Sellers Delivers Wire-to-Wire Victory at 106th New Jersey Open Championship presented by Donnelly Industries
MORRISTOWN, N.J. – Rhett Sellers had spent the last two years proving he could contend in the New Jersey Open Championship. On Thursday afternoon at Morris County Golf Club, he proved he could finish the job.
The 24-year-old Plainfield Country Club assistant professional completed a wire-to-wire victory at the 106th New Jersey Open Championship, presented by Donnelly Industries, carding a final-round 1-over-par 71 to finish at 4-under-par 206. Sellers became the first professional to capture the championship since Brent Paladino in 2023, earning his first New Jersey Open title after recording top-10 finishes in each of the past two championships.
"I feel relieved,” Sellers expressed. "It was a good day to have a good walk here at Morris County but in the back of your head your like, 'okay, there's a lot on the line here. As soon as the last putt went in, it was a big relief.”
Sellers entered the final round with a three-stroke advantage and spent most of the day in control before the pressure mounted over the closing stretch. Back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 16 and 17 trimmed his lead, but the Texas native answered when it mattered most. Opting for a long iron off the tee on the demanding 18th hole, Sellers found the fairway, hit his approach to 16 feet and calmly two-putted for par. As his final putt dropped, Sellers embraced his caddie in relief, capping three days of steady golf and securing the C.W. Badenhausen Championship Trophy.
Sellers opened his final round with a steady front nine, offsetting two birdies with two bogeys to make the turn at even par. Looking to protect his lead rather than chase birdies, he settled into a groove on the inward nine, carding six consecutive pars from Nos. 10 through 15 while keeping the rest of the field at bay.
His toughest test came over the final three holes.
A three-putt bogey on the 430-yard par-4 16th gave the chasing pack renewed hope. After missing the green on the par-3 17th, Sellers was unable to convert a lengthy par putt, trimming his advantage to two strokes heading to the final hole.
“I caught a glimpse of the leaderboard on the 14th tee," Sellers said. "I knew where I stood. From there, I just wanted to stay steady and keep making pars. I had a little hiccup, but I still knew where I stood. As long as I put the ball in play on 18, I felt good about it. It was pretty cool walking down that last hole."
Needing one final composed hole, Sellers elected to hit a long iron off the tee on the 415-yard, downhill par-4 18th. The conservative play found the middle of the fairway, leaving him a full approach into the green. His approach settled 16 feet from the hole, and two putts later, the championship belonged to Sellers.
The victory capped the most consistent performance of the championship, as Sellers led after each completed round and never relinquished the top spot on the leaderboard.
"Now I have to go back to work," Sellers said with a smile. "It'll be nice seeing everybody for our season-long men's league. It's just a big sigh of relief. It's very satisfying to know I could get it done."
Brent Paladino made one of the biggest charges of the final round, firing a bogey-free 6-under-par 64 to finish alone in third. The 2023 New Jersey Open champion birdied four of his first five holes before adding another on No. 13 to reach 6-under for the day. His 64 matched the Morris County Golf Club competitive course record, equaling the mark set by current PGA TOUR member Max Greyserman during the final round of the 2015 New Jersey Amateur Championship.
Paladino continued his recent run of success in the championship after winning the New Jersey Open in 2023, earning low professional honors in 2024 and finishing runner-up in 2025.
Tyler McArdell of Hollywood Golf Club carded a 4-under-par 66 to finish runner-up, recording five birdies on the day. The second-place finish marked the best New Jersey Open performance of his career, improving upon finishes of T-30 in 2025, T-29 in 2024 and 30th in 2023.
Defending champion Mark Costanza finished as the championship's low amateur. The two-time New Jersey Open champion (2020, 2025) closed with a 4-under-par 66 to finish the championship at even-par 210.
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