Gregg Angelillo Leads After Round 1 at Pre-Senior Championship
RIVER VALE, N.J. - Gregg Angelillo fired an even-par 71 to lead the 63rd New Jersey State Golf Association Pre-Senior Championship after the first round at Edgewood Country Club Monday in River Vale, New Jersey. Heavy wind gusts made for tough scoring conditions, as Angelillo was the only player in the field to avoid shooting over par.
“I just kept it in play,” Angelillo said. “I started off with a birdie and was really steady, hitting greens, making some good up-and-downs when I did miss greens. I was able to make a great birdie on the par-3 (No. 13) and a birdie on the par-5 (No. 14). It was great.”
Angelillo won the 60th Pre-Senior Championship at Roxiticus Country Club in 2018. He fired a second round 5-under 65 to capture that title by nine strokes. He will look to replicate that success tomorrow, as he attempts to become just the second two-time winner of the W.Y. Dear Trophy since the event was separated from the Senior Championship in 2011.
“I’m excited to be in contention, that’s for sure,” Angelillo said. “When I played in 2018, I knew my competitive field very well, and there are certainly some players that I know are lurking behind me. Just steady play, fairways and greens, getting my putter to activate a bit, and I think I will be okay. I’m excited to compete and hopefully have a chance to take another title home.”
Mark Stankewicz holds solo second after firing a 1-over 72. Stephen Lindholm, John Driebe, and Nick Desai, a two-time Pre-Senior winner himself, share third place at 2-over par. The 2019 champion, Peter Kozubal, is alone in 6th place at 3-over.
Despite the challenging scoring conditions, David Orlofsky provided a highlight by recording a hole-in-one at the 7th hole. Playing 167 yards downwind, Orlofsky hit a 9-iron and after one hop, found the bottom of the cup. It was his third ever ace, but first in competition.
“We couldn’t really tell from the tee box if it went in,” Orlofsky said. “We knew it was either in or it was off the green. We got up there and looked at it, it was in, and it was a great feeling.”
The top-25 and ties (+10 and better) made the cut to advance to Tuesday’s final round. The first tee-time is slated for 7:30 a.m. at Edgewood Country Club.
Coverage of the 63rd NJSGA Pre-Senior Championship will be available at NJSGA.org, where live scoring, news, and recaps will be featured throughout the week. Fans and players can also follow the organization on its social media outlets at Facebook.com/njsga1900, @NJSGA1900 on Twitter and @njsga1900 on Instagram.
