Brent Studer Wins Njpga Championship For Third Time
Brent Studer, head PGA professional at Metedeconk National Golf Club, claimed the New Jersey PGA Professional (Section) Championship for the third time in his career (1998, 2008 & 2015) with an up and down for par on the 54th hole of the tournament to defeat Dave McGovern of Brooklake by one shot on Thursday, Sept. 24, at The Ridge at Back Brook in Ringoes.
Studer, 50, the long-time head pro at Manasquan River G.C. who switched to Metedeconk this spring, shot 3-under 73-69-71-213 with McGovern coming in one stroke back at 69-72-73-214. He became the fourth golfer to win the championshps at least three times. Frank Esposito leads with five, followed by Ed Whitman with four. Studer and Mike Burke Jr. have each won three titles.
Studer had it firing on all cylinders early in his final round, posting a 2-under par 34 on the front nine to take a 2-shot lead over McGovern heading into the final nine holes of the championship. Studer had a slight hiccup on holes Nos. 15 and 16 ,making a bogey and a double bogey, and giving McGovern a glimpse of hope once again to claim his first major. This stretch all led to the final par 5, 18th hole. McGovern, with a wedge from the fairway, left his shot an inch short for an eagle at No. 18, forcing Studer to get up and down for par to take the John Clancy Trophy once again.
Along with Brent Studer the following PGA Professionals will be representing the NJPGA Section in the 2016 PGA Professional Championship which will be held next June at the Turning Stone Resort in Verona, N.Y.
Dave McGovern (Brooklake CC)
Alex Beach(Ridgewood CC)
Marc Issler (Toms River GC)
Matt McKeon (Spring Lake GC)
Travis Deibert (The Ridge at Back Brook)
Brett Jones (Due Process Stable GC)
Greg Baker (Rockaway River CC)
Joe Galan (Alpine CC)
Bill Hook (Knickerbocker CC)
Lou Kubisa (Knob Hill GC)
Sam Kang (Essex Golf Range)
Steve Bartkowski of NJPGA contributed to this article
