Nicholas, Davis lead as Met Amateur semis suspended

PARAMUS, N.J. (Aug. 4, 2018) - After heavy rain storms came through the area on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning, the quarterfinal matches of the 116th Met Amateur Championship were suspended until Saturday morning. When play resumed, the matches heated up. Ryan Davis of New Jersey National defeated Arcola's Trevor Randolph, 2 and 1, after getting off to a good start on Friday. Randolph battled back, but it was the Penn State golfer who sealed the deal to advance to the semifinals.

2017 Met Junior champion Jake Mayer of Plainfield defeated Brad Tilley of Sleepy Hollow, also 2 and 1. After some early back and forth, their match was all square after 13, but two more birdies led Mayer to the victory.

Seven birdies in 17 holes helped the 2018 WGA Amateur champion Christian Cavaliere of Mahopac Golf and Beach Club to his quarterfinal win over Dawson Jones of Eagle Oaks Golf Club. Their match was all square at the turn, but Cavaliere stayed hot and won the match, 2 and 1.

James Nicholas of Westchester Country Club, the WGA Player of the Year, defeated the reigning Met Am champ, Matt Mattare of Darlington to take the final semifinalist position. The Nicholas/Mattare match was the only quarterfinal match to go all the way to the 18th hole, Nicholas won the match, 1 up.

In the all-college quarterfinals, friends Christian Cavaliere (Boston College) and James Nicholas (Yale) found each other facing off once again; they squared off in the 2017 WGA Amateur semifinals at Whipporrwill where Cavaliere was victorious. Nicholas is 1 up through 15 holes after a back-and-forth match.

On the other side of the bracket, Ryan Davis (Penn State) holds a 1-up lead over Jake Mayer (Princeton) through 16 holes. Davis got off to a hot start and was 3 up after four holes. Mayer kept pushing back, however, and after a birdie on 10, he was only 1 down. After Davis struggled to get up-and-down on the par-3 11th and Mayer saved par, the match got back to all square. It wasn't until the 16th hole that Davis took a 1-up lead again - Mayer was over the green but still made par, but Davis was safely on in two and able to make a birdie.

Play was suspended due to darkness at 8:25 p.m. and will resume at 7:30 a.m. on Sunday, followed by the final 36-hole match. Davis holds a 1-up lead over Mayer through 16, and Nicholas is 1 up over Cavaliere through 15.