Lane looks to defend Herdegen title
Reigning Ulster County Amateur champ highlights a field of 49 in 67th annual tourney
KINGSTON, N.Y. » Justin Lane has a pretty busy itinerary for the next several days, but he is still focused on repeating as the Ulster County Men’s Amateur golf champion.
Lane and a field of 49 competitors tackle three courses as the 67th annual Herdegen commences Friday. The 72-hole event starts at Rondout Golf Club with the first group teeing off at 7:30 a.m. The action shifts to Wiltwyck Golf Club Saturday at 11. Sunday’s final round will be at Woodstock Golf Club with the first group off at 9 a.m.
Lane became the secondyoungest Herdegen titlist when he won at age 16 last year. Chris DeForest set the mark when he won in 2004 when he was 15.
Lane’s last competition was two weeks ago when he took on the notoriously tough Bethpage Black course to win the New York State Federation High School title. He shot a 2-overpar 73 to win by four strokes. He had two birdies on the front nine and another on the back.
“I’ve been playing pretty well,” said Lane, who was sixth in late April in the Liberty National Junior Invitational in New Jersey. “I hit the ball well in the Federation. I was focused.”
He shot a 72 at the Powelton Club in Newbugh and a 75 at Casperkill in Poughkeepsie to place second in the Section 9 tournament. Lane tied for sixth at the New York State Public High School Athletic Association tournament with a 7378—151 at Cornell University’s Robert Trent Jones Golf Course.
The sectional and state events posed a different environment for Lane.
“I’m friends with a lot of the players and we’re having
fun. It’s kind of hard to get into the tournament mind frame,” he admitted, but says this weekend is different. “To me, the Herdegen is a lot more important to me.”
Lane won the Herdegen by three strokes over John Garcia and five over Doug Kleeschulte Jr. Neither of them are back, but Lane certainly faces a challenge in Ethan DeForest and Kingston High 11th-grade stars Jake Hommel and Scott Kleeschulte. Hommel won the Orange County Interscholastic Athletic Association title in 2015 and ‘16. Kleeschulte captured the crown this spring.
Hommel was fourth (eight strokes back), DeForest fifth
and Kleeschulte seventh last year.
Rondout was a challenge for the Herdegen field in ‘16 with no one shooting or breaking par.
“Wiltwyck is going to be the separating course,” remarked Lane, who certainly will have an advantage with the final round on his home Woodstock course.
Lane hopes to get some sleep before the second round. He has his Onteora graduation and an all-night post-graduation party on Friday. He also has Orientation Monday and Tuesday at Binghamton University. TEE TIMES FRIDAY
First round at Rondout 7:30 Jerry Maier, Charles Mataraza 7:40 John Hornbeck, Chris Pena, Tim Rockett 7:50 Andre Manginelli, Martin Pennington, Gary Schoepflin 8:00 Nick Baker, Mike Brabham, Jared Kross 8:10 Nicholas Banister, Donte Groppuso, John Lucarelli 8:20 Chris Bianco, David Gil, Brandon Kraft 8:30 Ethan DeForest, Matthew Stokes, Brian Williams 8:40 Daniel Gil, Richard Siegel, Juan Weissenberg 8:50 Matt Teetsell, Paul Hubbard, Tony Rinaldi 9:00 Joel Kivlan, Scott Kleeschulte, Devlin Walsh 9:10 Zachary Boyce, Thomas Faxon, Kevin Mackey 9:20 Jake Hommel, Justin Lane,
Tom Sanford 9:30 Tom Mayone Sr., Duane Postupack, Peter Weir 9:40 Ryan LaConture, Kyle Petramale, Nicholas Puleo 9:50 Devon Condo, George Feist, Tom Mayone Jr. 10:00 Rick Taylor, Justin Theilig, Darryl Schoonmaker 10:10 Denis Appleyard, Chris Grady —— SATURDAY Second round at Wiltwyck 11:00 Denis Appleyard, Chris Grady 11:10 Rick Taylor, Justin Theilig, Darryl Schoonmaker 11:20 Devon Condo, George Feist, Tom Mayone Jr. 11:30 Ryan LaConture, Kyle Petramale, Nicholas Puleo 11:40 Tom Mayone Sr., Duane Postupack, Peter Weir
11:50 Jake Hommel, Justin Lane, Tom Sanford 12:00 Zachary Boyce, Thomas Faxon, Kevin Mackey 12:10 Joel Kivlan, Scott Kleeschulte, Devlin Walsh 12:20 Matt Teetsell, Paul Hubbard, Tony Rinaldi 12:30 Daniel Gil, Richard Siegel, Juan Weissenberg 12:40 Ethan DeForest, Matthew Stokes, Brian Williams 12:50 Chris Bianco, David Gil, Brandon Kraft 1:00 Nicholas Banister, Donte Groppuso, John Lucarelli 1:10 Nick Baker, Mike Brabham, Jared Kross 1:20 Andre Manginelli, Martin Pennington, Gary Schoepflin 1:30 John Hornbeck, Chris Pena, Tim Rockett 1:40 Jerry Maier, Charles Mataraza