72nd Delaware Senior Amateur: Round Two

Home club’s Jamarowicz and former member Keeney grab titles

WILMINGTON, Del. – Two years ago, Ron Jamarowicz claimed the Delaware Senior Amateur for the first time. 

| Scorecards | History | Round One Recap | Photos |

A past Delaware Mid-Open champion (2016), Jamarowicz thought it was his time to take the senior scene by storm.

Then his world came crumbling down. Countless injuries and life-altering circumstances brought Jamarowicz to his proverbial knees.

“The past two years have been really tough on me,” Jamarowicz said. “I have had a couple of surgeries. For one of them I couldn’t eat for 11 months. I was living out of a blender. It was horrible. It has been a tough recovery for me. I am only about 75 percent of what I should be. Years ago, I got hit by a golf cart and I broke my neck as well as a lot of wear and tear over the years.”

But it would be Jamarowicz’s grit and fight that would get him back on the golf course. His back is fused from his C3 vertebrae to his C7 vertebrae. He also had to have another surgery recently to regain mobility in his arms.

Tuesday at his home club, DuPont Country Club, Jamarowicz used a seething back nine to grab his second Delaware Senior Amateur title after a final-round 69 on the DuPont Course (par 71, 6,220 yards).

His two day total of 1 under was good enough for a two-shot victory over Oscar Mestre of Overbrook Golf Club. Jamarowicz shot 1-over-par 72 Monday on DuPont’s Nemours Course.

“I was just trying to do my best to represent DuPont and everyone at this great club,” Jamarowicz said. “It was so cool out there. I even had a baby following me. The camaraderie we have here at DuPont is cool. For all of those guys to come out here and support me means a lot.”

The last four champions hail from DuPont. Jamarowicz (2021, 2023), Rufino Rosal (2022) and Tom Borsello (2020).

Jamarowicz jumped into contention with an eagle on No. 2 (par 5, 496 yards), when he jammed a gap wedge from 105 yards into the bottom of the cup.

“There’s a yardage that I never miss with and that is my gap wedge from between 103 to 106 yards,” Jamarowicz, 57, of Newark, Del., said. “When I get a shot in that yardage gap, I stack them tight. There was a guy watching and he pointed saying it was in.”

Through 11 holes he was even par and tied at the top of the leaderboard with Overbrook Golf Club’s Oscar Mestre and Round One leader Paul Dillon of Cripple Creek Golf & Country Club at 1 over.

But as any champion does, they have a stretch of holes to separate from the field and seize control.

Jamarowicz’s magical birdie trifecta came on Nos. 12 (par 4, 356 yards), 13 (par 4, 340 yards) and 14 (par 3, 150 yards). He stuffed a 56-degree wedge from 86 yards to 10 feet on No. 12 and a lob wedge from 74 yards to three feet on No. 13.

But Jamarowicz’s highlight came in the form of a walk-in 11-footer on No. 14. The ball wasn’t even half way home when he exclaimed, “Get in the middle.” It did.

“Oh, it was a great feeling,” Jamarowicz said. “I call a lot of putts early and I called that one six feet out. I just knew it was dead center. That was my tournament moment.”

A long wait on the last (par 5, 526 yards) caused Jamarowicz to cold top his tee shot short of the penalty area. But a good bogey took care of everything he needed to.

Now he will see his name on the trophy twice. All within three years. A lot of pain and a lot of joy in between.

“My game feels great right now,” Jamarowicz, who is a contractor, said. “I am swinging fluid right now and my new driver was a huge asset for me in this tournament. I am really happy to win this at home.”

Women’s Division

DuPont Country Club is a place that means a lot to Nicoll Keeney.

She was a member at the club for 11 years when she was finding her way in golf. It included a women’s club championship victory and a lot of growth in a new sport.

Tuesday on the DuPont Course, Keeney secured her second consecutive title in the Women’s Division of the Delaware Senior Amateur at DuPont (par 71, 5,460 yards).

“Winning this back-to-back is a huge accomplishment and I am excited about it,” Keeney said. “I am proud that I kept it together for the most part. I wish I would have played better on the final nine here but winning allows me to get into some bigger national events, which is cool.”

Keeney, of Wilmington Country Club, backed her round of 73 (1 over) yesterday on the Nemours Course with an 81 on the DuPont Course for a two-day total of 11 over and an 11-shot victory over Kim Metcalf of Hartefeld National.

“I was in a different zone yesterday,” Keeney, 52, of Wilmington, Del., said. “Today, I got tired. I had forgotten about the length of some of the holes on the DuPont Course.”

Keeney wasn’t satisfied with her driver performance Monday so she got an emergency lesson from her coach Michael Shank at Wilmington.

“I’ve had some goals for my golf game like lowering my handicap index,” Keeney said. “I focus a lot of work on my putting and course management. I have been struggling with my driver recently. The difference has been my ability to scramble well. My handicap index is the lowest it has ever been.”

Her two highlights of the day came in the form of red figures on Nos. 3 (par 4, 294 yards) and 7 (par 5, 448 yards). She stuffed a wedge on both for easy birdies.

Golf didn’t become a staple in Keeney’s life until after college. She is an Athletic Hall of Fame member of Bridgewater College in Bridgewater, Va.

“I was an All-American Division III lacrosse player at Bridgewater College,” Keeney, who manages properties, said. “Once I graduated college, I had no idea what I was going to do with myself. I needed to find a way to compete. So I just hit the pavement wanting to conquer golf. I took lessons and played a lot. The Women’s Golf Association of Baltimore had a whole outline of what you had to do to play and I accomplished all of that in about five or six years. I enjoy the grind it takes to play well. I continue to play competitively with the goal to keep getting better.”

The next goal for Keeney is the national level. She is first alternate for the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur after trying to qualify in Indiana.

“It has been inspiring to see women my age and older playing well in USGA events,” Keeney said. “The woman who won the U.S. Senior Women’s Open this past weekend shot lower than her age. That’s an amazing goal I will strive for. My mindset has shifted to focus more on accuracy than power because I am not hitting it as far as I used to. I am focused on trying to make USGA events and get to match play, which I haven’t done yet. It gets harder as you get older but I’m motivated to keep trying.”

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 340 Member Clubs and 100,000 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.