Pingry's Mayer is the Courier News Boys Golfer of Year

The stress of the recruiting process ended for Jake Mayer in February when he was told he'd be offered a place with the class of 2021 at Princeton University. The news was a dream come to fruition for The Pingry School senior golfer, who's always wanted to play for the Tigers.

“In a lot of ways it was an incredible weight lifted,” Mayer said. ”It was my dream school from the beginning, it was really special to find out, and I'm honored to be on the golf team. It's a dream come true.”

READ: OLD BRIDGE'S SUL IS THE HNT BOYS GOLFER OF THE YEAR

He followed up the big news by putting together a spring Princeton coach Will Green must have been delighted to see. The Scotch Plains resident won his third straight Somerset County Tournament title at Neshanic Valley Golf Course, leading the Big Blue to the team title. Mayer shot an even-par 72, hitting 36 on the front and back nines. It was the same score he had as a junior. 

“Not only does Jake have all the skills to be a great golfer, he has great course management,” Pingry coach Joe Forte said. “He is always focused and under control, he is a great captain and role model for our team.”

Mayer successfully defended his Non-Public North B championship and captured his first Skyland Conference crown. Mayer just missed winning as a junior, losing by a stroke, as the tournament came down to the final hole.

Mayer's high school career ended in a second place tie in the Non-Public B Tournament at Hopewell Valley Golf Course behind winner Ryan Fitzsimmons of DePaul Catholic. Mayer and Patrick Gates of St. Rose were one stroke back.

For his efforts, Mayer is the 2017 Courier News Boys Golfer of the Year. 

“It would have been nice to win the Non-Public B title, but two bad holes put me out of it,” Mayer said. “But the rest of the season was very special.”

Bad holes were very rare for him as Mayer shot under par for the entire season, a first for him.

“I made more birdies and that was very helpful,” Mayer said.

College will be dramatically different both on the golf course and in the classroom.

Mayer was in the precious 6.1 percent or 1,890 students from 49 states, Washington, D.C., Guam, Puerto Rico, American Samoa and the Virgin Islands out of a university record 31,056 applicants to be offered admission. He said he's "extremely” interested in economics, perhaps with a specialty in banking or real estate.

Mayer credits golf for the ability to be in such a position.

For Mayer, athletics was the way to get where he wanted to be academically. He was one of two Pingry students to be honored as a Somerset County Scholar Athlete, and Mayer was awarded a economics prize at the school’s graduation last Sunday.

“I always put academics first and athletics a very close second, about equal,” said Mayer, one of five Pingry students headed to Princeton in the fall. “I think Pingry prepared me very well in both regards. It's going to be a huge adjustment, the workload is going to be tough. I don’t feel I’ll be behind coming out of Pingry because they prepared me very well.”

He praised his teachers at Pingry and his parents, Mitch and Janine, who have driven him to countless tournaments since he began playing competitively when he was 9.

“My parents not only drove me to tournaments, but supported me throughout the process and always believed in me,” Mayer said.

His drive to improve will continue this summer. Mayer knows college golf is weighted heavily on the putting game, so that's something he'll spend time on. He also will play several amateur tournaments, including the 100th Metropolitan Junior Championships from July 19-21 at Plainfield Country Club in Edison. That's been Mayer’s home course for the past four years.

“I have a lot to prove going down (to Princeton),” Mayer said. “It won't be easy. I have a lot of work to do this summer. I have to be more consistent.”

All-Skyland Conference Selections

Valley Division

First Team: Jake Mayer, Pingry; Logan Snyder, Voorhees; Joey Russo, Somerville; Michael Gallagher, Pingry; Michael Bliss, Somerville; Gavin Rau, Immaculata. 

Second Team: Josh Baum, Pingry; Doug Huber, Delaware Valley; Burke Pagano, Pingry; Ben Mandelbaum, Pingry; Jimmy Sapp, Immaculata. 

Mountain Division

First Team: Reilly Haughan, Bernards; Mark Herwig, Rutgers Prep; Nick Policano, Gill St. Bernard's; Nicholas Iskra, Bernards; Josh DePinto, Belvidere; Troy Pilla, Gill St. Bernard's. 

Second Team: Chris Das, Bernards; Owen Loughlin, Bernards; Drew Kramer, Gill St. Bernard's; Brandon Gares, South Hunterdon; Graham Valentine, Gill St. Bernard's. 

Delaware Division

First Team: Derek Li, Hillsborough; Steve Albanese, Bridgewater-Raritan; Robert Motzel, Hunterdon Central; Clement Shao, Watchung Hills; Michael Delgrande, Ridge; Jeffrey Li, Ridge. 

Second Team: Joseph Lostumbo, Hunterdon Central; Noah Graves, Ridge; Thomas Kirby, Ridge; Jason Podgorski, Hunterdon Central; Brad Pinho, Watchung Hills. 

Raritan Division

First Team: Andrew Kotler, Montgomery; Jake McCarthy, Montgomery; Brendan Zappala, North Hunterdon; Erik Stevens, North Hunterdon; Brian Cardace, North Hunterdon.

Second Team: David Yale, Phillipsburg; Josh Roerig, Warren Hills; Mehul Singh, Montgomery; Mike Kochanowski, North Hunterdon.