Defending Champ Blumenfeld Leads 57th Senior Amateur
A year ago, Jay Blumenfeld of Mountain Ridge finally defeated five-time champion Allan Small of Fairmount to win his first NJSGA Senior Amateur championship.
This year, Blumenfeld won't have to deal with his formidable opponent – Small is playing this week in the British Senior Amateur at Royal County Down – despite the fact that the 57th NJSGA Senior Amateur is being contested at Small’s home course of the par-72, 6,432-yard Fairmount Country Club in Chatham.
The course played at 6,135 for the concurrent Fifth Super Seniors Championship. Jim Byer of Springdale shot 75 to hold a four-stroke lead in the Super-Senior.
The low 24 Seniors (55 and over) and low 16 Super Seniors (65 and above) return for Tuesday’ final round. The aggregate of both days counts for the championship.
“If I win, I’ll call Allan and thank him,” said Blumenfeld, a two-time runner-up, who fired a one-over-par 73 to take the lead heading into Tuesday’s final 18 holes.
PHOTO GALLERY SENIOR LEADERBOARD SUPER-SENIOR SCORING
Senior Round 2 Pairings Super-Senior Round 2 Pairings
John Blum of New Jersey National was one shot back in second place with John O’Malley of Forsgate and Tom Hassel of Manasquan River in third at 75.
Blumenfeld himself will not be taking a trip to the United Kingdom for the first time in 20 years as he has run out of exemptions. He had played in two British Amateurs, nine British Mid-Amateurs and eight British Senor Amateurs. Small gained his exemption to the British Senior Amateur by attending match-play in the U.S. Senior Amateur.
Last week, Blumenfeld was the oldest by 14 years to play in the Met Amateur and missed the cut by one stroke after shooting 72-75.
“I was happy with the fact that I walked 36 holes. Baltusrol was long. It was soft and wet and I missed the playoff by a stroke. I was the only senior player in there. Just to qualify is difficult,” said Blumenfeld, who has also won the NJSGA Tournament of Ckub Champions and played on numerous NJSGA Stoddard Trophy and Compher Cup teams.
On Monday, Blumenfeld hit every green and recorded three birdies on putts of eight-to-10 feet. “I missed a couple of six footers, so I could have really gone low on the front,” he said.
“On the back nine, it played hard because of the wind and I think the back nine is harder than the front, anyway. The conditions weren’t that easy. The golf course is in beautiful shape. It’s a good thing to be in the lead.”
Blum of New Jersey National has endured a month of rehabilitation to overcome a sacroiliac problem in his lower back.
“My handicap ballooned up,” said Blum, 57, who works in finance. “But I’ve had physical therapy over the past month. The injury cost me the club championship, which I had won the previous five years.”
In 2014, Blum and partner Les Stark tied for second at the NJSGA Four-Ball Championship at Galloway National.
On Monday, Blum, playing off the 10thtee, carded a 2-under 34 on his final nine to come in with a two-over 74. That final nine included a chip-in from 30 feet on the par-4 third hole. He followed that with a birdie on the par-3 fourth hole.
Blum, who once had his handicap as low as 1.1. in 2010, said his best career round is a 68 off the white tees at N.J. National. He twice shot 69 from the blue tees.
Blum will team with Bill Shinners beginning Friday to defend their championship of the Jerome Travers Invitational at Upper Montclair.
Byer was the first-round leader with a 75 in last year’s Super Senior Division, but returned with an 80 as Jay Green of Alpine won. Green, 68, shot 79 on Monday.
“This is the first time I ever looked at the course and I really liked it,” said Byer, 71, the retired headmaster at Lawrenceville School. He shot one-under 35 on his front side with three birdies and a double bogey. He carded four bogeys on the back nine for his 75.
Byer recently won the club championship at Springdale for an eighth time, but failed to defend the Senior Club Championship at Springdale, which he had won 13 consecutive years. In the past year, Byer has shot under his age four times, including a 68.
He is the senior club champion at Bears Lakes in Florida and is also the Palm Beach County Super Senior champion.
He was on the cusp of winning the NJSGA Super-Senior title in 2014 until he double bogeyed 17 and triple bogeyed 18 for his 80 and lost out on a playoff for the crown by three strokes.
