The semifinalists
The final four at the 122nd Met Amateur from Somerset Hills Country Club is set. Christian Cavaliere of Hudson National, Jack Chung of Greenwich Country Club, Donte Groppuso of Wiltwyck, and Jack Wall of Manasquan River advanced on Friday after two rounds of match play. Wall is seeking his second Met Amateur title, having won at Bethpage in 2020. Cavaliere will aim to advance to the final for a third time, while Chung and Groppuso are making their runs in their first-ever Met Amateur appearance.
Wall, the top seed after sharing medalist honors on Thursday, advanced to the semifinals with a 4-and-3 win over Matthew Lowe of Bethpage. The match was tied at the turn before Wall won four of the next six holes, ending the match with birdie-par sequence on Nos. 14-15 to advance. In the morning, Wall needed birdie on the par-4 18th to force extra holes against Adam Friedman of Sterling Farms, ultimately winning in 20 holes.
Wall will meet Cavaliere in the semifinals on Saturday.
Cavaliere knocked off Tim Hegarty of Sleepy Hollow, 4 and 2, in the afternoon. Cavaliere enjoyed a 1-up lead at the turn and then won Nos. 10-12 to take a 4-up advantage. The 26-year-old was the runner-up at last year’s Met Amateur at Frair's Head as well as in 2018 at Arcola. In his opening round match, Cavaliere upended Somerset Hills' own Eric LeFante by a 3-and-2 margin.
“You must conserve your energy over these 36-hole days," said Cavaliere after his quarterfinal win. "I like to get fired up out there and really like take energy away from myself. So I tried to do that as little as possible on a day like today. It was very hot, very humid. So just battled through."
Chung advanced with a 2-and-1 win over Colin Summers of Plainfield. The 16-year-old, the youngest player in the Met Amateur starting field, was down one at the turn but won Nos. 11, 13, and 16 to flip the match. Chung made a left-to-right slider for birdie on the par-3 16th and a 15-foot birdie putt on No. 17 to win the match. His morning win came over 2024 Ike champion, Peicheng Chen of Rock Hill by a 3-and-2 margin.
“The one on 16 was downhill left-to-right, and I hit that putt in the stroke play, said Chung on his birdie putt. “It was quick, so I was just trying to start it out to the left, and it fell in. And then like the putt on 17, except that one was right to left. Both of those are just about starting it on your line, with decent speed, because the greens are super quick.”
In the semifinals, Chung will meet Groppuso. Groppuso edged Chris DeJohn of Arcola 3 and 2. DeJohn led through nine, but Groppuso responded with a win on No. 10. The 22-year-old reclaimed the lead with a birdie on the par-3 12th. Wins on Nos. 14 and 15 sealed the match for Groppuso. Groppuso had a big win in the morning, defeating reigning champion Josh German of Meadow Brook, 1 up.
Chung is seeking to become the first player to win the Met Junior and Met Amateur in the same year, having won the Met Junior at Sunningdale Country Club two weeks ago.
The semifinal tee times are Cavaliere and Wall at 7:30 a.m., off the first tee, with Chung and Groppuso following at 7:40 a.m.
The winner of the Met Amateur is exempt into the U.S. Amateur, which will be hosted by Hazeltine National Golf Club in Minnesota.
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ABOUT THE
MET Amateur
The competition is open to male Amateur
members of MGA Member Clubs who have a
current USGA Handicap Index of 5.0 or less
and to those exempted by the MGA
Committee. All entrants are subject to the
MGA Rules and Regulations.
Format of play:
18 hole sectional qualifying round.
Qualifiers
play 36 hole on-site qualifying round,
determining 16 players for match play.
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