Gotterup followed up his stellar morning round with a 3-under 69 – enduring a 1-hour, 35-minute suspension of play due to weather – to record a 12-under 132 total. The 36 holes of on-site stroke play finished just as darkness set in, but a 4-for-3 playoff remains to decide the final positions for match play.
Reigning champion Matt Mattare, 2017 Ike champion Matt Lowe , 2017 U.S. Mid-Amateur quarterfinalist Brad Tilley and Louis Amira will vie for the final spots in the 16-player bracket.
“I was feeling good to start the day,” said Gotterup, who lipped out a birdie putt on the opening hole. He then converted birdies on the next three holes, and knew he was in great position after putting another circle on his scorecard on the par-4 sixth.
“If I can get to those par fives [Nos. 8-9] under-par, I know I’m doing good,” said Gotterup. “And I birdied both par fives, so I was off to a hot start and kept it going in the afternoon.”
In the afternoon, Gotterup put it on cruise control and enjoyed the round. “I got it to 10 and just had some fun in the afternoon playing with a good group,” he said.
Arcola’s own Trevor Randolph – fresh off a win in the Boff Invitational, Monday – shot 2-under in the afternoon to secure the No. 2 seed at 3-under 141. Wednesday’s Carter Cup champion Carter Prince shot 6-under 66 for the afternoon’s low round, jumping into a tie for third alongside Dawson Jones, Ethan Wall and 2017 Met Junior champion Jake Mayer at 2-under 142.
Six players made their way to match play at 1-under 143, including reigning MGA Player of the Year James Nicholas, Ethan Ng, Gerry Mackedon, Andrew Biggadike, two-time Westchester Amateur champion Christian Cavaliere, and Ryan Davis. Both Jones and Ng will be making their third consecutive appearance in match play of the Met Amateur.
Thomas LaMorte of Haworth finished at even-par, rounding out those who safely advanced to the bracket and avoiding the 4-for-3 playoff.
Matches begin at 7:30 a.m. off the par-4 first, while the playoff will begin on the par-4 10th.