Saturday Semis Set at Hudson National
CROTON-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. (August 2, 2019) -- After starting Friday with a star-studded 16-player bracket, the 117th Met Amateur Championship at Hudson National Golf Club has been whittled down to its final four competitors. A quartet of highly accomplished players remain, including Ryan Davis of New Jersey National, who is aiming to defend his title from a year ago.
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Davis earned a pair of 3-and-2 victories on Friday, defeating Darren Lin of Spring Lake and MGA eClub - New Jersey member Vince Kwon, keeping his hopes alive to become the first back-to-back winner of the Met Amateur since Johnson Wagner in 2001-02. While Kwon took the first lead of the quarterfinal match with birdie on the par-4 4th, Davis won No. 7 and then took Nos. 10 and 11 with back-to-back birdies. After four ties, a par three on the signature 16th locked Davis' spot in the semifinals.
Davis will square off against fellow New Jerseyan Dawson Jones of Eagle Oaks, who is shooting to become the first person since David Pastore (2014) to win both the Ike and Amateur in the same year. Jones has been on a tear as of late following his Ike win at Canoe Brook, claiming medalist honors in a U.S. Amateur qualifier and then winning the New Jersey State Amateur title. On Friday, Jones used a 20-foot birdie on the 18th to edge Brad Tilley of Sleepy Hollow, then in the afternoon defeated 16-year-old standout Dean Greyserman of Crestmont, 2-and-1. This is Jones' fourth consecutive year advancing and winning at least one match in the Met Amateur.
In the other half of the bracket, 18-year-old Adam Xiao of Old Westbury defeated two-time MGA Mid-Amateur champion Trevor Randolph of Arcola, 2-up, in the morning before taking down recent Connecticut Amateur champion Rick Dowling of Golf Performance Center, 3-and-2. Xiao, a six-year letterwinner in golf at Manhasset High School who is headed to Harvard this fall, was the runner-up in last year's Nassau Invitational and is looking to continue his sharp match play record. While Xiao and Dowling traded each of the first three holes with Dowling taking a 1-up lead, Xiao won Nos. 6-8 to quickly grab a 2-up advantage. Dowling returned his deficit to one, but wins on Nos. 13 and 15 helped seal his spot in the semifinals.
Xiao will square off against recent New Jersey State Open champion Chris Gotterup of Rumson, who claimed a 3-and-1 win over Jimin Jung of Trump National - Westchester in the morning and then defeated Jack Wall of Manasquan River in the quarterfinals. Wall birdied the short par-4 17th to win his second straight hole and go 1-up in the match, but short missed putts on Nos. 18 and then 1 left the match in Gotterup's favor.
Players have enjoyed the challenge and beauty of Hudson National Golf Club and the course's exceptional layout for the match play format. Stretching just under 7,000 yards, the course's firm fairways and fast greens have provided plenty of opportunity to score, while wayward shots, especially off the tee, result in facing the challenge of thick rough or fescue. This is the second Met Amateur Championship hosted by the club.
Saturday's semifinal matches begin at 7:30 a.m. and will set the table for Sunday's 36-hole final to determine the victor of the MGA's oldest championship.