Angelillo, Stamberger Share Lead In First Round Of Pre-senior At Roxiticus
Gregg Angelillo of Baltusrol Golf Club and Mike Stamberger of Spring Lake Golf Club each fired rounds of two-under-par 68 to share the lead after the first round of the New Jersey State Golf Association’s 60th Pre-Senior Championship at the par-70, 6,307-yard Roxiticus Golf Club in Mendham.
The 36-hole championship, for golfers ages 45 to 54, resumes Wednesday for the final 18 holes. The field of 65 was cut to the low 27 golfers who shot 78 or better.
In third place was former NJSGA Public Links champion Peter Kozubal of Fox Hollow Golf Club at even-par 70, followed by Kevin Purcell of Forest Hill Field Club and Niall Handley of Essex Fells Country Club, both at 71.
ROUND 2 PAIRINGS & STARTING TIMES
Angelillo, 48, who finished tied for 11th place at the NJSGA Amateur this summer, began his round with a bogey at the par-4 No. 10, then shot three-under par for the final 17 holes.
“The course was understandably soft. I was able to keep most of my tee shots in play. I hit driver a lot today,” said Angelillo, a two-time club champion at Baltusrol who last week qualified for the U.S. Mid-Amateur. “I hit it in the right spots on the green. The green speeds were good. They held up well despite the softness from all the rain.”
Three putts on No. 10 cost him the bogey. He birdied the par-5 No. 11, his second hole, from 15 feet, and did the same on the par-4 No. 15, his sixth. His other birdie came on the par-5 No. 2, his 11thhole, when he made a short putt.
Stamberger’s round included four birdies and two bogeys. Like Angelillo, he bogeyed his first hole, the par-4 No. 1. He then rallied for birdies at the par-5 No. 2, the par-5 No. 5 and the par-4 No. 7. Stamberger, 46, a two-time NJSGA Amateur champion and one-time Mid-Amateur winner, completed his round with a birdie on the par-4 No. 18 when he hit his approach shot to within four feet of the cup.
“I hit good iron shots and better driver shots, but I didn’t make any putts. I had a couple of three putts on my bogeys,” he said. “I played here many times years ago and the course is in great shape. It was soft out there and difficult to get out of the rough.”
Kozubal was 2-under-par through 10 holes, then bogeyed three of his next seven holes. He finished on a high note with a birdie from five feet on the par-4 No. 18.
“I got it up and down a lot. It was a lot of fairways and greens for me. The greens are in great shape here,” Kozubal said.
