Pat Wilson Enjoys Commanding Lead In Player Of Year Race
Pat Wilson of Panther Valley, who won the 111th Met Amateur Championship on August 5th, has a commanding lead in the annual NJSGA Player of the Year race which honors the state’s top amateur player.
The Player of the Year is sponsored by Donnelly Construction of Wayne.
Through September 15, Wilson has compiled 841.67 points. Mike Stamberger of Spring Lake, winner of the 112th State Amateur Championship, is second with 570 points. Last year's Player of the Year, Ryan McCormick of Suburban, is third with 496.67 points, followed by recent Mid-Amateur runner-up Mike Deo of Black Oak with 445 points and Peter Barron of Stone Harbor with 440 points. Last week's Mid-Amateur Champion, Trevor Randolph of Arcola jumped up to 6th place with 432.5 points.
Besides his Met Amateur championships, Wilson, a recent graduate of St. John’s University, placed seventh in both the State Amateur and in the 93rd State Open.
He teamed with his brother Cory, a sophomore at Seton Hall University, for a semifinal finish in the Four-Ball Championship.
He also captained the NJSGA Stoddard Trophy team and led it to victory over Long Island and Westchester. The Stoddard match as played at Stanwich in Connecticut, the same course where Wilson won the Met Amateur.
Wilson, 23, plans to turn professional this winter.
“It was my putting and my belief in myself that carried me,” said Wilson, who will travel to Florida to find himself on a mini-tour this winter. Wilson made five birdies in the 29 holes he played in the Met Amateur final against Trevor Randolph of Arcola.
The three biggest events for adding points for Player of the Year candidates are the U.S. Mid-Amateur, the State Mid-Amateur and the U.S. Senior Open.
