Britton Cruises To Senior Open Win
By Rick Jenkins
It was a tale of two different days, the first a perfect fall day for golf, the second a battle of the elements. Through it all, Bill Britton of Trump National – Colts Neck maintained the steadiest play in the field on his way to winning his first NJSGA/NJPGA Senior Open Championship on October 12th. With both rounds under par and a total score of 139 (69-70), 3-under par on the par 71 Maplewood Country Club course, Britton ended up cruising to a four stroke victory.
It wasn’t all easy, however. Britton stormed out of the gates in the second round, firing a 4-under par front nine that actually took him to -6 for the tournament. He eagled the short par-4 twelfth hole by driving the green and made two more birdies on the front nine, but the momentum stalled on the back nine where he made four bogies against one birdie. The final round 70 was good enough, though.
After the opening round, it looked like another amateur might win the Senior Open – for only the second time in the history of the event following Jon Tingley’s victory at Alpine last year. Tingley was back in the mix after an opening round 68 (-3) and the first round leader was Jay Blumenfeld of Mountain Ridge at -4. But both amateurs struggled on the front nine of the second round and fell out of contention. Tingley finished fourth at 145 (68-77), good enough to secure low amateur honors, while Blumenfeld fell back to a T-9 finish at 150 (67-83).
Mike Burke of Montammy shot the low round of the second day, a 68, and surged into a second place finish at 143 (75-68). Burke was quickly back in form competing in his first event following eye surgery in August. Pete Busch of Galloping Hill also was in contention after an opening round 68 and remained in the hunt through the front nine of the second round, but then four consecutive bogies on the back derailed his chances. Busch is the 2009 Senior Open champion – when he beat Bill Britton in a sudden-death playoff at Shackamaxon. Bill King of Spring Lake rounded out the top five.
For Britton, the win caps off a stellar year which isn’t over yet. Next week, he is planning to compete in the Met Senior Open at Crestmont. Britton finished second to Brian Gaffney of Rumson in the New Jersey PGA Player of the Year standings and should lock up the Senior Player of the Year award. His significant NJ wins this year include the Lincoln Charity Clambake at Rockaway River in June and the Senior PGA Championship at Arcola in July. In 2009, Britton won the Senior PGA Professional National Championship at Port St. Lucie and set a tournament scoring record of 18-under 270 in the process. He played in the same event this year, in Virginia, finishing T-17.
At Maplewood, patience was the name of the game for Britton, a quality which he more than likely mastered from his days on the PGA TOUR. A short course at only 6,262 yards, Maplewood can be deceptive – and Britton knew this. “I’ve played courses like this before, so I try not to be impatient,” he said. The course is tight with narrow fairways, and thick rough and plenty of out-of-bounds opportunities place a premium on driving the ball. To top it off, this week the greens were running fast. In his acceptance speech, Britton called them the “best greens we putted on all year.”
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