Max Greyserman,19, Wins 94th State Open By Three Strokes
In less than one year, Max Greyserman of Crestmont has gone from NJSGA Junior Champion, 18-and under age group, to victor of the 94th New Jersey State Open Championship on Thursday, July 17.
Greyserman, 19, becomes one of the youngest ever to win the State Open, and did it in stunning fashion, outlasting the biggest names on the leaderboard, including co-runners-up Frank Esposito of Brooklake, the 2013 champion, and Mike Stamberger of Spring Lake, the winner of the last two State Amateurs. Tied for fourth were Jim McGovern of White Beeches, who has a PGA Tour victory to his credit, and veteran professional Craig Smith, formerly of Trump National-Bedminster.
Greyserman, a rising sophomore at Duke University who lives in Short Hills, fired a the second of back-to-back 68s to record a three-day total of 6-under-par 207, three shots clear of Esposito (72-210) and Stamberger (71-210) and four shots better than McGovern (71-211) and Smith (71-211). Greyserman finsihed 10 shots behind Stamberger and in ninth place in the State Amateur last month.
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Esposito, the second-round leader, was seeking to become the first repeat champion since Ed Whitman in 1995-96 while Stamberger was seeking to become the first to claim both the State Amateur and Open titles in the same year since Billy Ziobro in 1970.
Greyserman, who turned 19 on May 31, became the 10th amateur to win the event, but the fourth in the past 10 years, including Benjamin Smith of Little Mill who won two years ago at Manasquan River G.C.
Despite playing to 2-under par on his front nine on Thursday, Greyserman still found himself trailing Esposito, 51, by two shots after Esposito shot 3-under on his front side. Esposito led Greyserman, 138-139, heading into the final round.
Greyserman, playing one group ahead of Esposito and Stamberger, parred the par-4 10th hole as did Esposito. But while the youngster bogeyed the par-3 11th hole, Esposito followed him with the turning point of the championship – a triple bogey on the 208-yard 11th hole.
Esposito’s tee shot on No. 11 was short and left of the green and his chip found the back of the green. His first putt raced downhill and off the green, forcing him to chip back on. From there he two-putted for a six. Suddenly, Greyserman was tied for the lead at 4-under par.
Greyserman then wrested the lead with back-to-back birdies on the par-4 14th and par-3 15th holes. On No. 14, Greyserman drove the green on the 299-yard hole and two-putted. On No. 15, he left his tee shot five feet right of the hole and converted for a birdie and a two-shot lead.
Esposito, who bogeyed the par-4 12th hole to trail by three shots, did manage to cut it to a two-stroke advantage with a birdie on the par-4 16th, but gave it back with a bogey on the par-4 17thwhen he missed the green. Stamberger got as close as two shots with a birdie on No. 14, but he also bogeyed No. 17 when he and Esposito found the right-side bunker.
“When I heard about (Esposito’s triple bogey), I didn’t think it was true at first. I didn’t try to look at the leaderboard. I didn’t look until the 16thhole and saw I had a two-shot lead.”
Greyserman was one of the top college recruits in the nation a year ago as a second team Rolex Junior All-American and was ranked No. 18 among recruits.
“It’s a special feeling. I’ve had my eye on winning the State Open since the beginning of the summer. It’s like my first professional event. It’s my brother, Dean’s, 11th birthday, so I won it for him,” said Greyserman, who just last week shot an 84 in the Players Amateur in North Carolina. He has played in major events including the British Boys Championship at Royal Liverpool Golf Club and Wallasey Golf Club the past two summers.
“It’s special because it’s such a big tournament, especially today. I let my emotions control the first two days, but I was good today. I felt my golf was consistent. I shot a 68 and could have done even better,” said the Peddie School graduate.
“He’s come a long way,” said his father, Alex, who caddied this week for his son. “He’s gotten bigger and stronger in the past year. He’s a competitive golfer. He’s competed on the national level and he’s played 10 college tournaments at top courses.
“After he bogeyed the ninth hole, I told him to stay in the moment and take it one shot at a time. When he hits a bad shot, he has to just believe in himself and go on to the next shot.”
Esposito, who won the State Open in 1999 and 2013, was seeking to join a select number of golfers with three championships. Esposito, who has 15 major titles, last week played in the U.S. Senior Open and next month plays in the PGA Championship at Valhalla.
“It was just a bad swing on 11. I picked the wrong time to make a bad swing,” said Esposito, who won $15,000 as the low professional. “But who knew my first putt would roll 60 feet off the green? That never happened to me before. Otherwise, I played solid golf. It was just bad timing, wrong shot at the wrong time.”
“Today I wasn’t as sharp as I needed to be,” said Stamberger, 42. “I’ve been playing well. I like to compete.”
