67th Senior Championship Set for New Jersey National Sept. 8-9
KENILWORTH, NEW JERSEY - The 67th New Jersey Senior Championship Presented by Dunning will be held Monday and Tuesday, September 8 and 9 at New Jersey National Golf Club in Basking Ridge. 132 of the Garden State’s top Senior Amateur golfers age 55 and older will vie for the Chuck Smith Championship Trophy.
New for 2025, Dunning, the Official Apparel Partner of NJ Golf, has been added as the title sponsor of the Senior Amateur Championship. The event will feature many contenders including past champions and a “who’s who” of highly accomplished players. Defending champion Mike Paduano of Eagle Oaks Golf and Country Club looks to repeat after winning in 2024 at Beacon Hill Country Club.
A look inside the field:
Past Senior Amateur Champions:
- Jay Blumenfeld, Mountain Ridge C.C. – 2014, 2016
- Bill Charpek, Navesink C.C. – 2015, 2017
- Anthony Fioretti, Newton C.C. – 2018
- Adam Armagost, Little Mill C.C. – 2021
- Mike Paduano, Eagle Oaks G. & C.C. – 2024
Past Players of the Year:
- Tom Gramigna, Tavistock C.C. – 2003 (co-winner)
- Jay Blumenfeld, Mountain Ridge C.C. – 2006 (co-winner)
Past Senior Players of the Year:
- Jay Blumenfeld, Mountain Ridge C.C. – 2014, 2016, 2017 (co-winner), 2019
- Bill Charpek, Navesink C.C. – 2017 (co-winner)
- Anthony Fioretti, Newton C.C. – 2018
Other notable contestants include three players who recently turned 55 and are eligible as seniors for the first time - Gregg Angelillo of Baltusrol Golf Club, Tom Gramigna of Tavistock Country Club and Peter Kozubal of the NJ Golf E-Club. Angelillo is a three-time NJ Pre-Senior Champion (2021, ’23, ’24) and the 2024 NJPGA/NJ Golf Senior Open Champion. Gramigna won the 2008 NJ Amateur Championship and is a three-time NJ Mid-Amateur Champion (2002, ’03, ’05); he finished second in the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s Senior Championship this past Wednesday at Berkshire Country Club in Pennsylvania. Kozubal won the 2015 Public Links Championship, the 2019 Pre-Senior Championship, and the 2021 Senior Open. Each seeks to raise the Chuck Smith Trophy in their first year of eligibility.
Elsewhere, 2021 MGA Senior Champion and current NJ Golf President Rod McRae joins two-time NJ Amateur Champion Bill McGuinness of Tavistock (1996, 2007), Harris Podvey of the Knoll Country Club (2001 NJ Mid-Amateur Champion), Nick Desai of Baltusrol (2015 and 2017 Pre-Senior Champion) and current (2025) Super-Senior Champion Dan Levinson as names to track throughout the competition.
New Jersey National will host the Senior Amateur Championship for the first time. Known for its magnificent conditions, the course plays across a rolling landscape in the bucolic Somerset Hills of New Jersey. The club has hosted numerous NJ Golf competitions over the years, including the Mixed Pinehurst Championship, Father and Son Championship, Super-Senior Championship, Pre-Senior Championship and the Women’ s Four-Ball Championship in addition to various NJ Golf and USGA Qualifying rounds. Designed by British golf course architect Roy Case, the club opened in 1997.
The Championship will be contested over two days and 36 holes of stroke play. Round one will be played on Monday, September 8 after which the field is cut to the low 40 scorers (plus ties). Those who make the cut will play 18 holes on Tuesday, September 9.
Live scoring and daily recaps will be available at NJGolf.org and across NJ Golf’s social media platforms.
