Frank Esposito Needs Playoff To Win Njpga/njsga Senior Open Second Time
Frank Esposito, Jr., of Forsgate is among the winningest golfers in state history.
Esposito, who turns 54 on Friday, annexed yet another crown to add to his lengthy resume when he needed two extra holes to subdue Greg Baker of Rockaway River and win the 29th NJPGA/NJSGA Senior Open Championship at Navesink Country Club in Middletown on Wednesday, May 31.
Esposito (72-70) and Baker (73-69) finished tied at two-under-par 142, with Mark McCormick of Suburban one stroke back at 71-72-143. Bill Charpek of Navesink was low amateur at 73-74-147. Jim McGovern of White Beeches had won the event in a playoff the past two years. Esposto won in 2014 at Trump National in Colts Neck. Kevin Maciorowski of Westlake fired a 68 in the final round - the low round of the tournament - to vault him to fifth place (77-68--145). McCormick, Dave Laudien of Howell Park and Navesink's Steve Sieg were co-leaders after the first round at 71.
Both Esposito and Baker bogeyed the first playoff hole, the uphill, 375-yard, par-4 No. 18. They moved on to the par-3, 182-yard No. 17 and Esposito lofted a seven-iron to within 10 feet of the pin. Baker’s tee shot put him in position 35 feet to the left of the hole.
Baker’s first putt left him 10 feet short, and Esposito missed his birdie try, then settled for a par. When Baker missed his par attempt to the right of the cup for a bogey, it crowned Esposito as a champion of the Senior Open for a second time.
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“On the final hole, I tried to be aggressive. I had a good swing and just missed that 10-footer. It’s hard to read these greens. I played it outside right and it didn’t straighten out,” Esposito said. “A state championship is always a good thing to win.
“It’s tough to win. There are a lot of good players over 50 in this section. I enjoy playing well and being in competition. It’s fun.”
Esposito, a NJPGA Hall of Famer who spent the bulk of his career at Brooklake Country Club in Florham Park, played golf at Rutgers. He now lives in Old Bridge.
His resume includes two State Opens, five New Jersey PGA Sections, three Clambakes, three NJPGA Match-Play titles, four NJPGA Head Pro wins, two NJPGA Fall Finales, and one NJPGA Senior PGA title.
He will be taking part in the National Professional Championship (formerly Head Pro Championship) June 18-June 21 at Sun River Resort in Oregon.
Esposito, of course , played a full season on the PGA Champions Tour in 2015 after winning the Q-School qualifier. He had three top 15 finishes, but didn’t earn enough points to stick on the tour. He continues to participate in Monday qualifiers and hopes to make it back to the Champions Tour.
“You’ve got to trust yourself. It was tough with the traveling. The goal is to get back.”
Baker, 56, was surprised he played so well.
“I’ve been playing poorly. I came out here not expecting much. But after about four holes yesterday, I found something and kept going at it. Hopefully, I can keep it up all season,” Baker said.
Navesink’s Charpek, 60, won the NJSGA Senior Amateur in 2015.
“The target goal was the win the tournament. I have good knowledge of the golf course. A lot of the greens give guys fits who don’t know them. But even I didn’t make a lot of putts. The course is in good shape. It certainly means something to be low amateur in an open tournament. Playing against the pros is tough.”
