Angelillo Cruises to Victory at 65th Pre-Senior Championship; Claims Third Title
MONROE TOWNSHIP, N.J. - Gregg Angelillo of Baltusrol Golf Club claimed his third Pre-Senior Championship title on Tuesday afternoon following a solid 4-under par 68 in the final round of the 65th edition of the championship at Rossmoor Golf Course.
Angelillo, 53, won his first title in 2018 (Roxiticus GC) and again in 2021 (Edgewood CC).
“I cherish these tournament moments and competing against my friends. Competing for the state of New Jersey is something that means a lot to me,” Angelillo reflected after his round.
After carding a 6-under par 66 in the opening round on Monday, Angelillo held a three stroke lead over Mike Paduano of Eagle Oaks Golf & Country Club.
Angelillo got off to a hot start in the finale, going 2-under on his front nine, highlighted by an eagle on the par 5 9th.
“My goals out here today were just like yesterday,” said Angelillo. “I wanted to keep it in play and hit some greens, give myself some chances. The beginning of the round was the whole tournament -- you have to get off to a good start.”
Rossmoor fit Angelillo’s game well. He went on to notch three more birdies on the back nine.
“I've never played Rossmoor before, so going in here blind, I was a little nervous,” Angelillo recalled. “I could see some Google maps photos, and I could see that it was tight. Typically for me, tight is not that bad because I'm a pretty good driver of the ball. It was just a matter of figuring out the greens. The greens were huge, which is sometimes good but sometimes bad because if you miss hit shots in the wrong spots, you have 60 footers and 70 footers. What I ultimately liked was that it suited my eye a lot, even on the dog leg holes. I could figure out the angles that I needed to hit it to get it closer to the hole, I never really put myself in harm's way, I didn't have any penalty shots. I never was in jeopardy of making a double bogey, and I really had a ton of birdie chances.”
Angelillo will seek yet another title in 2024, which will mark his final year of eligibility in the championship.
“I'm really happy,” Angelillo expressed. “I love competing and happy that I won. Mike (Paduano) is a friend, and there's a good group of guys that go out and we all compete against each other. We all want to beat each other, but we're all rooting for each other – it's fun.”
Paduano finished in second place, carding a 1-over par 73, while 2022 champion Michael O’Connell of Arcola Country Club finished in solo third, carding rounds of 73-70.
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