Major competition on the Connecticut golf scene begins each year with the Julius Boros Challenge Cup at New Haven Country Club, pitting top players from the Connecticut Section PGA against a CSGA team.
No one in its 47-year history has enjoyed the Challenge Cup more than John Paesani. The former head pro (for 26 years) at Norwich Golf Club qualified for 20 Boros Cup Matches and even showed up once when he didn’t just to enjoy the festivities with close buddies and longtime foes.
“The Challenge Cup was always my favorite golf day every year, not just for the competition, but for the entire experience,” Paesani said. “Great times with Fran Marrello and Dennis Coscina.”
This from a guy who played in the 1991 U.S. Open, 1988 and 1997 PGA Championship, 2010 and 2011 U.S. Senior Open, nine PGA Tour non-majors, including the Greater Hartford Open seven times, 12 PGA of America National Championships and four Senior PGA of America National Championships. Paesani was the CT Section PGA Player of the Year in 1991, ‘92, ‘97 and 2001. He won the Section Championship in 1991, ’92, ‘93 and ‘97, the Section Club Pro Championship in 1997 and 2001, the 2001 PGA Tournament of Champions and the 2001 Connecticut Open.
He also captured the Section Vardon Trophy for low stroke average in 1990, ‘91, ‘93, ‘94, ‘96, ‘97, ‘99 and 2001, the 2014 PGA of America Quarter Century Winter Championship, 2015 Cape Cod PGA, 2016 Pro-Pro Stroke Play, and 2017 Pro Assistant Championship. In 2017 he was inducted into the Connecticut Section PGA Hall of Fame.
Paesani, 59, a PGA member for 32 years, won the Quarter Century event six months after undergoing treatment and multiple surgeries for colon cancer. “My general approach has been to keep doing what I do during any of the treatment.” Paesani said. “I worked and played right up to my surgery date, trying to stay as busy and fit as possible to reduce any down time.”
Paesani was born in San Jose, California and moved to Connecticut in third grade when his dad took a job as a professor at UConn. Paesani started playing golf every day in the summer. He graduated from E.O. Smith High School in Storrs where the golf team went 25-1 and won the Eastern Connecticut Conference title in his senior year. The team also included Mike Toner, son of UConn athletic director John Toner, and Mark Vasington, who won the CSGA Senior Amateur Championship in 2014.
Paesani served on the Section Board of Directors and on the PGA of America Competitions Committee. He received the Section’s Presidents Award for Fundraising in 2010. According to Tom Hantke, Executive Director of the Connecticut Section, “John always seemed to elevate his game the bigger the competition and stage. Whether in meetings in a board room or playing in the PGA Championship at Winged Foot, he brought the same competitive fire every time.”
Paesani’s resumé includes five course records, among them the Golf Club of Avon, where his 64 in the final round of the 2001 Connecticut Open produced a one-stroke victory.
Among his biggest thrills have been his son, Matt, caddying for him in the 2010 and 2011 U.S. Senior Opens, and the 1988 PGA Championship. “At the PGA I had a locker next to Arnold Palmer,” Paesani recalled. “As I was tying my shoes for the opening round, he entered the locker room, sat down next to me and we had a brief conversation before teeing off. Quite a thrill.”
