It would mean a lot, I know it’s very difficult to win all three, including the Met Open, I’m definitely aware of it,” he said. “Hopefully I can get leg two tomorrow.”
Pastore is having his best year to date and is leading on the MGA Player of the Year Points list; right behind him though is tomorrow’s opponent, Matt Lowe. Lowe didn’t trail in his match until the ninth hole today, but by the 13th he regained the lead and never looked back. “I didn’t change anything really,” Lowe said. “I knew that one down wasn’t insurmountable, so I just kept plotting along and I knew with the wind it wasn’t going to take a million birdies to win.” Lowe stayed steady as he has all summer. He has had top five finishes at the Ike and Carter Cup already, as well as a semifinals appearance at the Met Junior. He is hoping the event he claims is his favorite is the one he captures the trophy in. “In the MGA area this event probably means the most to me,” he said. “I love match play, I love the whole concept of it. I’m really psyched.”
Tomorrow’s match should provide plenty of excitement between these two excellent talents. The winner will not only earn the trophy, but put themselves in prime position to win the MGA player of the year award. As for Saladino and Bernstein, the sting of the loss wouldn’t last too long. After the match each player was invited to participate on the MGA’s Team in the French American challenge.
Follow all the coverage and live scoring of the final match of the Met Amateur tomorrow at mgagolf.org
