Slonis Breaks Through to Win 68th Senior Amateur Championship Presented by Dunning
EATONTOWN, N.J. –– Jamie Slonis of Tavistock Country Club capped a final-round comeback with a birdie on the 18th hole to capture the 68th New Jersey Senior Amateur Championship presented by Dunning on Thursday at Suneagles Golf Club.
Entering the final round trailing first-round leader Christopher Housen by two strokes, Slonis wasted little time making his move, recording birdies on two of his first three holes to quickly climb the leaderboard.
“I got off to a good start,” Slonis said. “I hit it pretty close on one, maybe like 6, 7 feet under the hole. Three, short par 5, I hit it right up around the green, hit a good shot and made, I don't know, maybe about 12, 15 foot putt.”
While Slonis surged, Housen struggled to recreate the form that produced his opening-round 2-under-par 70. Two bogeys and a triple bogey on his opening nine put the first-round leader behind early, and he was unable to recover, eventually carding a final-round 80 to finish tied for sixth.
As the afternoon unfolded, the championship developed into a battle between Slonis and his good friend and fellow Tavistock member Tom Gramigna.
The two spent much of the back nine trading the lead before Gramigna created some separation with back-to-back birdies on Nos. 11 and 12 to move one stroke ahead.
Slonis stumbled with a pair of bogeys of his own during the round, but remained within striking distance as scoring conditions became increasingly difficult.
“I tried to just hang in there,” Slonis added. “Seemed like everybody was struggling a little bit. It was tough with the wind and the rough was up. So just tried to make a lot of pars was the sort of the plan.”
That approach paid off down the stretch. Slonis remained poised, making par on the 17th before arriving at No. 18 tied with Gramigna.
With one final opportunity to move ahead, Slonis delivered, rolling in a birdie putt on the closing hole to take a one-stroke advantage and put the pressure back on Gramigna, who was playing in the group behind.
Gramigna still had an opportunity to extend the championship. His approach into 18 left him with a birdie look that would have pulled him even with Slonis, but the putt rolled just past the hole, sealing the victory for his longtime friend.
“You know he's going to be in it all the time because he grinds,” Slonis said of Gramigna. “He's such a tough competitor, one of the best competitors I know. It's great to have him as a partner. Not so much when you're playing against him because you know you have to play good to beat him. So to make birdie on the last was nice.”
The finish added another chapter to a competitive history between the two Tavistock members that stretches back more than two decades. Slonis finished runner-up to Gramigna in the 2005 New Jersey Mid-Amateur Championship, but the two have also found plenty of success as teammates. Together, they captured the New Jersey Senior Four-Ball Championship in each of the past two years, winning back-to-back titles in 2025 and 2026.
For Slonis, the victory also came on the heels of a memorable week at the U.S. Senior Amateur at Baltimore Country Club. After initially being named an alternate, Slonis earned a spot in the field the week prior to the championship and advanced through stroke play into match play.
“It was kind of a bonus to get in and then to make match play is everybody's dream when you're there,” Slonis expressed. “I wish I would have gone farther. I had a lead in the first match and kind of let it get away. Arnie, who I played, who I know well, played very solid and just clipped me. I would have liked to make a little bit more of a run there, but I knew that when we were finished there that I had this still coming up. I was looking forward to it.”
Slonis' victory marked his first individual New Jersey Golf championship after coming close on multiple occasions, including a pair of runner-up finishes in the New Jersey Mid-Amateur.
“My first Jersey event,” Slonis said. “I’ve come close and lost in a couple finals at the Mid-Am, but feels great to finally win one.”
Former champion Bill Charpek and Harris Podvey turned in the low rounds of the day, each firing an even-par 72.
The final round also featured a rare pair of aces on the same hole, as Jamie Vieser and Bill Cody each recorded a hole-in-one on the 110-yard par-3 seventh.
For Slonis, finally breaking through made the victory all the more meaningful.
“It's hard to win anything,” Slonis said. “To win a state championship is really special. I practice, I work hard, and it's nice to see it pay off when you finally get it done.”
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