Mahopac Golf and Beach Club Member Wins Met Junior Championship
An eagle and three consecutive birdies by Christian Cavaliere during a five-hole stretch of the championship match in the 99th Met Junior Championship sponsored by MetLife helped propel the Katonah native to the title at The Patterson Club on July 14. Cavaliere came out on top in every facet this week, earning medalist honors in the 36-hole stroke-play portion on July 12, then winning four matches to hoist the historic Mandeville Trophy.
Cavaliere faced an early two-hole deficit to his finals opponent Max Theodorakis of Danbury, Conn., after finding trouble on both the second and third holes. However, Cavaliere’s momentum changed dramatically as he holed out for an eagle-2 from 92 yards on the fourth hole.
“I holed out on four, then that kind of jump started the rest of the round and I played well,” explained Cavaliere.
After the pair halved the par-5 fifth, Cavaliere really found his swing, birdieing the next three holes. “I made a great shot on six to a foot, then had a two-putt birdie on seven, and I drained a nice 20-footer on eight,” said Cavaliere, who will attend Boston College in the fall.
“In those stretches when I’m making putts, I just see the line and feel it in,” Cavaliere remarked. In the span of five holes, Cavaliere was 5-under and turned a two-hole deficit into a two-hole advantage. After halves on Nos. 9 and 10, Theodorakis appeared to have an advantage on the dogleg-right, par-5 11th as Cavaliere’s drive was pushed to the right. Theodorakis’ approach came up just short of the putting surface, but Cavaliere found a hole in the tree line and sailed a long iron onto the back portion of the green. He two-putted from there for birdie while Theodorakis could not get up and down for par. A bogey halved the lengthy par-3 12th, then Cavaliere shut the door with strong par saves on Nos. 13 and 14, winning both holes for a 5&4 victory.
While Cavaliere may have faced a deficit to each of his match play opponents, the 18-year old never worried too much about whether his game could rally. “I’ve always tended to be a back nine player, so I wasn’t too concerned,” explained Cavaliere. “I knew my game was going to come around, so getting off to a little bit of a rough start is kind of normal for me. It would have been nice to not be trailing in every match, but I fought back.”
Cavaliere is one of a group of top junior players coming out of Mahopac Golf and Beach Club, located in Mahopac. He grew up at MGBC and excelled at the game while honing his skills on the historic club’s 6,523 yard 18 hole course located on the shores of Lake Mahopac. The course provided him with the ability to work on every shot in his bag to help prepare him for such a prestigious event and victory. The members of the club as well as the staff are proud of what he has accomplished so far and think he has a bright golf career ahead of him.
Mahopac Golf and Beach Club has become known for its top junior golfers. In July 2014, Luke Feehan of Mahopac won the 92nd Annual New York State Men’s Amateur Golf Championship at Bellevue Country Club with a five-over par 289 four-round total to finish and force a tie breaker, winning in dramatic fashion. Again in 2015, Luke captured the Westchester Golf Association’s Amateur Championship as well. The event was held at Rockrimmon Country Club In Stamford, Conn, where Feehan won with a score of 5 and 4 in the 36 hole match play final. The junior programming at Mahopac has helped develop some talented young golfers that have excelled in the regional spotlight.
The Met Junior is in its third year of a new format, as the area’s top juniors played 36 holes of on-site qualifying and the top 16 seeds advanced to match play for the remainder of the event.
The Met Junior Championship Sponsored by MetLife is recognized as the nation’s oldest junior championship, being founded in 1912, and has produced a quality list of champions, including Butch and Bill Harmon, Marc Turnesa, Andrew Svoboda, Mike Miller and Cameron Young.
The championship is open to juniors who have not started attending college, are not yet 19 by August 3 and who reside in the MGA territory. Players who advance to match play receive an invitation to the Carter Cup, the MGA’s Junior Stroke Play event, which will be played at Winged Foot Golf Club on August 3.
