The NJ Junior Championship: A Proving Ground for the Next Big Thing

Photo: Morgan Hoffmann

By Kevin Casey

If you’re a junior golfer in New Jersey with dreams of making it big, there’s one tournament that should be on your radar: the New Jersey / William Y. Dear Junior Championship.

And, now is the time to register!

The 104th edition of the New Jersey / W.Y. Dear Junior Championship will be played June 30-July 2 at challenging and recently renovated Essex Fells Country Club in Roseland.

This event isn’t simply another junior golf tournament. It’s a true championship, a rite of passage, a place where reputations are made, pressure is real, and the next generation of talent shows up to show who’s got game.

Simply put, this is a must-play local competition for juniors, designed to identify the best male junior golfer in New Jersey.

And – starting this year – the champion is exempt to play in the 2025 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship, held this year at Trinity Forest Golf Club in Dallas, Texas from July 21 to 26. No other tournament in New Jersey can say that!

A Championship with Real Teeth

Run by New Jersey Golf since 1919, the second-oldest New Jersey state championship is named in honor of outstanding NJ amateur golfer William Y. “Billy” Dear, the 1951 NJ State Amateur Champion, who also nurtured Garden State junior golf for decades.

Dear was a champion in many ways, the kind of guy who saw potential in kids and pushed them to chase it. His passion and perseverance are baked into this championship’s DNA.

The three-day tournament isn’t a cakewalk. An 18-hole stroke play qualifier separates contenders from pretenders, and then it’s four 18-hole matches in two days – head-to-head, no safety net, gritty, unforgiving, and exhausting. Oh, yeah, and the pressure? You’ll feel it!

Who Has Felt That Pressure?

Including two current members of the 2025 PGA Tour, the list of top golfers who have competed in the NJ Junior and gone on to bigger things is long and reads like a springboard to an elite golf-related career. Just among competitors, for example:

• Starting early on, Eugene Homans from Englewood won his first of five straight State Juniors in 1923, setting a record that may stand forever. He went on to national fame as a top-ranked amateur golfer.
• Plainfield West’s Jeff Thomas, winner in 1976, captured the NJ Men’s Amateur Championship a record eight times from 1981 to 1994, during which time he won the 1993 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship.
• Morgan Hoffmann, from Paramus, who grabbed the title in 2005 before earning a #1 World Amateur Golf Ranking, a spot on the 2009 Walker Cup team, and a PGA Tour card.
• Max Greyserman, from Short Hills, took the title in the 2011 became a Duke University star, and is currently ranked #44 on the PGA Tour.
• Chris Gotterup, from Rumson, is a former Rutgers and Oklahoma All-American, who – like Hoffmann – went on to a WAGR #1 ranking and – like Greyserman – has a spot (and a win) on the PGA Tour.
• Dean Greyserman (younger brother to Max) won twice, in 2019 and ’21, before playing on Stanford University’s powerhouse team.

The NJ Junior delivers as one of the few junior events that forces kids to dig deep. There’s pressure, pride, and history. And host club Essex Fells’ recently renovated course will be an excellent test. Win here, and people will remember.

But it’s not all about finishing first. The championship has become a gathering point for New Jersey’s top talent – a preview of the next wave. You’ll find future college standouts, budding pros, and kids who’ll shape the game in their own way, whether it’s playing, coaching, or running a great tournament.

So, if you’re a kid from Jersey with a swing and a dream, get ready. Because when it’s your tee time, there’s nowhere to hide.

And if you win? You’re not just a state champion – you’re part of something bigger.

To register for New Jersey Golf’s W.Y. Dear Junior Championship, go to NJGolf.org.

For comments or suggestions, contact the author directly at kevincasey36@gmail.com.