Jay Blumenfeld Wins 11th Super-Senior presented by NJM Insurance Group
BLOOMFIELD, N.J. - Jay Blumenfeld of Mountain Ridge Country Club made par at the first playoff hole to outlast Baltusrol Golf Club’s Stephen Boyd and win the 11th New Jersey State Golf Association Super-Senior Championship presented by NJM Insurance Tuesday at Forest Hill Field Club. Boyd and Blumenfeld both shot even-par 71 to force the playoff.
“I felt good. I enjoyed it. I enjoyed the golf course, and I played pretty well,” Blumenfeld said.
Boyd made birdie at the fifth hole in his bogey-free front nine, and played the second nine at 1-over to finish at even par. Blumenfeld was 2-over par through his opening six holes, but collected four birdies the rest of the way to shoot 71. Needing to do something special on the par-3 18th hole, Blumenfeld stuck his tee shot four feet away from the back-left hole location and then made the tap-in birdie. Boyd’s two-putt par from the center of the green pushed the pair into a playoff.
“I was thinking about the three-putt I had just made on 17 and I knew I was one-down to Stephen Boyd, who played great today,” Blumenfeld reflected. “I knew I had to hit it closer to make birdie, even though No. 18 is a tough hole, I was fortunate to hit a really good six-iron to about three-and-a-half feet and make it to force the playoff.”
In the playoff, both Blumenfeld and Boyd reached the green in regulation on the par-4 first hole, and Blumenfeld’s two-putt par was enough to earn the victory. For Blumenfeld, a two-time winner of the NJGSA Senior Amateur Championship, this was his first time hoisting the Super-Senior Championship trophy.
“It means I’ve stayed relatively healthy, and I can still compete at certain levels,” Blumenfeld said. “With the seniors, I feel really comfortable.”
Ron Vannelli, of Forsgate Country Club, won the Super-Senior Net Division by firing a net 6-under par 65. He also finished in solo third place in the gross stroke play division with a 1-over par 72. David Weiniger placed fourth, shooting a 4-over par 75.
