Gold Medal At Maccabiah Games Tops Levinson's Season

Dan Levinson of Bayonne, the low amateur in the 2013 NJPGA/NJSGA Senior Open at Navesink, continued an excellent summer of golf when he won a gold medal as part of the United States team at the 19th Maccabiah Games in Israel this past July.

In 2013, Levinson’s fine play included his winning of the low amateur at the Met Senior Open – and a tie for10th overall – with rounds of 67-75-142 at Sunningdale. He finished in a tie for third place when he was low amateur at Navesink.

He also found time to record a hole-in-one on August 14 at Bayonne, on the par-3, 146-yard fifth hole.

The highlight, however, was winning the gold medal at the Maccabiah Games, the third largest sporting event in the world with more than 8,000 athletes competing. The event, known as “The Jewish Olympics,” is conducted every four years. Some 20 countries competed in golf at the Caesarea Golf Club, a Pete Dye-designed course which is the only 18-hole venue in Israel.

The golf competition was divided into four divisions for men and women – Juniors, Open, Masters and Seniors/Super-Seniors.

Levinson, 55, was one of five members of the U.S. Masters team which included players from Virginia, Texas, Chicago and Long Island.

After three rounds of play, the United States was tied with Israel for first place, three shots ahead of Australia.

“I was the last American out there. There is so much pressure. I had never played in an international event,” said Levinson, who has been a member at Bayonne for eight years and is a three-time club champion.

He previously belonged to Montammy for eight years.

Levinson came through with a 78 in his final round to boost the United States past Israel, 932-935. Each day, the top three scores of the five-man team would count. Overall, Levinson placed in a tie for fifth place at 85-75-75-78-313 over the demanding track.

Before heading to Israel, Levinson needed to qualify to represent the U.S. in a field of 25, and did so at PGA West in Palm Beach Gardens, the site of the Honda Classic.

“When you wear Olympic-type medals, it’s a fantastic experience,” said Levinson, a New York City-based filmmaker known for TV ads such as Geico, Pepsi and other Fortune 500 companies. He also recently wrapped up a show for Animal Planet called “Ice Cold Gold,” about mining for gold in Greenland.

His company, Moxie Pictures, also produced the acclaimed documentary “The Unknown Known,” in which former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld discussed his career in Washington D.C. That film was directed by Errol Morris, who interviewed Robert McNamara in the Academy Award-winning documentary “The Fog of War.”

“Walking into the 35,000-seat Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem for opening ceremonies was truly exciting. I made friends with people from all over the world,” Levinson said. “The difference for me was taking lessons from Michael Hunt, the pro at Bayonne. I worked on my swing plane and my confidence and thanks to that, I was able to come through at the Maccabiah Games.”

Jay Blumenfeld of Mountain Ridge, who participated in the Open Division of the Games in 1977, ’93 and ’97 and earned individual bronze in 1997 and a team gold medal in 1993, encouraged Levinson to participate.

“I told him that it would be a great experience. I mentored him through it. He called me and thanked me for supporting him,” said Blumenfeld, who was U.S. team captain in 1993 and ’97 and has been very involved as part of the delegation for Maccabi USA.

“The idea of the Maccabiah Games is to give mainly young Jewish kids an opportunity to compete in a sport in which they excel and to see Israel. It’s a great trip and a great experience for anyone of any age who participates,” Blumenfeld said.