34th NJSGA Mid-amateur Underway This Week At Trump-colts Neck
The 34th New Jersey State Golf Association Mid-Amateur Championship, to be contested Tuesday-Thursday, May 9-11 at Trump National Golf Club in Colts Neck, will be missing two key competitors.
Trevor Randolph of Arcola and Brian Komline of Black Oak, who have combined to win four of the past five Mid-Amateurs will be absent. The pair will be part of the six-man team representing the MGA in the Carey Challenge Cup, to be played the following week in Ireland.
Randolph won last year at Spring Lake as well as in 2014 and ’13. Komline, the only golfer to have won all five NJSGA “majors,” won in 2012. Mike Hyland of Little Mill, who won in 2015, is not entered.
A total of 64 golfers will tee it up for stroke-play on Tuesday, May 9, with the top 16 moving on to compete in match-play that takes place with the Round of 16 and quarterfinals on Wednesday, May 10, and the semifinals and final on Thursday, May 11.
The champion will hoist the coveted Gigi Carnevale Trophy, named after the former Rutgers University golf coach.
The field includes former champions Tom Gramigna of Tavistock (2003, ‘05, ’06) Mike Deo of Black Oak (2007) and Mike Stamberger of Spring Lake (2008).
Others with impressive resumes include former NJSGA Amateur champions Stamberger (2014, ’13), Deo, (2009), Gramigna (2008), and Bill McGuiness of Tavistock (2007); former NJSGA Pre-Senior champions Dan Gregory of Panther Valley (2016) and Nick Desai of Baltusrol (2015), two-time Met Mid-Amateur champion Niall Handley of Essex Fells, and two-time Senior Amateur champion Jay Blumenfeld of Mountain Ridge.
Another player to watch is Roger Hoit of Baltusrol, who has won the Ike Championship (2006) and played in the 2015 U.S. Senior Open.
“Without a doubt, it’s a wide-open opportunity for the better players in the state to get their name on a major championship trophy,” said NJSGA executive director Kevin Purcell, who played well in the event many times. “I wish I was playing myself.”
In the 2016 Mid-Am championship final, a 5 and 3 finals victory over 2012 champion Brian Komline of Black Oak, Randolph, 44, became the third golfer to win three Mid-Amateur titles, matching Bruce Young of Harkers Hollow (1992, ’94 and ’95) and Tom Gramigna of Tavistock (2002, ’03 and ’05).
