GOOD REED: Princeton University men’s golf star Reed Greyserman follows through on a shot this spring. Greyserman produced a superb debut campaign for the Tigers in 2024-25, tying for 10th in the Ivy League Championships and placing first in the Princeton Invitational at Springdale Golf Club. Building on that success, rising sophomore Greyserman is on a roll this summer, winning both the Florida Amateur and the Ike MGA Stroke Play Championship. Greyserman’s win in the Florida event earned him a spot in the upcoming U.S. Amateur Championship which is being held at The Olympic Club in San Francisco from August 11-17. (Photo provided courtesy of Princeton Athletics)
By Justin Feil
Princeton University men’s golf star Reed Greyserman could understand some of the pressure that his brother felt in the final round of the Rocket Classic on June 29.
Greyserman was watching on TV as his oldest brother, Peddie School graduate Max Greyserman, forced a playoff before falling in the fifth hole of the playoff to settle for his fourth second-place finish on the PGA Tour.
“It’s always fun to watch when he’s on TV,” Greyserman said. “I used to watch him in tournaments in college. It’s on the big screen now so that’s really cool. But it’s pretty nerve wracking. He’s been up there a few times now in the past year and he seems to be playing really good.”
So too is Greyserman. His first year at Princeton ended with him tying for 10th at the Ivy League Championships in late April at Rolling Green Golf Club in Springfield, Pa., to help the Tigers roll to the team title. Two weeks earlier, he had won the Princeton Invitational at Springdale Golf Club.
“The biggest takeaway from the year is how much I’ve learned about myself and my game and you know what it takes to get better,” said Greyserman. “What things that I need to do to put the time in to get better.”
Greyserman has come off his freshman year playing even better this summer. It started with a huge rally to win the Florida Amateur which took place from June 5-8 at the BallenIsles Country Club East Course in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. Greyserman was 5-over after the first two rounds, nine shots out of the lead. He shot 64 in the Saturday round and 68 on Sunday to force a playoff that he won on the first hole with a par putt. He finished 7-under 281.
“You have to just keep your head down, don’t worry about what everybody else is doing and it’s just a slow push to the top,” said Greyserman. “You keep grinding, you keep pushing and then eventually I found myself in a playoff. It’s the same thing. Playoffs are nerve wracking. They’re tough; it’s one hole for the whole tournament. At the end of the day, it doesn’t change anything. You just have to do the best you can.”
The win at the Florida Amateur automatically qualified Greyserman to compete again in the U.S. Amateur. This year’s will be held at The Olympic Club in San Francisco from August 11-17.
“It’s huge, every golfer wants to play that golf tournament,” said Greyserman. “It’s the biggest tournament we have. You all want to compete against the best players in the world and that’s what the U.S. Am is. It’s the best players from probably like 40-plus countries come together to play the tournament. The USGA always does an amazing job. Everything’s perfect. It feels like you’re playing a major championship really. And to be able to go there for my third one, I’m looking forward to it.”
Greyserman played the U.S. Amateur in 2021 while he was still in high school after shooting 68-68 at a qualifier in nearby Skillman. At 16, Greyserman was the youngest golfer in the field at the 2021 U.S. Amateur.
“This time around it’ll be a little different,” said Greyserman. “The first one I played I was only 16. I was kind of just going there, I wasn’t as good as I needed to be to play at that level. Even last year, I was still very good but I don’t think I was as good as I am now. I think if I keep pushing I’ll have the ability to actually do well and make match play and see if I can make something happen.”
A Princeton teammate, Charlie Farrell, will caddy for him. They were a part of a special Ivy title together as the Tigers pulled away from the field.
“We all played pretty well,” said Greyserman. “We won the title by a pretty healthy margin. That was great for us, we kind of were able to prove who we are, the team that we knew we are, which is a very, very solid golf team and to be able to get that done in Ivies is very special.”
Greyserman returned to the U.S. Amateur last year while making a bit of history. He led from start to finish to take the New Jersey Amateur at Forest Hill Field Club last summer. His 14-under 270 was a New Jersey Amateur record. And it enabled him to join Max as a champion, the first brothers both to win the New Jersey tournament. Max won in 2015.
“The New Jersey one was always one that I had circled,” said Greyserman, who has relocated to Boca Raton, Fla.
“I was born in Jersey. I spent so much time there my whole life. I watched my other brother Max playing the Jersey Amateur before. And I had a couple of chances to win actually in years prior, I just didn’t get it done. So going into that one, I know that if I play well there I’m going to contend. And so I came out in the first round and played really well and I just dominated that tournament. That was probably one of the best tournaments I’ve played. And to get it done, it’s special to be the first brother-brother to win with Max, it’s a good feeling.”
Greyserman has been inspired by both of his brothers. Max is on the PGA Tour after playing at Duke and battling to get his tour card in 2023. Dean will be a senior on the Stanford men’s team this
year. Greyserman grew up watching Max at a young age, and he continued to watch as he improved tremendously after graduation to move from the developmental Korn Ferry Tour to the PGA Tour.
“To see how he did it, to see the process that he has, the things that you can really achieve if you put your mind to it, if you do the right things you will get better and you will get out there, I think that’s encouraging to me,” said Greyserman. “That’s kind of what mindset I try to take.”
Greyserman can’t help but to think about the potential to be a professional golfer someday. His first year at Princeton he saw big improvements in his putting and his mental game. It paid off again with a win in a three-way playoff at the Ike MGA Stroke Play Championship at Hamilton Farm Golf Club in Gladstone, which took place from June 23-24. Greyserman had two birdies in the three-hole playoff for the win after carding a nine-under 207 in the three-round competition to earn a spot in the playoff.
“It feels great, summer is always a great time for golf,” said Greyserman. “The weather is good. You don’t have classes so you get a lot of time to practice and a lot of time to play tournaments and it’s really fun. I felt my game get a lot better throughout college. It’s good to be in that environment at Princeton where the coach is helping, you have your teammates pushing you and then to see it really start to come into shape – this spring I won a college event and to be able to win two of my last three tournaments – is really encouraging and hopefully I can keep it going the rest of the summer and into the fall.”