Familiar names atop the leaderboard early at 123rd New Jersey Amateur Golf Championship

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 123 ^rd 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 40 ^th .

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 10 ^th hole, a 370-yard par-4, and made a 20-footer for birdie. He eagled the 11 ^th , 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 14 ^th and 16 ^th 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 18 ^th .

“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

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Familiar names atop the leaderboard early at 123rd New Jersey Amateur Golf Championship