Stamberger, Blumenfeld, Ha Lead Respective Player Of Year Races

State Amateur champion Mike Stamberger of Spring Lake is in first place in the standings for the NJSGA Player of the Year Award over State Open Champion Max Greyserman of Crestmont

Stamberger, who won the award for the state’s top amateur player in 2011, leads the 19-year-old Greyserman, 761.67-660, with Steve Zychowski of Mendham third with 479.2 points.

Greyserman, fresh off the NJSGA Four-Ball Championship with teammate Jim Rosenthal, could wrest the lead from Stamberger with a big showing in the upcoming Met Open which begins August 19 at Trump National in Bedminster. Stamberger, who tied for second low amateur at the State Open, will also be playing in the event as will the 2013 POY, Pat Wilson of Panther Valley who is ineligible for the award as he turned professional last fall.

Zychowski can make up some ground with a strong showing at this year’s U.S. Amateur, which begins Monday, August 11 at Atlanta Athletic Club.

This year, the NJSGA added two Player of the Year awards for Senior Men and Amateur Women.

ALL PLAYER OF YEAR STANDINGS

Jay Blumenfeld of Mountain Ridge, who won the Senior Amateur, leads Allan Small of Fairmount, the Senior Amateur runner-up, 289.5-211. In third place is Dan Levinson of Bayonne, the low amateur at the Senior Open, with 111.67 points.

In the Women’s Player of the Year standings, Cindy Ha of Valley Brook is in first place with 700 points over Women’s Public Links champion Alice Chen of Neshanic Valley, who has accumulated 575 points. Taylor Totland of Hollywood, winner of last week’s 89thWomen’s Amateur, is third with 375 points and Christina Parsells of Baltusrol, the Junior Girls winner is tied for fourth with Noelle Maertz of Hyatt Hills with 325 points. Maertz was runner-up to Chen in the Public Links and a semifinalist in the Women’s Amateur.

Ha, who plays at Vanderbilt, accrued her big lead with semifinal performances in both the U.S. Women’s Public Links and U.S. Women’s Amateur. However, she is ineligible for the award as she has not played in an NJSGA event this season.