DENVILLE, N.J. – Defending champion Max Greyserman of Crestmont shot a 5-under 67 and grabbed the lead after the first round of the New Jersey State Golf Association Open Championship Tuesday.
The 20-year-old who is attending Duke birdied the 14th, 15th and 16th holes at the Rockaway River Country Club, highlighting a round that included seven birdies and two bogeys.
Greyserman, who won last month's state amateur title, has a 1-stroke lead over Seton Hall senior Ryan Snouffer of Panther Valley and Tyler Hall, a professional at Upper Montclair.
John McCarthy of Morris County and Alex Beach of Ridgewood were two shots back in the 54-hole tournament that wraps up on Thursday.
Greyserman became the youngest winner of the state open last year when he captured the title at 19 at the Essex County Country Club.
"Right now, I don't feel any pressure," Greyserman said. "I might feel it tomorrow or Thursday, but I don't right now. I want to keep doing what I'm doing."
Greyserman is only the second player in NJSGA history to win the Open and Amateur within one year. Billy Ziobro did it in 1970.
Hall, 33, a native of Wayne, played 10 years on the mini-tour circuit until taking over as the Director of Instruction at Upper Montclair this year. He had victories on three different tours and played in one PGA event. He also won the Met Open in 2011.
Snouffer, who transferred to Seton Hall after winning two conference championships at Adelphi, was the second-round leader at the recent State Amateur at Knickerbocker.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.