{"id":34144,"date":"2026-07-10T01:27:22","date_gmt":"2026-07-10T01:27:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/34144\/"},"modified":"2026-07-10T01:27:22","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T01:27:22","slug":"matthew-lowe-wins-new-york-state-amateur-golf-championship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/34144\/","title":{"rendered":"Matthew Lowe wins New York State Amateur golf championship"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Matthew<\/p>\n

Matthew Lowe, the New York State Golf Association Men\u2019s Amateur champion, hits a tee shot on Thursday, July 9, 2026, at Glens Falls Country Club in Queensbury, NY. (Jim Franco\/Times Union)<\/p>\n

Jim Franco\/Times Union\"Matthew<\/p>\n

Matthew Lowe, the New York State Golf Association Men\u2019s Amateur champion, hits an iron shot on Thursday, July 9, 2026, at Glens Falls Country Club in Queensbury, NY. (Jim Franco\/Times Union)<\/p>\n

Jim Franco\/Times Union\"Matthew<\/p>\n

Matthew Lowe, the New York State Golf Association Men\u2019s Amateur champion, hits an iron shot on Thursday, July 9, 2026, at Glens Falls Country Club in Queensbury, NY. (Jim Franco\/Times Union)<\/p>\n

Jim Franco\/Times Union\"Brayden<\/p>\n

Brayden Dock, of Glens Falls, hits a shot during the New York State Golf Association Men\u2019s Amateur Championship on Thursday, July 9, 2026, at Glens Falls Country Club in Queensbury, NY. (Jim Franco\/Times Union)<\/p>\n

Jim Franco\/Times Union\"Kellen<\/p>\n

Kellen Dean, of Saratoga, hits a shot during the New York State Golf Association Men\u2019s Amateur Championship on Thursday, July 9, 2026, at Glens Falls Country Club in Queensbury, NY. (Jim Franco\/Times Union)<\/p>\n

Jim Franco\/Times Union\"Christian<\/p>\n

Christian Chapman hits a tee shot during the New York State Golf Association Men\u2019s Amateur Championship on Thursday, July 9, 2026, at Glens Falls Country Club in Queensbury, NY. (Jim Franco\/Times Union)<\/p>\n

Jim Franco\/Times Union\"Lucas<\/p>\n

Lucas Rizo-Patron hits a chip shot during the New York State Golf Association Men\u2019s Amateur Championship on Thursday, July 9, 2026, at Glens Falls Country Club in Queensbury, NY. (Jim Franco\/Times Union)<\/p>\n

Jim Franco\/Times Union\"Lucas<\/p>\n

Lucas Rizo-Patron hits a tee shot during the New York State Golf Association Men\u2019s Amateur Championship on Thursday, July 9, 2026, at Glens Falls Country Club in Queensbury, NY. (Jim Franco\/Times Union)<\/p>\n

Jim Franco\/Times Union\"Christian<\/p>\n

Christian Chapman hits a putt during the New York State Golf Association Men\u2019s Amateur Championship on Thursday, July 9, 2026, at Glens Falls Country Club in Queensbury, NY. (Jim Franco\/Times Union)<\/p>\n

Jim Franco\/Times Union<\/p>\n

QUEENSBURY\u00a0\u2014 Sometimes, the quickest way to the top is through the back door.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Essentially that\u2019s what Matthew Lowe, a 30-year-old former pro from Farmingdale, did Thursday to win the 103rd New York State Amateur golf championship at Glens Falls Country Club.<\/p>\n

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After a pair of even-par rounds of 71, Lowe, a member at Bethpage State Park, began the 36-hole final day in a three-way tie for 11th. He shot a 4-under par 67 in the morning to move into third, still four shots behind Christian Chapman of Victor, who led after each of the first three rounds.<\/p>\n

Lowe fired a 6-under 65 in the afternoon, including four consecutive birdies to finish his front nine, and cruised to a three-stroke victory and gained possession of the Ganson Depew Cup. He came in with a 72-hole score of 10-under 274 and earned an exemption into the U.S. Amateur.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt very good after the first two rounds,\u201d said Lowe, who was fourth last year. \u201cTwo rounds of even par. I felt like I was playing really well, and certain things were not going my way, I was like, this can\u2019t continue to be bad luck. Neutral luck would have been fine. I was hoping to get good luck in today\u2019s two rounds, which I ended up being. I was very happy with how it all turned out.\u201d<\/p>\n

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What essentially clinched the victory for Lowe, who works in the warehouse of his dad\u2019s beauty supply distribution company, was his strategy on the par-5 16th, a dogleg left. Rather than play the hole conventionally, Lowe took his drive down the adjacent left fairway.<\/p>\n

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He hit a 6-iron from 222 yards to the back of the green and two-putted for birdie.<\/p>\n

\"Matthew<\/p>\n

Matthew Lowe, the New York State Golf Association Men\u2019s Amateur champion, hits a tee shot on Thursday, July 9, 2026, at Glens Falls Country Club in Queensbury, NY. (Jim Franco\/Times Union)<\/p>\n

Jim Franco\/Times Union<\/p>\n

\u201cFour days in a row,\u201d Lowe said. \u201cAnybody who doesn\u2019t go left is losing their minds. It\u2019s better in every possible regard, right? No out-of-bounds, shorter, better angle at the green.\u201d<\/p>\n

That was his only birdie on the back side to go with eight pars, getting Lowe to 10-under par.<\/p>\n

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Playing three groups behind, Chapman and Lucas Rizo-Patron were struggling. Chapman entered the final round with a one-shot lead on Rizo-Patron, but carded no birdies in the afternoon, getting an eagle on 16 after four bogeys. He finished third at 5-under 279.<\/p>\n

Rizo-Patron, a Rye resident who is headed to UCLA as a sophomore in the fall, may have had the longest day among the 43 who teed it up Thursday. He suffered food poisoning on Wednesday night and spent much of the morning taking bathroom breaks during the round. Rizo-Patron still birdied five of his last six holes to shoot 68 and cut three shots off Chapman\u2019s lead.<\/p>\n

He couldn\u2019t maintain the momentum in the final round, carding a 71 and taking himself out of contention with a double bogey on the par-4 14th. More remarkable, perhaps, than playing with an upset stomach is that Rizo-Patron said he didn\u2019t look at the leaderboard.<\/p>\n

\"Matthew<\/p>\n

Matthew Lowe, the New York State Golf Association Men\u2019s Amateur champion, hits a chip shot on Thursday, July 9, 2026, at Glens Falls Country Club in Queensbury, NY. (Jim Franco\/Times Union)<\/p>\n

Jim Franco\/Times Union<\/p>\n

\u201cI did not (look),\u201d he said. \u201cI checked it after hitting my approach on 18 and saw I was three back, which I thought I was going to be winning. That took the wind out of my sails a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n

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He took the runner-up trophy with a 7-under 276.<\/p>\n

Three local players finished strong to crack the top 10.<\/p>\n

Brayden Dock, who plays out of Glens Falls, had rounds of 73 and 72 to place sixth. That\u2019s despite a four-round scorecard that included two double bogeys and a quadruple bogey.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very happy with how I hung in there,\u201d said Dock, who will be entering his junior year at Colgate. \u201cBeing 4-over through six to start the tournament, I battled my way back the whole way. Definitely some blips throughout the 72 holes, made a few big numbers, but I just kept my head down and trusted my game, and I\u2019m very happy with that.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Lucas<\/p>\n

Lucas Rizo-Patron lines up a putt during the New York State Golf Association Men\u2019s Amateur Championship on Thursday, July 9, 2026, at Glens Falls Country Club in Queensbury, NY. (Jim Franco\/Times Union)<\/p>\n

Jim Franco\/Times Union<\/p>\n

Dock played with McGregor member Kellen Dean of Saratoga Springs. As students of Anders Mattson\u2019s studio in Saratoga, they have played together for more than a decade.<\/p>\n

Dean and Tanner LaTorre of Nassau, who shot a 69 in the final round, tied for ninth.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a fun tournament,\u201d said Dean, a junior at Xavier. \u201cThere was a lot of positive to take away, but a little frustrating at times. You always look at\u00a0\u2014 I\u2019m sure it\u2019s the same thing with Brayden\u00a0\u2014 like the only thing you think about is winning this at Glens Falls, so a little frustrating in that aspect. But fun, always fun, especially on this golf course.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The top 20 and ties are exempt from qualifying for next year\u2019s State Amateur. That group included Dock, Dean, LaTorre and Vinny Liguori of Edison, who tied for 16th.<\/p>\n

NYS Men\u2019s Amateur Championship<\/p>\n

(Glens Falls CC, Queensbury)<\/p>\n

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