Reed Greyserman (New Jersey State Golf Association Photo)
First-round leader Reed Greyserman owns a five-stroke lead heading into the final two rounds of the 123rd Amateur Championship presented by Provident Bank.
Greyserman, 19, fired a 5-under 66 on Tuesday afternoon to extend his lead at Forest Hill Field Club. His 66 checked in as the lowest round of the day along with Ricky Calve.
“It was a good day overall,” Greyserman said following his round. “I was pretty solid on the front, but when I hit 10 and 11, it was pretty rough. I did a good job staying in it and playing the last seven holes really well with some really good shots.”
Greyserman, an incoming freshman at Princeton University, recorded five birdies and an eagle.
With the win, Reed would join his brother, Max, in the win column of the New Jersey Amateur Championship, making them the first brothers to win the Amateur in NJSGA history. Max won at Essex County Country Club in 2015. He now plays full-time on the PGA TOUR after earning his TOUR card after last season on the Korn Ferry Tour.
“Max is always helpful and he's playing really good this year,” Greyserman added. “I was there when he won the State Am, I was only eight or nine, but I always look up to him and take advice from him.”
Liam Pasternak and Jeremy Wall share a tie for second place.
Pasternak, a two-time W.Y. Dear Boys Champion (2020, 2021) and recent winner of the NJSIAA High School Championship in May fired a 4-under 67 on Tuesday morning.
“Getting it off the tee in good spots is crucial here,” Pasternak explained. “Sometimes it's iron, sometimes it's driver, but putting yourself in a good spot to hit an iron shot in is really good. From there, I was solid. My iron play gave me a lot of chances with the putter. Not all of them went in today, but hopefully they will tomorrow.”
The Morristown native had a steady round, recording a blemish-free front nine highlighted by two birdies. On the back nine, Pasternak birdied three of his last six holes.
“Earlier in the season, I wasn't hitting my wedge shots that close at all – I was struggling with it a little bit,” Pasternak added. “Out here it's important to hit close wedge shots because you have to give yourself a chance. In the last two weeks I've been really grinding on it in front of a Trackman, trying to dial in my numbers. That's really helped me this week so far.”
Jeremy Wall, 28, shot a 3-under 68 on Tuesday. His round was highlighted by an eagle on No. 4, the same hole he eagled in the first round on Monday.
“I felt good,” Wall said. “I feel like I missed a couple but also probably picked up one or two strokes that I probably shouldn’t have seen gone my way. Overall, I drove it great, putted it well, had a couple hiccups at the end, which I need to clean up.”
ABOUT THE New Jersey State Amateur
Open to male amateurs who have qualified through
one of three qualifying sites or have met the
exemption criteria. Format is 72 holes of stroke play
with a cut to the low 40 scores after the second
round.
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