Burden Lake Country Club Member Proves Anyone Can Be a Terror on Links
 
By Mike Dyer
 
AVERILL PARK, April 25.....For a "once-a-week golfer," James Nero proved last year that he can be a force on the fairways and greens.

The 39-year-old Burden Lake Country Club member ended the 2006 season as one of the Capital District's hottest golfers.

Nero ended the season by placing eighth in the nation in ESPN's two-man tournament. More than 30,000 golfers competed nationally but Nero and his partner made it through a qualifier at Burden Lake and then a regional in Massachusetts. He made it all the way to the finals in Las Vegas.

But that isn't all the graduate of Catholic Central High School and SUNY-Oswego got through last year. The father of three (all under 5 years of age) finished third in the Rensselaer County men's amateur championship, got into match play for the New York State Golf Association's men's amateur championship and also posted a 19th place finish in the Troy Invitational.
Nero has a 3-handicap. He has posted one career hole-in-one.

"I would have been happy with finishing 50th in the State Championship," Nero said. "I only entered it because it was held at Country Club of Troy and it was local for me."

Nero had no trouble qualifying. He posted a 3-over-par 74 and was only four strokes behind medalist Bryan Bigley.

Then Nero scored rounds of 73 and 74 for a 147 in 36-hole qualifier at Troy. He just parred the final hole on the last day with a Hail Mary shot from the Troy driving range.

The 147 tied Nero with 10 others for the final eight  berths in match play. There was a wild playoff at 7 in the evening. Nero made the cut to the top 32 golfers in the state.

He then battled eventual Albany County champion Jon-Micheal Socaris in the opening round of match play. The lefty-swinging Socaris squeezed out a 3 and 1 decision.

With rounds of 72 and 73, Nero had a 145 for his two days of work at Frear Park in the Rensselaer championship last September. He finished third behind winner Jimmy O'Connell and runner-up Bill Hogan.

Nero has his sights on bigger game this year.

Nero is also a long-distance runner and competes every year in the 5-mile Turkey
Trot through Troy.