Greenwich's Humphrey Wins MGA/MetLife Boys Championship

Greenwich's Theo Humphrey emerged as the winner of the 43rd MGA/MetLife Boys Championship on Friday.

The 15-year-old Humphrey defeated Christopher Gabriele of Cold Spring, Harbor, N.Y., 2 and 1 in the championship match at the Rumson Country Club in Rumson, N.J.

A rising sophomore at Rye Country Day School,  Humphrey reached the final with a 2 and 1 victory over Jeremy Wall of Brielle, N.J., in the semifinals.

In the final, neither play had a lead of more than one hole before Humphrey closed out the match on No. 17.

"I scored and managed my game well today,” said Humphrey, who led after the first round of the Carter Cup at Baltusrol on August 3 following a round of 69 on the Upper Course. "I hit some loose shots but I was able to recover, and I didn’t make too many bogeys."

Humphrey won the second hole with a par, but lost the fourth and fifth holes to go one-down. He squared the match with a birdie on the eighth hole.

Humphrey made the turn one-up following a bogey by Gabriele at No. 9.

After the players halved the next four holes, Gabriele rolled in a 12-foot birdie putt on the par-three 14th hole to square the match with four holes to play.

Humphrey regained the lead when his opponent three-putted from the front fringe for a bogey on the 15th.  Both players conceded short birdie putts on the 16th, keeping Humphrey one-up.

The match came to an end on the 17th green when Gabriele, who pushed his tee shot to the right rough, came up short on his flop shot and made a bogey. Humphrey lagged his birdie effort to three feet for a conceded par.

By reaching the finals, Humphrey is exempted into the 2012 Met Junior Championship at Nissequogue Golf Club on Long Island and the 2012 Carter Cup at Baltusrol.