4-under 67s in the opening round placed past champions Craig Thomas and Ed Whitman atop the leaderboard at Essex County Country Club in the 24th MGA Senior Open Championship.
Ed Whitman of Knickerbocker
WEST ORANGE, N.J. (August 24, 2020) — Following round one of the 24th MGA Senior Open Championship at Essex County Country Club, Craig Thomas of Metropolis and Ed Whitman of Knickerbocker find themselves in a familiar position atop the leaderboard after both past champions carded 4-under 67s in the opening round.
Thomas, the 2013 champion, started hot with back-to-back birdies and added a bogey and a birdie before making the turn in 2-under. He tacked on two more birdies on the way in for his 67.
Thomas credited his success to his iron play and putting, which helped offset a poor day with the driver.
“It was just kind of getting it around the golf course and eliminating any bad mistakes,” said Thomas, who was seeing the course for the first time.
Thomas was prepared to play tournament golf tomorrow either way, with the New York State Open on his schedule as well. Now he’s aiming to capture his second MGA Senior Open title. “I’m happy to come back here. I’ll hopefully practice a little this afternoon and see if can figure out my tee shot and keep everything else the same.”
Whitman used three-consecutive birdies from Nos. 7-9 en route to his 67.
“I hit a good wedge on seven to about six feet,” said Whitman beginning to describe the trio of birdies. “On eight I was right on the edge of the green and pitched it to about a foot, then on nine I made about a 30-footer.”
He added a birdie on the par-5 13th and a bogey on the finisher, but for Whitman, the return to one of his favorite courses seemingly revived his game.
“I haven’t been playing very well, so I’m really thrilled with today’s scoring,” he said. “It’s a course I love. I’ve played it many many many times. It’s just a place I enjoy and it’s in terrific condition. It’s just a fun place to play, so I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”
Greg Baker of Rockaway River sits just one shot back following his 3-under 68, despite not having much time to prepare or work on his game as of late. “We’ve been so busy at the club and now I’m interim GM as well, so wearing two hats I haven’t had a lot of time to practice,” he said. “So, I’m trying to make it as simple as I can.”
Baker birdied all three par-5s (Nos. 7, 8, and 13), while he also started his two nines differently with a birdie on 1 and a bogey on 10.
Amateur Ed Gibstein of Glen Head and Jerry Courville of Shorehaven both posted 2-under 69s to remain well within reach heading into Tuesday’s round.
Ken Pridgen, Frank Esposito of Forsgate and record 18-time MGA champion George Zahringer of Deepdale rounded out those carding sub-par scores with 1-under 70s. Esposito has logged a top-10 finish every year in the MGA Senior Open since becoming eligible in 2013 (7 consecutive).
Defending champion Shaun Powers of Fairview was one of six players to shoot even-par 71, leaving 12 players within four shots of the leading pair.
A total of 44 players made the cut with scores of 4-over 75 or better to advance to Tuesday’s final round. Tee times will begin at 7:30 a.m., with the final pairing of Thomas and Whitman teeing off at 11 a.m.
Essex County Country Club is one of the MGA’s 26 founding members and has a long history of hosting MGA championships. It last welcomed the Ike in 2016. This is its first time hosting the MGA Senior Open. The club was founded in 1887, with its present day course featuring work of A. W. Tillinghast, Seth Raynor and Charles Banks. Elevated greens guarded by deep, flat-bottomed bunkers and a sensational quartet of par-3s highlight the layout, while its back nine is regarded as one of the most challenging in all of the Met Area.
