LOCUST VALLEY, N.Y. (August 7, 2011)
– In a closely fought match between
two 19-year-old talents,
Mike
Miller of Knollwood made a
rousing comeback to defeat
Sam Bernstein of
Century, 3 & 1, to win the 109th Met
Amateur at the Piping Rock Club. Miller has
now won two of the three oldest MGA
championships—the 93rd Met Junior at
Ardsley Country Club in 2010, and now the Met
Amateur, the most historic of all MGA events.
The 36-hole match began at 7:30 a.m.
amidst spotty rain showers that intensified
during the fifth and sixth holes but finally
stopped by the seventh hole, when a humid
sunshine broke out that remained for the rest
of the day and resulted in improved scoring
conditions. At the midway break of the match,
Bernstein held a 2-up lead on the strength of
birdies on the 16th and 18th holes, and Miller
knew he had to regroup. He made a call to his
dad, Knollwood Country Club head professional
Bobby Miller, for some advice.
“He told me to slow things down a
bit, and it really helped to hear his
encouragement,” said Miller, whose dad
joined the sizeable gallery for the afternoon
portion of the match
Bernstein, however, 
Sam Bernstein held the midday lead of the
36-hole match.was a formidable opponent who
showed no signs of giving up the lead. In fact,
he extended it to 3-up on the 20th hole of the
match by curling in an eight-foot birdie putt
from below the hole. The players then halved
the par-three third hole (21st hole of the
match), and Bernstein looked poised to take a
4-up lead when Miller bogeyed the par-four
fourth hole. But Bernstein, who had been solid
on short putts all week, lipped out a three-
footer to make a bogey of his own, settling for
a halve and giving Miller a breath of life.
To say he took advantage of it would be
an understatement. Miller went into another
gear, starting things off by driving the green
on the par-four fifth hole and charging in the
eagle putt from 15 feet away to shave
Bernstein’s lead to 2-up. He then won
five out of the next six holes, adding another
eagle at the par-five 10th hole (28th hole of
the match) by hitting a 17-degree hybrid club
to within four feet of the hole. In total, Miller
played holes 5 through 13 (23rd through 31st
in the match) in an astounding eight under par,
going from 3-down to 4-up in what seemed like
the blink of an eye.
“I’ve never had a stretch like
that in a match, never,” said an
ecstatic Miller. “The hole looked like a
jar; everything went in.”
Though Bernstein made it interesting at
the end, winning the 32nd and
34th holes to cut Miller’s lead to
2-up with two to play, Miller clinched the
victory with a gorgeous 7-iron tee shot on the
par-three 17th hole at Piping Rock that
settled about 14 feet past the hole. After
Bernstein’s birdie attempt slid by, Miller
rolled in the putt for a birdie to win by a 3
& 1 margin and add his name to a silver
trophy that includes many of the best players
in amateur golf history, including Miller’s
own great-uncle, Willie Turnesa.
“Starting the day out in the rain, I
knew this was going to be a grueling
match,” said Miller. “To have the
outcome go my way, and to see my name go
next to all those other great players like Willie
Turnesa, and Cameron Wilson, and George
Zahringer, and Andrew Svoboda, who’s
out on Tour now, means so much.”
All day long, Bernstein and Miller enjoyed a
friendly rapport on the course. The two
competitors have known each other for many
years through junior tournaments and local
events, and Bernstein showed himself a lot in
defeat.
“Obviously you want to win, but I
said at the beginning of the day that I just
wanted to go out there and play well and if he
was going to beat me, let him actually beat me
rather than me give it to him. And
that’s how it worked out,” said
Bernstein. “I mean, 8-under through
nine holes, it’s tough to even imagine
that, so you just have to tip your hat to him.
If you have to lose, it’s tough to lose to
someone better than Mike.”
It was an outstanding week at Piping Rock,
and the 6,846-yard, par-71 course once again
proved to be the type of Met Amateur venue
on which the best players rise to the top and
win. In 2012, the MGA looks forward to
bringing the 110th Met Amateur to Hollywood
Golf Club in Deal, N.J.
. However, he missed his par attempt while
Bernstein curled in a six-foot birdie putt to
regain the 2-up lead at the lunch break.
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