Whitman Edges Erber To Earn Medal At Mid-amateur Qualifier

Brian Whitman of Knickerbocker carded an even-par 72 to edge Paul Erber of Ash Brook by one stroke and earn medalist honors in qualifying for the 34th NJSGA Mid-Amateur Championship on a rainy Tuesday, April 25, at 6,454,-yard Metuchen Golf and Country Club in Edison.

A total of 32 golfers shot 79 or better to advance to the Mid-Amateur Championship to be contested May 9-11 at Trump National Golf Club in Colts Neck. To gain entry to qualifying, golfers age 30 and older needed a handicap of 7.0 or better.

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The past two years, Whitman and Jason Bataille qualified for the U.S. Four-Ball Championship and will play in the championship next month at Pinehurst. Whitman has qualified for three U.S. Mid-Amateurs and the U.S. Amateur in 2006. He was a medalist at a U.S. Open local qualifier and competed in three U.S. Open sectional qualifiers.

Whitman, 35, who played golf at Rutgers, has twice advanced to the NJSGA Mid-Amateur Round of 16 in 2015 and 2016. He has also represented the NJSGA in Stoddard Trophy play vs.the Long Island and Westchester golf associations.

The Tinton Falls resident is a director for technology firm in IT and artificial intelligence.

“This was the first round of golf I played in this year. I just got back last night from taking my girls to Florida for spring break ,” Whitman said. “I got lucky today. I had a dry cell for a couple hours.”

Whitman said he hit 14 or 15 greens by playing smart.

“It was a tough day, a day to be patient and make good decisions,” he said.

He was two-over-par through six holes, but a par save after a wayward drive on No. 7 built some momentum.

“On holes 10 through 16, I was basically inside 10 feet on every hole. I took pressure off myself. On No. 14, I hit three wood off the tee and an 8-iron 176 yards to six inches. On No. 16, a par-3 three, I hit an 8-iron to one foot, just missing an ace.”

Erber, 42, is a native of North Dakota and has resided in New Providence for five years. He met his wife Karin, a native of Rahway, in Minneapolis.

“I felt like I was back home in North Dakota. Playing in the wind didn’t affect my game. I’m much at home in the elements,” said Erber, who played in the 2013 NJSGA Amateur at Canoe Brook and failed to make the cut.

Erber played a practice round at Metuchen last Thursday and said, “It’s a pretty straight-forward course. I noticed the water on certain holes, so I knew which holes on not to use the driver. Today, despite the rain, the course played very fair. The greens were very firm for that amount of moisture.

“I’m very happy with a 73. It was stress free. To me, it felt like a walk in the park,” Erber said.