18th Brewer Cup: Stroke-Play Qualifying

Tavistock’s Slonis secures Senior medal

MOHNTON, Pa. — Three 2s on the scorecard is a rarity for Jamie Slonis. So, too, is his name in the GAP headlines since turning 55 years old a year ago.

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Well, one cosmically led to the other Monday at LedgeRock Golf Club (par 72, 6,636 yards). Slonis, the 2001 Joseph H. Patterson Cup Champion, carded a 4-under-par 68 to earn medalist honors and the No. 1 seed in the 18^th Brewer Cup. He will face former Brewer Cup Champion Joe Roeder (2022) of Merion Golf Club when the Round of 16 begins tomorrow at 7:30 a.m.

Roeder defeated T.R. Gatti of Concord Country Club in a 2-for-1 sudden-death playoff. The cut line stopped at 3-over-par 75.

“I’ve been around enough to be up near the top of a leaderboard. It’s always a surprise when you shoot 4 under. We’re golfers so we’re never satisfied,” Slonis, 56, of Washington Township, N.J., said. “I could see guys saying, ‘He’s been playing decent, and it’s a decent golf course for him.’ But it’s always different to see your name atop the board.”

As mentioned, Slonis is a former GAP Major Champion and Amateur Championship medalist (2005). With accomplishment comes expectation. It’s been a slow build for Slonis at the GAP Senior level, although the Tavistock Country Club member sensed the pieces assembling like a young builders LEGO set.  

“It was kind of disappointing results in [the Francis B. Warner Cup and Frank H. Chapman Cup]. It was nice to put it all together on the right day,” Slonis, who tied for 21^st in the Warner and 29^th in the Chapman, said. “I’m working a lot on short game and wedge play lately, which was good today. I usually drive it pretty well. This is a course that sets up pretty well for me. There is some room to it. Length does help.”

Birdies on three of LedgeRock’s par 3s set Slonis up for success Monday. He knocked a pitching wedge to 12 feet on No. 2 (par 3, 145 yards); a 7-iron to three feet on No. 4 (par 3, 185 yards); a 9-iron to six feet on No. 14 (par 3, 168 yards). Slonis, who started on No. 9 (par 4, 372 yards) for logistical purposes, totaled seven birdies on the day. His drive on the gettable par 4, 295-yard 12^th hole settled in a swale left of the green. A pitch to 10 feet produced a birdie. Slonis nearly holed a sand wedge from 104 yards for eagle on No. 16 (par 4, 340 yards). He buried a 20-footer for birdie from above the No. 18 (par 5, 555 yards) flagstick after hitting a wedge from 75 yards.

Three-putt bogeys on Nos. 11 (par 4, 397 yards) and 13 (par 5, 528 yards), and poor tee positioning on No. 3 (par 4, 340 yards) tainted an otherwise healthy scorecard. Slonis all but assured medalist honors with a birdie on No. 8 (par 5, 530 yards), where he logged two putts from 40 feet after reaching the green with 4-iron from 233 yards.  

Slonis met LedgeRock for the first time a week ago. He and fellow Tavistock member Tom Gramigna played a practice round.  

“We played three holes and got blown off the course. Then we stuck around for two hours and they let us back out. We raced around as fast as we could. We didn’t end up playing the last hole because we got blown off the course again,” Slonis, who works as a director for Eligo Club, an international private golf network, said. “I think it was key to see this place, especially with the elevation changes. I didn’t really know what to expect when we came out. It was a lot hillier than I thought it would be.”

The objective observers probably pegged Slonis as a name to watch. He appeared in the U.S. Mid-Amateur on four occasions (2003, 2005-06, 2009). A year ago, Slonis qualified for the U.S. Senior Amateur and won the Senior title in the Crump Cup.

“When you turn 55, it’s almost like you have a new lease on life. There are more tournaments to play. Suddenly you’re a rookie again. I’ve enjoyed it,” he said. “It’s fun to see a lot of familiar faces. Getting close to 55, I worked hard to keep myself in good shape and to speed up my swing for length. It can be advantage if you keep that up, especially within senior golf. I’ve tried hard to maintain that.”

Now Slonis will look to maintain his newfound — ahem expectedly found — senior prominence come Tuesday.

“Match play is a different animal than stroke play,” Slonis said. “Everyone is always looking to knock off the No. 1 seed. Any of the 16 guys who qualified for match play can win this thing. You have to go out and hit good golf shots.”

NOTES
Ronan Culligan of Saucon Valley Country Club did not return to defend his Brewer Cup title. He is competing in the R&A Senior Amateur Championship at Walton Heath in Walton Heath, England … LedgeRock last hosted the Brewer Cup in 2020. Carlisle Country Club’s Jeff Frazier defeated Yardley Country Club’s Paul Rogowicz, 1-up, that year. The two, coincidentally, will face off in the Round of 16 tomorrow.

West takes Super-Senior medal

Golf is David West’s past, present and future. When he was just 14 years old, he decided to take up the game after passing by several golf courses while on family vacation in Myrtle Beach, S.C. 

Throughout high school, college and beyond, he’s refined his skills to become a competitive force on both local and national stages. 

In Stroke-Play Qualifying for the Super-Senior Division of the 18th Brewer Cup, a true-to-form West carded a 4-under-par 68 to earn medalist honors at a steamy LedgeRock (par 72, 6,259 yards).

“I was very happy with the way I played today. I played very solid golf,” West, 65, of Exton, Pa. said. “I was able to play a practice round out here on Sunday. Even though I’ve played the course before, it was very helpful because of the elevation changes.”

There were eight match-play positions available in the Super-Senior Division. The cut line stopped at 73. Brewer Cup Super-Senior defending champion, Gary Daniels of Applebrook Golf Club, was disqualified after failing to make his 8:40 a.m. tee time.  

West got to work right away Monday. Playing in the day’s afternoon wave, he went out in 32. His card featured a run of red figures on Nos. 7-9. On No. 7 (par 5, 475 yards), the long-hitting West reached the green in two with a 5-iron from 185 yards. He knocked in the ensuing 20-footer for eagle. On No. 8 (par 5, 507 yards), he laid up with a 6-iron after his tee shot ended up in the fairway bunker. His approach, a lob wedge from 55 yards, settled 15 feet away resulting in a birdie.

He found another red number on No. 9 (par 4, 360 yards) after the same lob wedge from 90 yards settled to three feet. He got to his final number with a birdie on No. 18 (par 5, 521 yards) after his 3-wood from 260 yards settled 15 yards short of the green. He chipped up with his lob wedge to three feet. An errant tee shot on No. 11 (par 4, 388 yards) contributed to his only bogey.

Wide landing areas at LedgeRock provide a welcoming visual for West off the tee.

“I don’t feel like I’m trying to steer the ball here because of the openness of the golf course,” West, who played on the men’s golf team at Shippensburg University, said. “I can deal with the hills and the mounds, but when I look out and see the wide areas, it helps me.”

West, a Philadelphia Publinks Golf Association member, is on a GAP Super-Senior heater as of late. In his first super-senior start, he captured the 17th Francis B. Warner Cup at Lebanon Country Club. With Monday’s medalist performance, West becomes the third player to win the Warner Cup and medal in Brewer Cup Super-Senior Stroke-Play Qualifying in the same year. Don Donatoni, then of White Manor Country Country Club, completed the feat in 2019.

West’s Senior Brewer Cup resume is nothing to scoff at. In 2017, he took Stroke-Play Qualifying medalist honors at St. Davids Golf Club. In 2023, he fell in the Final to Bob Beck of Lehigh Country Club, 4&3. 

West competes on a national stage as well. To date, he’s played in five U.S. Mid-Amateur, a U.S. Senior Amateur and a U.S. Amateur Four-Ball. 

Having survived until the later rounds of the tournament before, he knows what to expect the rest of the week. 

“I love it because you have to really focus and shoot a good stroke-play round,” West, who caddies at Applebrook Golf Club, said. “I get excited about playing match play because now you can play a little looser.” 

As the medalist, West assumes the No. 1 match-play seed. He faces Beck at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday. It’s a rematch from the aforementioned 2023 Brewer Senior Final. 

“I just hope to win that first match tomorrow,” West said. “I’m looking forward to match play.”

The Brewer Cup is named in honor of O. Gordon Brewer, Jr., the former president of Pine Valley Golf Club. He is a two-time U.S. Senior Amateur Champion and veteran of 42 USGA Championships. He’s captured two Golf Association of Philadelphia Amateur Championship titles (1967, 1976), a GAP Senior Amateur Championship crown (1997) and a Senior Player of the Year (1997) as well as countless invitational titles. He is a recipient of the USGA’s Bob Jones Award and a member of the GAP Hall of Fame.

GAP
Celebrating Amateur Golf since 1897, GAP, also known as the Golf Association of Philadelphia, is the oldest regional or state golf association in the United States. It serves as the principal ruling body of amateur golf in its region. The organization’s 345 Member Clubs and 130,000 individual members are spread across Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey and Maryland. The GAP’s mission is to promote, preserve and protect the game of golf.