BLOOMFIELD – Yet another Greyserman brother has come knocking at the door of the New Jersey Amateur Golf Championship.
Reed Greyserman, the youngest of three golfing brothers, owns the first-round lead at the 123rd Amateur thanks to Monday’s sizzling start at steamy Forest Hill Field Club.
Greyserman, 19, an incoming freshman at Princeton, opened with a birdie and an eagle en route to a 7-under-par 64. He holds a one-shot lead in the three-day, 72-hole championship conducted by the New Jersey State Golf Association.
“I hit driver really well, long and straight, which set me up for the day,” said Greyserman, who lives in Short Hills and represents Hamilton Farm. “And I made a few putts.”
Greyserman holds a one-shot lead over fellow 19-year-old Thomas O’Neill of Hackensack, who joined Greyserman in a share of the lead before an errant drive on his final hole led to a bogey and 65. Jeremy Wall of Manasquan River, who also hails from a family of fine golfers, is three shots off the lead after carding 67.
A trio shot 68 and is tied fourth: Arav Patel of Forsgate, Drew Mulcahy of Baltusrol and teen Liam Pasternak of Essex Fells, who in May won New Jersey’s high school Tournament of Champions as a junior at Morristown.
This State Amateur features five former champions and leading that group is the 2020 winner, Manasquan River’s Austin Devereux, who shot 70 and is tied for ninth. Defending champion Jack Wall of Manasquan River, Jeremy’s younger brother, shot 74 after closing with a triple-bogey and is tied for 40th.
The name Greyserman has been a fixture on the NJSGA golf scene for more than a decade. Reed’s oldest brother, Max, won the State Open in 2014 and State Amateur in 2015 and is in his first season on the PGA Tour. Another older brother, Dean, had three top-20 finishes in four years at the State Amateur, including runner-up in 2020.
Reed Greyserman had an eagle, six birdies and one bogey during Monday’s morning wave. He started on the 10th hole, a 370-yard par-4, and made a 20-footer for birdie. He eagled the 11th, a 375-yard par-4, from 45 yards after, “I hit a good wedge, a lot of spin, and it went right in.” He played his first nine holes at 4-under, sandwiching birdies on the 14th and 16th around his lone bogey.
“I just have to do the same thing,” said Greyserman, who has cracked the top 20 each of the past three years, featuring a rally for fourth in 2021. “Stay patient, stay disciplined. There’s nothing crazy out here. Just play my game.”
O’Neill, a rising sophomore at Holy Cross, had an eagle, six birdies and two bogeys in the afternoon for his 65. He birdied the par-3 eighth to join Greyserman at 7-under, but the left-hander pulled his drive right on the par-4 ninth and suffered a bogey.
“We took what we could get out there,” said O’Neill, a Bergen Catholic graduate who tied for sixth at last year’s State Open. “I hit some really good putts, kept myself in play, kept the ball in front of me, and my caddie gave me some really good numbers.”
Jeremy Wall, 29, earned his 67 in the afternoon via an eagle, four birdies, and two bogeys. He bogeyed his final hole, the par-3 18th.
“I need to be a little more tidy and have a few more birdie opportunities,” said Wall, a graduate of Christian Brothers Academy. “I felt like I made all the ones that I needed to make, but I also felt like I didn’t have as many as I would want. So I’ve got to be a little tighter with iron play, but overall I drove it great and long, which is not normal for me, and I putted it well. I just need to be a little cleaner.”
123rd New Jersey Amateur Championship
At Forest Hill FC, Bloomfield
Par: 71; Yardage: 6,550
First of four rounds
Reed Greyserman, Hamilton Farm 64
Thomas O’Neill, Hackensack 65
Jeremy Wall, Manasquan River 67
Arav Patel, Forsgate 68
Drew Mulcahy, Baltusrol 68
Liam Pasternak, Essex Fells 68
Dylan Gallagher, Rockland 69
Troy Vannucci, Little Mill 69
Brendan Gutzler, Trump Colts Neck 70
Zach Mueller, Trump Colts Neck 70
Austin Devereux, Manasquan River 70
Eric LeFante, Somerset Hills 70
Greg Angelillo, Baltusrol 70
Ethan Lee, Colts Neck 71
Jason Bataille, Raritan Valley 71
Stephen Wentz, Baltusrol 71
Robert McHugh, Rock Spring 71
Benjamin Ortwein, Oak Hill 71
Mark Costanza, Baltusrol 71
Tanner Little, Copper Hill 71
Andrew Giuliani, Trump Bedminster 72
Trevor Randolph, Arcola 72
CJ Antifonario, Knickerbocker 72
Peter Byrne, NJSGA E-Club 72
Chris Dejohn, Arcola 72
Barnes Blake, Echo Lake 72
Griffin LaLonde, NJSGA HS E-Club 72
Alex Yong, Heron Glen 72
Daniel Cassidy, Trump Colts Neck 72
Christian Deussing, NJSGA E-Club 72
Kevin Purcell, Forest Hill 73
Graeme Hollingshead, Trump Bedminster 73
Brandon Dalinka, Baltusrol 73
Will Celiberti, Arcola 73
Anthony Gallardo, Suburban 73
Shiv Manhas, NJSGA E-Club 73
Doug Ergood, Tavistock 73
Jason Cruz, Navesink 73
Brett Inserra, NJSGA E-Club 73
Michael Guli, Trump Bedminster 74
Sean Vowells, Canoe Brook 74
Patrick Scenna, Deal 74
Mike Stamberger, Spring Lake 74
Gehrig Shannon, Upper Montclair 74
Michael Reddy, Mendham 74
Michael Gallagher, Echo Lake 74
Jack Wall, Manasquan River 74
Corey Brigham, NJSGA E-Club 74
Elliot Parker, Suburban 74
Greg Scalley, Forest Hill 74
Garrett Kessler, Mountain Ridge 74
Patrick Ryan, Essex County 74
Roger Rice, Basking Ridge 75
Brendan Hansen, Spring Lake 75
Jake Todaro, Shackamaxon 75
Anthony Campanile, Deal 75
Matthew Normand, Riverton 75
Eric Lasota, Rock Spring 75
Erik Stevens, Hamilton Farm 76
Richie Reck, Jumping Brook 76
John Havay, High Bridge Hills 76
Anthony Dinelli, Spring Brook 76
Zach Egermayer, NJSGA E-Club 76
Tyler Galatini, Montclair 77
Daniel Kopp, Manasquan River 77
Stephen Boyd, Baltusrol 77
Mac Bredahl, Fairmount 77
Liam Larken, Warrenbrook 77
Andrew Kaskel, Montclair 77
Ryder Hodgson, Montclair 77
Paul Giovannoli, NJSGA E-Club 77
Jake Morgan, Deer Run 78
Ricky Calve, Colts Neck 78
Winston Blank, Hollywood 78
Brian Dowling, Stanton Ridge 78
Clifford Lindholm, Montclair 78
Gavin Rau, Neshanic Valley 78
Jake Riggs, NJSGA E-Club 78
Ben Keyser, Legacy Club 78
Jake Aronson, NJSGA E-Club 78
Brandon Capone, Mercer Oaks 78
Cameron Link, Lake Mohawk 79
Niall Handley, Knoll 79
Shane Quinn, New Jersey National 79
Pat Noone, Fairway Mews 79
William Eke, Eligo 80
Maxwell Sorger, Montclair 80
Michael Clemente, Echo Lake 80
Adrian Jordan, Cobblestone Creek 81
Erik Grehl, NJSGA E-Club 81
Bob Johnston, White Beeches 82
James Arbes, Watchung Valley 83
Steven Maide, Upper Montclair 83
Ryan Applin, NJSGA E-Club 84
Michael Corbo, Hamilton Farm 87
Harris Podvey, Knoll DNF
Edmund Broderick, Fiddler’s Elbow WD