Arcola's DeJohn, Spring Lake's Hansen lead 119th Amateur after 3rd Round
August 5, 2020 - Brendan Hansen of Spring Lake and Chris DeJohn of Arcola stand tied for the lead at four-under-par 212 after three rounds of the 119th New Jersey State Golf Association Amateur Championship presented by Provident Bank at the par-72, 6,970 yard Arcola Country Club in Paramus. The fourth and final round will take place on Thursday, August 6, one day later than scheduled after Tropical Storm Isaias forced a one-day postponement of the NJSGA’s oldest championship.
Due to Tuesday's severe weather which resulted in numerous downed trees, branches, and required a major cleanup effort by Arcola's grounds staff, round two was played Wednesday morning. It was followed by a cut to the low 40 scorers (plus ties) who continued play this afternoon in round three.
Heading to Thursday's final round, Hansen and DeJohn hold a one-stroke lead over Austin Devereux of Howell Park, a rising senior at Rider University at 213. First round leader Dean Greyserman of Hamilton Farm is in fourth place at 214; he is bidding to join brother Max (2014 at Morris County) to become the first brother-brother combination to win the event in its 119 year history. Current NJSGA Open champion Mark Costanza (also of Hamilton Farm) is in fifth place at 215. The leaders will begin play Thursday morning at 9:00 a.m., and the winner will be awarded the Edwin M. Wild championship trophy.
Round Pairings & Starting Times
For Hansen, who was in position to win the 2017 NJSGA Open Championship until an errant tee shot of his final hole three years ago, experience will be an asset.
“I played well enough to win the Open in 2017. I knew the course (Metedeconk National) so well, but I blocked my tee shot on 18 and couldn’t recover. My key tomorrow will be hitting fairways. If I do that, I’ll be fine,” said Hansen, a rising sophomore at Rutgers University.
Hansen’s morning round included six birdies against two bogeys. In the afternoon, he carded three birdies and three bogeys.
“On Monday, I had three bad drives that cost me five shots,” said Hansen, a resident of Spring Lake, who shot 72 in the first round. “And the course played a lot tougher this afternoon because of the wind.”
In the past year, Hansen lost 50 pounds and now weighs 200 pounds.
“I don’t feel that much different, but I can swing a little better because I can move differently. It helped me today. I had more energy to keep going,” said Hansen who helped lead Christian Brothers Academy to three straight NJSIAA overall championships.
DeJohn is a native of Connecticut who played collegiately at Skidmore College in New York. He then played mini-tours for five years, winning a Hooters Tour event in 2013. He became reinstated as an amateur just this year.
“I feel very comfortable with my tee shots. On Monday, I struggled with the greens, so I came out here making sure I hit the lines and hit it a little smoother with my putter,” said DeJohn, 33, who resides in New York City.
“Tomorrow, I want to come out and play the same game and hit a few more putts,” said DeJohn, who was a seven-under-par for the tournament after four birdies in five holes on the front nine of his afternoon session. He doubled the par-5, 9th hole during the third round when he hit a cart path and found fescue.
Devereux’s afternoon 68 included five birdies against one bogey.
“I need to give myself looks on the green and try to make birdies as much as possible. I want to hit the ball in the fairway and not make any mistakes tomorrow,” Devereux stated.
Full, final round coverage will be available at NJSGA.org, complete with live scoring and updates on social media platforms throughout the day.
