#GAPMidAm Qualifying: Radley Run

Slonis snags #GAPMidAm Qualifying honors at Radley

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WEST CHESTER, Pa. – GAP Major Qualifying is back, and so is the 2001 Joseph H. Patterson Cup Champion.

Tavistock Country Club’s Jamie Slonis fired a 4-under par 68 to secure medalist honors in GAP Middle-Amateur Championship Qualifying at Radley Run Country Club (par 72, 6,655 yards) Monday. The cut line stopped at 6-over 78 on the day, meaning 43 players advanced to the championship proper.

The 38^th Middle-Amateur Championship will take place May 26-27 at Lookaway Golf Club.

Slonis, beginning on Radley’s front side, didn’t take long to get going. Four birdies on the first seven holes made for a dream start.

On No. 1 (par 4, 420 yards), Slonis’ wedge approach from 85 yards nearly dropped, leading to a tap-in birdie to begin. Next up, a gap wedge from 120 yards came to rest three feet from the cup and was nestled in for 3. Despite a three-putt from 20 feet on No. 3 (par 4, 318 yards — Slonis’ lone bogey on the day — his momentum didn’t halt. A pitching wedge from 127 yards on No. 5 (par 4, 414 yards) led to another three-foot birdie conversion. The last red figure on the beginning nine came on the par-5, 520-yard 7th where Slonis two putted from the front of the green.

“I really got off to a nice start today, and in qualifiers, that’s always a great thing,” said Slonis, 52, of Sewell, N.J. “That kind of allows you to not press. You’re not thinking about the cut line, so I was just in cruise control on the back side. Fairways and greens.”

One look at Slonis’ second side and it’s hard to disagree. With eight pars and a single birdie on the par-5, 532-yard 16th, Slonis finished at that impressive number of 68 — two better than the rest of the field.

After making appearances in the Mid.-Am. and Patterson Cup in 2019, followed by missing out in 2020 due to Qualifying cancellations, Slonis is looking to get back to GAP Major play. He fulfilled his competitive slate with a few select tournaments last summer, including an eye-opening Horace Rawlins Invitational victory at The Springhaven Club.

“I had a crazy day, went out and shot [6-under 64] that day, so winning the [Horace Rawlins], which I hadn’t played in for a long time, that was really the highlight,” said Slonis. “But obviously, missing out on playing in some of the [GAP Majors] meant there weren’t a ton of opportunities. So it just feels great to be back out here and have that chance again. I’m really looking forward to getting to Lookaway.”

As one of Tavistock’s top players, Slonis has been occupied early this season competing for his club in the BMW GAP Team Matches. Tavistock’s 3-0 finish earned them entry into this weekend’s Playoffs, where they’ll face off against the likes of Huntington Valley Country Club, LuLu Country Club and Philadelphia Cricket Club (#1).

“I’ve been playing well to start the season, yeah,” said Slonis, who gained eight points out of nine for Tavistock in this year’s #BMWGTM. “We have a big weekend coming up in the Playoffs. I think if you look at all the Playoff teams, you could say Tavistock may be the underdog. We just need to show up and play the best we can, and see what happens.”

Although the Matches won’t tee off until Saturday morning, starting the week off with a GAP Qualifying medal is a great start for Team Tavistock, who also had Christopher Pitts (even) finish tied-for-third in today’s action.

“I’m feeling good about my game after today,” said Slonis. “It should be a fun week.”

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 Association’s 300 Member Clubs and 80,000 individual members are spread across the Eastern half of Pennsylvania and parts of Delaware, Maryland and New Jersey. The GAP’s mission is to promote, preserve and protect the game of golf.