Blumenfeld Shoots 69 For First-round Lead In 56th Senior Amateur

Jay Blumenfeld of Mountain Ridge found a way to combat some gusty winds in the opening round of the 36-hole 56th NJSGA Senior Amateur Championship on Monday at the 6,370-yard Deal Golf and Country Club and it resulted in a two-under-par 69 that has him in first place in an event in which he was twice runner-up including last year.

“The winds were tricky out there. They could have been 25, 30 miles per hour. It was really about controlling the shots at key times,” said Blumenfeld, 62, of Parsippany who last fall won the NJSGA Tournament of Club Champions for a third time.

Blumenfeld holds a two-stroke lead over Phil Fabrizio of Knickerbocker, who shot even-par 71. Tied for third at 72 are Allan Small of Fairmount, who has won the event the past three years, and Billy Charpek of Navesink.Tied for fifth at 73 are Jon Tingley of Stanton Ridge and Bill Snouffer of Panther Valley.

SENIOR/SUPER SR. LEADERBOARDS PHOTO GALLERY

The field of 99 seniors, 55 and over,was cut to the low 31 who shot 79 or better for Tuesday’s final round.

Blumenfeld’s round on Monday included four birdies against two bogeys. The highlight was a birdie putt from 20 feet off the fringe on the par-5 15th hole. “The unexpected birdies are the best ones,” he quipped.

In 2013, Blumenfeld was runner-up to Small, who won for a third straight time. In 2010, he was second to Tom DiiCinti of Centerton. Blumenfeld won the Met Senior Amateur for a second time this past May. He also participated in the U.S. Senior Amateur at Mountain Ridge last summer.

“The course is in great shape. On every shot this afternoon, you had to manage the wind. I kept it in play and I putted well today. Even though the course is short, it is sporty,” said Blumenfeld, who on Thursday night will board a jet to play in the British Senior Amateur.

Fabrizio, the runner-up to Cyrus Whitney of Hackensack in the 2011 NJSGA Pre-Senior Championship, carded three birdies on his back nine to get to even par. The birdies included a 30-foot putt that dropped on the par-4 11th hole, and a 20-foot birdie putt on the par-3 18th hole.

“I was nervous today. I’m not used to shooting par in a tournament,” said Fabrizio, 57, who lives in Englewood. “The course was fair and in great shape. We didn’t really have the wind this morning the guys in the afternoon will have to contend with.”

In the 4th Super-Senior Championship for golfers 65 and older which is run concurrently with the Senior Amateur Championship, ,Jim Byer of Springdale shot one-over-par 73 to lead by a single stroke. The low 14 golfers from the field of 55 who shot 81 or better return for Tuesday’s final round.

Byer won the first NJSGA Super-Senior Championship in 2011. Off Monday’s performance with his 73, he could be in line for a second title.

Byer, 70, won the first Super-Senior crown at Bedens Brook. He currently holds a one-shot lead over playing partner Byron Miller of Plainfield and a two-shot advantage over the other playing partner, Denis Johnson of Plainfield West heading into Tuesday’s final round at Deal.

“It was the sort of thing where we were feeding off each other,” said Byer, the former headmaster for 15 years at Hun School in Princeton. “It was fun to play with those guys. I was in good company.”

Byer also has a Super-Senior Championship to his credit in Florida, where he spends six months of the year and plays out of Bear Lakes Country club in West Palm Beach. He also won that in 2011, holding two championships in different states in the same calendar year.

At Springdale in Princeton, he is a seven-time club champion and a 13-time Senior club champion. He has been retired for five years.

“It was a great day on the golf course. It’s in beautiful condition. I had a couple of three putts. The greens were very tricky,” he said.