A Professional Coming Of Age

By Rick Jenkins

The 91st NJSGA Open Championship was a coming out party for Kevin Foley. A decorated amateur and college player at Penn State, Foley turned pro just one year ago and was playing in his first State Open. He played like a veteran. In total control of his game and his emotions, Foley methodically carved out three rounds in the 60s at Hollywood Golf Club to win the Open by five strokes at 8-under par.

Control was the name of the game for Foley this week at Hollywood. His ball striking truly was impressive, which shouldn’t be taken for granted, but he managed his way around Hollywood, which he described as a “tough course,” brilliantly. His focus was on hitting fairways and being accurate with his distances and lines into the greens. He executed his game plan to near perfection. He recorded only four bogies on the week, no double bogies or worse, and only one three-putt – quite an accomplishment on the Hollywood greens with their lively swales, ridges and mounds. He played mistake-free golf in the final round to seal the deal. After pulling a couple of drives left at the start of the round, he made three consecutive birdies at holes 4, 5 and 6. Those birdies settled his nerves and “turned around a shaky start,” as he put it. The remainder of the round was fairways and greens, even playing conservatively to the centers of greens. “Let them catch me” was his philosophy as he opened a three to five stroke lead over several players.

For the most part, the field did not mount much of a charge to challenge Foley in the final round. The closest any player got to him was Anthony Aloi, and that was early in the round when he pulled to within one stroke after the third hole. But then Foley rattled off the three consecutive birdies and his lead remained between three and five strokes until the end. Aloi, the 21 year-old rising senior at Furman University and former New Jersey state high school champion, was neck and neck with Sam Kang of Farmstead Golf & Country Club for second place until Aloi stumbled with two late double bogies. Kang finished at 3-under par for sole possession of second.

Brian Gaffney, the defending champion from Rumson Country Club, began the day in third place at 2-under par and ended there. He lost momentum early in his round with back-to-back bogies on the second and third holes and couldn’t find the magic with his iron play that led him to victory down the stretch last year at Spring Brook Country Club.

Brent Studer and Mike Stamberger began the final round with high hopes. Studer, twice a runner-up in the State Open, built some momentum early in his round with two birdies that took him to 4-under, but then gave them back and finished tied for fourth with Frank Esposito, Jr. at 1-under. David Quinn, the pro from Centerton Golf Club, also finished tied for fourth after a closing round 67, the second lowest round of the week. Stamberger, who began the day in second at 3-under par, played even-par golf on the front nine and then dropped three strokes on the back nine to finish at even par. He claimed low amateur honors.

The State Open this year saw its typically strong field of New Jersey club pros and the state’s top amateurs. The starting field of 127 players consisted of 80 professionals and 47 amateurs. Three players with PGA TOUR careers competed: Jim McGovern finished tied for seventh, and Bill Britton and Bobby Gage, last year’s runner-up, tied for twelfth.

While head pro Jason Lamp from next door’s Deal Golf & Country Club stole the show in the opening round by shooting 65, Foley quietly posted 68 that day. When he added another 68 in the second round, the field took notice; suddenly, Foley became the player to beat. He may have flown under the radar initially; perhaps as a newly minted pro his fellow professionals didn’t know much about him. They do now, but it remains to be seen how long he will stay in this area. He has Q-School in his sights this fall, and views his State Open victory as part of the experiential learning curve for realizing his ultimate goal of competing on the PGA TOUR. “It’s a good measure of where you are. Obviously, I have higher goals, but it’ll take time. You have to go step by step,” he said after taking the lead in the second round. He gave Q-School a shot last year, making it through the Pre-Qualifying stage in Valdosta, GA and almost through the First Stage in Pinehurst, NC before a bad final round derailed his chances. This fall, he’ll go straight to First Stage. In the meantime, Foley will continue to work at Neshanic Valley Golf Course, where he helps out in the pro shop and with junior golf camps and clinics. He is scheduled to play in the Met Open at Sleepy Hollow next month.

A very grounded young man, Foley comes from a large family who got him started in golf at a young age and has remained there for him. Brother Jimmy was on the bag this week and his mom and a sister walked every hole. By the age of 14, he put soccer and baseball behind him to focus on golf and tournament competition. He was recruited to play at Penn State, quickly earning Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors and ultimately leading the team to its highest ranking ever, sixth in the nation. He was a three-time All American and finished 23rd in the NCAA Championship in 2008. He won the Ike, the MGAs stroke play championship, in 2008 and also won the prestigious Sunnehanna Invitational in Pennsylvania in 2009.

With another big win under his belt, Kevin Foley is right where he wants to be – for now.