Jake Mayer Wins Twice, Seeks Second Junior Title In Three Years
To say Jake Mayer of Plainfield has played a lot of golf lately would be an understatement.
By his own count, he has played 278 holes of golf in the past 11 days. That includes winning the Met Junior championship, placing second in the Plainfield Country Club club championship over the weekend, and three rounds in the NJSGA Junior Championship on Monday and Tuesday.
And that doesn’t include the three rounds he shot on July 11-13 at the State Open at Metedeeconk National, when he placed tied for sixth at 225.
On Tuesday, the left-handed Mayer, 18, who won the Junior Championship in 2017 at age 16, won both of his matches to advance to the semifinals of the Junior Championship at Watchung Valley Golf Club in Watchung.
PHOTO GALLERY JUNIOR BRACKETS BOYS BRACKETS
Mayer defeated 15-year-old William Huang of Hopewell Valley, 1 up, in the quarterfinals after winning in the Round of 16, 3 and 2, over Derek Li of Royce Brook.
On Tuesday, Mayer faces Stephen Sul of Forsgate, a 17-year-old All-State golfer from Old Bridge High School, who defeated Erik Stevens of Hawk Pointe, 3 and 1.
In the other semifinal match, 2016 runner-up Jack Wall of Manasquan River, a 3 and 2 winner over Ryan Pongrac of Eagle Oaks, faces Christopher Lee of Overpeck, who defeated Andrew Perry of Trunp National in Bedminster, 6 and 5. Lee is a recent graduate of Westwood High who made All-Group 2 and will be entering Seton Hall University.
“I’m a little tired from all the golf,” said Mayer, who turns 19 next Tuesday, and is an incoming freshman at Princeton University. “Tomorrow will be my eight straight competitive day.
“But I’m really excited to be in this position, to reach the semifinals again,” said Mayer, a Pingry graduate who missed last year’s tournament die to personal reasons. “This championship has such a history. I don’t think there’s been too many won have won the Met Junior and the New Jersey State Junior in the same year.”
The Met Junior-NJSGA Junior double has only been accomplished three times, by August Kammer of Baltusrol in 1929, by Billy Ziobro of Ash Brook in 1966 and by Ken Macdonald of Upper Montclair in 1995.
Mayer said he was struggling early in the summer but his recent success is due to his iron play.
“Now they go where I want them to go. I’m in a good mindset.”
Against Huang, Mayer went two up when he birdied the par-3 No. 11 from six feet. Huang cut the lead in half with a birdie on the par 3 No. 13 when he nearly recorded an ace. But the remaining holes were halved , Mayer winning on No. 18 with a par.
“The match was really intense,” said Huang, a Princeton resident and rising sophomore at Phillips-Exeter Academy in New Hampshire. “I kept waiting for Jake to make a mistake, but he’s too solid of a golfer. I had my chances, but burned too many edges with my putts.”
Wall, a rising junior who helped Christian Brothers Academy to the state high school championship this spring, recently placed eighth in the Western Junior at Park Ridge C.C. in Illinois.
“That made me realize I could play with the best juniors in the country.”
A year ago, Wall tested himself in the Junior bracket, although he was only 15. He reached the final, losing to Anthony Colombino of Montclair, 3 and 1.
“Being the runner-up last year motivates me a lot, to be so close and not hold the trophy in my hands. I feel out here you can be aggressive with your short irons. I made some little mistakes today that I want to tighten up for tomorrow,” Wall said.
In the Boys bracket, for those ages 15 and under, the semifinal matches include Tyler Galantini of Montclair against Dean Greyserman of Crestmont in one match and Cade McLaughlin of TPC Jasna Polana against Charlie Cummings of Arcola in the other.
In the quarterfinals, Galantini defeated Eagen McDermott of Forsgate, 2 and 1; Greyserman defeated Leo Turi of North Jersey, 1 up; McLaughlin beat Finbar Bonner of Manasquan River, 2 and 1, and Cummings ousted Vincent Apostolico of Newton 2 and 1.
