LOCUST VALLEY, N.Y. (July 31, 2014) -The wind howled and the greens were firm and fast today at The Creek for the 112^th Met Amateur and the scores were reflective of the conditions. Staying steady through challenging conditions and earning medalist honors was Dylan Newman of Hollow Brook thanks to his 36-hole total of 1-over of 141. Newman carded a 1-over 71 in the morning and an even par 70 in the afternoon to earn the number one seed in the match play field. Despite the conditions, the 23-year-old said it was his ball striking that got the job done today.

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“From tee to green today I really struck the ball solid,”  Newman said. “Off the tee, my irons from the fairways, I hit my targets and hit the ball well overall.” Had the greens not been as fast as they were, Newman may have gone pretty low, but his day featured five three-putts. “I couldn’t feel the speed of the greens at all,” the Iona alum said. “But from tee to green I made up for it.” After making it to the semifinals a year ago at Stanwich, he has continued his great play into this summer, winning the Hochster Memorial in June, tying for 6^th last week at the New York State Open and coming in 4^th at the New York City Amateur in May.  Newman feels good heading into match play and hopes he can return to the semifinals and maybe even further. “I feel great, hopefully tomorrow some of the putts go in.”

Finishing three shots behind Newman was Matt Lowe of Colonial Springs at 4-over 144. Lowe tied for second yesterday at the Carter Cup and brought his game with him back to Long Island. He shot matching rounds of 72 and like Newman, Lowe credits his ball striking as the key. “It’s always been the best part of my game,” Lowe said. The soon to be freshman at Richmond University also mentioned how difficult the greens were, but he avoided the big mistakes. “I haven’t been three-putting at all, which has just skyrocketed my game,” the 18-year-old said. As for match play tomorrow, Lowe couldn’t be more excited. “I love match play,” he said. “Every hole is a little tournament. It’s a different mindset for sure.”

Right behind Lowe was the newly crowned Carter Cup champion Erick Alonso of Darlington, who shot rounds of 72 and 73 for a 5-over total of 145. Making match play of the Met Amateur is one of the toughest feats in the MGA championship season, but it was no problem for Alonso in his first attempt. The 18-year-old is on fire right now and hopes the hot streak continues into the weekend.

Three players are moving on to match play after carding 6-over totals of 146. Firing rounds of 75 and 71 were Darin Goldstein of Noyac, Tyler Cline of Tuxedo, and Nick Desai of Baltusrol, a recent qualifier for the upcoming U.S. Mid-Amateur.

Four players shot scores of 7-over 147, including Ike Champion David Pastore of MGA eClub – Westchester/Fairfield, who shot rounds of 76 and 71, NJSGA State Open champion Max Greyserman of Crestmont, Harrison Shih of Alpine and Pieter Hartong of Stanwich.

At 8-over 148 total and qualifying were Sam Bernstein of Century, Ryan Snouffer of Panther Valley, and Steven Zychowski of Mendham. Two-time MGA Player of the Year Joe Saladino of Huntington also will be moving on to match play after shooting a 9-over total of 149.

A playoff was needed to determine the final two qualifying positions after three players came in with scores of 150. Joe Blando Jr. of Harbor links birdied the first playoff hole (The Creek’s sixth hole) to advance, and Josh Goldenberg of Atlantic made a par to claim the final qualifying positions. John Jackopsic of MGA eClub-Westchester/Fairfield fell short on the one-hole playoff to miss qualifying.

The MGA will be providing live hole-by-hole scoring for every match for the duration of the championship. Friday morning’s Round of 16 matches begin at 7:30 a.m., with the quarterfinals scheduled for the afternoon.