Match Play Set at Met Amateur
LAUREL, N.Y. (August 3, 2017) – The seeds are set for match play at the 115th Met Amateur Championship at Laurel Links Country Club, after 16 players tallied 36-hole scores of 5-over 147 or better in Thursday’s on-site qualifying. While four competitors fired 1-over 143 totals, the tie-breaking process (low afternoon round, then match of cards) gave Ethan Ng of Fiddler’s Elbow the medalist trophy.
Related: Stroke Play Results | Match Play Bracket | Photos
Bradley Lankler of Fiddler’s Elbow, Matt Mattare of Darlington, and Dawson Jones of Jumping Brook joined Ng at 143. Time of finish determined seeding for match play, with Lankler taking No. 1 and Mattare, Jones and Ng following for spots 2-4.
Lankler and Jones set the pace in the morning, both taking advantage of calm conditions to shoot 4-under 67s—two of just seven sub-par scores posted the entire day. For Lankler, the driver and putter were keys to success on the course that is making its MGA championship debut this week. “It was basically just get it on the greens because I felt like everything could go in,” he said. “I was lucky to keep the ball in play in the fairway, in which case you could attack a lot of those pins. There were some bogeys out there, but as long as I got it within a good range, I felt like I could make all of them.”
While Lankler posted eight birdies in the morning, none dropped in the afternoon as wind added to the challenge. “It was a little more defensive,” Lankler said. “Just kind of get the ball in play. If you made birdie, awesome, but kind of go for par and if you made one or two bogeys it was fine. It seemed like the whole field fell back a little so it was kind of holding on.” Both Lankler and Jones shot 76 in the afternoon, with Jones’ scenario playing out similarly as he carded six birdies in the morning and just one in the afternoon.
Ng, who successfully defended his Carter Cup title Wednesday at Baltusrol, also pointed to his putter as a key to his performance. “I got my putter rolling, so anywhere on the green was good and I made a lot of good putts,” he said.
Mattare, recent winner of the GAP Open as he also plays out of Saucon Valley, began play with a birdie and moved to 3-under through 11 holes. Despite a pair of bogeys on the way in, he also added a birdie to card a morning 69. Mattare was the runner-up at the 2012 Met Amateur at Hollywood.
MGA eClub Westchester/Fairfield member Vinay Ramesh, and James Nicholas and Darin Goldstein of Deepdale all tallied 2-over 144s, with Nicholas taking the No. 5 seed, Goldstein the six and Ramesh the seven. “I drove the ball really well, kept it in play and didn’t make any mistakes off the tee,” said Nicholas. The rising junior at Yale is looking forward to competing in match play, following runs to the quarterfinals in both the Westchester and Long Island amateurs earlier this summer. “It’s going to be a true test of golf,” said Nicholas. “Definitely a lot of changes can be made to this golf course, which can make it very different.”
Evan Grenus of Sterling Farms and 2017 Ike champion Matt Lowe of Colonial Springs both carded 145s, and will square off in match play Friday as the No. 8-9 seeds. Ross Moore of Wheatley Hills, John Felitto of Echo Lake, Luke Graboyes of Watchung Valley and Chris Yeom of Rolling Green are seeded in that order following 4-over 146s. Yeom carded the lone sub-par round in the afternoon, shooting 1-under 70.
MGA eClub NYC member Brandon Dalinka, Tyler Cline of Tuxedo Club, and Johnny Schob of Winged Foot claimed the final match play slots, carding 5-over 147s, to be seeded 14-16.
Laurel Links, which has previously hosted USGA and MGA qualifiers but is welcoming its first MGA championship, proved to be a true test of golf. The links-style layout yielded just seven sub-par scores, playing just under 6,900 yards in both rounds. Players are forced to be accurate off the tee with fescue and native bushes lining most holes.
The Round of 16 begins at 7:30 a.m., Friday, with quarterfinal action taking place in the afternoon. Live hole-by-hole scores will be available for each match for the remainder of the championship.