LOCUST VALLEY, N.Y. (August 6,
2011)– The stage is set for the finals of
the 109th Met Amateur at Piping Rock, as two
19-year-old stars will square off for the
coveted silvery trophy on the spectacular Long
Island course. Sam Bernstein of
Century and Mike Miller of
Knollwood will play the 36-hole finale on
Sunday, August 7, beginning at 7:30 a.m. This
is the first trip to the finals of the
MGA’s oldest championship for both
competitors.
Sam BernsteinIn the first semifinal match
of the day, Bernstein knocked off overall #1
seed Alex Edfort of Neshanic
Valley 6&5. Edfort, who won both his
Round of 16 and Quarterfinal matches in
convincing fashion, could not keep up with
Bernstein, who won holes 6 through 10 to take
a commanding 6-up lead through ten holes.
Both players are rising juniors in college; Edfort
is a member of the University of the Pacific
golf team while Bernstein is a standout on the
Yale University team. Bernstein won this
year’s Arcola Cup and also was the low
amateur at the 2009 Met Open.
“I got off to a good start
with a birdie on one, and had a good up-and-
down par save on the fifth hole from behind
the green,” Bernstein said after the
match. “My game feels good, I’m
hitting and putting it well, but my chipping
hasn’t been my best this week. The
course is very similar to the Yale course,
having been designed by the same person
[C.B. Macdonald], so I feel really comfortable
out here.” As far as the gameplan for
tomorrow, Bernstein will stick to what has
been working all week, keeping his lines and
relying on his length and putting stroke.
The second semifinal match featured two
former MGA junior event winners as the 2010
Met Junior champion Miller took on the 2010
MGA/MetLife Boys winner Matt
Lowe of Colonial Springs. Lowe, 15, was
the youngest player to advance to the
semifinals and as hard as he fought,
Miller’s consistent play—along
with a strong contingent of family cheering him
on—propelled him into his very first Met
Amateur final. Miller was a semifinalist in this
event last year, losing to eventual runner-up
Cameron Wilson of Shorehaven.
Like Bernstein, Miller got up in the match
early with a birdie on the first hole. After Lowe
found the fescue and failed to get out of the
trouble with his second shot, Miller safely
found the green and rolled in a 20-footer to
win the hole. Miller went on to win the 5th, 7th
and 10th holes before Lowe won the 13th to
move into striking distance. However, the
match ended when both players made par on
the par-3 17th hole, punching Miller’s
ticket to the finale.
“Going into tomorrow, it should be
fun. I am going to go and have a great night
sleep tonight and we’ll see what
happens. It was great having my whole family
out here watching,” Miller said following
his round. Miller and Bernstein are no strangers
as both have played with, and against each
other, numerous times. “Sam is a good
player, he played today at 4-under.
He’s one of my good buddies so
tomorrow should be fun.”
Bernstein and Miller will tee off tomorrow
morning at 7:30 a.m., and will break for lunch
between the first and second rounds. The
second round will commence at 11:30 a.m. and
live scoring and updates can be found
on www.m
gagolf.org.
View results for MET Amateur
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.
View Complete Tournament Information