NEW CITY, N.Y. (July 15, 2015) – Following two rounds of match play Wednesday at Paramount, the field is now down to just four in the 98^th Met Junior Sponsored by MetLife. Nathan Ng of New York City, James Nicholas of Scarsdale, N.Y., Chris Yeom of New Hyde Park, N.Y., and James McHugh of Rye, N.Y., all claimed a pair of wins to advance to Thursday’s final day of competition.

Related: Day 1 Recap | Bracket | Photos | Interviews | Met Junior Preview

After making the quarterfinals in the 2014 Met Junior, Ng now makes his way to the semifinals this year. “I played really solidly,” said Ng, who placed second in the 36-hole stroke play portion on Tuesday. “I played my own game—made a lot of pars, a couple birdies here and there and got the job done.”

Ng picked up a 3 & 2 win in the morning and then earned a 6 & 5 victory over Jimmy Criscione of Paramus, N.J., after lunch, as he plotted his way around the course. “In the afternoon, I was just playing smart hitting fairways, hitting the middle of the green and two putting,” he reported. “I was definitely in the right spots and I could two put really easily so it was easy to get pars.”

Nicholas had a sizeable win in his first match of the day, advancing with a 5 & 4 victory, before claiming the win in 19 holes against Michael Bettino of Bronxville, N.Y. to move on to the semifinals.

“I played great in the morning—shot 32 on the front nine and I think I made two more birdies on the back,” Nicholas said. “I played well, my putter was great for about 27 holes then it let me down on the back nine of this final match. I have to get my putter going, because once it’s going I play well.”

Nicholas is looking forward to another day of match play, as he takes an aggressive approach to the format. “I love match play. You just have to grip it and rip it—you don’t have to worry about making an eight because that’s one down,” he commented. “You’re not losing four shots to the field, you’re just losing one. It makes the game a lot easier, but at the same time you have to know when to play smart—and you play your opponent and not the course.”

Yeom played steadily on the day, taking a pair of 2 & 1 wins without trailing at any point on the day. Yeom defeated Paramount’s Junior Club Champion, Jonathan Solimano of Montvale, N.J., in the afternoon, getting a hot start with three-straight birdies early in the round. Despite a three-up advantage getting cut down to one, Yeom won the par-4 16^th before claiming the 2 & 1 win with a halving birdie on the par-5 17^th.

Meanwhile, McHugh claimed a 5 & 3 win before grinding out a 1-up win in his afternoon match over Bobby Diforio Jr. of White Plains, N.Y. McHugh, who notched a top-20 finish in the Ike, was pleased with his morning play, then felt the grind of match play in his second match of the day.

“In the morning I thought I played pretty well,” McHugh recalled. “I hit it pretty well and made a couple putts—not as many as I would have hoped but I was still pretty satisfied with how I played.”

The A.W. Tillinghast course played to a yardage of 6,405 for Wednesday’s two rounds of match play.

Wednesday’s first semifinal match is scheduled to begin at 8:00 a.m. The two winners then meet to decide the 2015 champion. The MGA will provide live scoring for the matches throughout the day.

About the MGA: The Metropolitan Golf Association was founded in 1897 and is one of the nation’s oldest and largest amateur golf associations representing more than 500 clubs in the tri-state Metropolitan Area. Through a network of more than 300 volunteers, and a full-time staff operating out of its Golf Central headquarters in Elmsford, N.Y., the Association fulfills its role as a true non-profit service organization. Through a variety of unique, relevant, and innovative services for member clubs and area golfers, the MGA has established itself as a leader among local and national golf organizations.