Old Lyme, Connecticut (June 7, 2021) – On a day where nobody was able to break par two amateurs and one professional share the lead after day one of the 22nd Connecticut Women’s Amateur at the Black Hall Club. Maryland junior Angela Garvin was the first in the house with an even-par 72 followed by Yale junior Kaitlyn Lee and later professional Melissa Siviter.
The trio leads a crowded leaderboard with 12 players heading into Tuesday’s final round within four shots of the lead.
Of the three leaders, Garvin (The Ranch Golf Club) got off to the quickest start with birdies on each of the first two holes. The Massachusetts native hit a good drive on the par-4 opening hole to set up a birdie and then on the par-5 2nd hole she hit her third shot to a foot setting up an easy birdie.
“My goal was just to play golf,” said Garvin. “I just got back from school two days ago and between the moving out and traveling back home process I hadn’t been able to practice for the last week or two. I wasn’t really thinking much about the outcome. I was just taking it one shot at a time and having fun.”
2-under at the turn Garvin gave a couple of shots back on the second nine but despite the struggles on the way in she is planning on bringing the same attitude to the course tomorrow, “I just want to play golf and have fun,” Garvin said. “I love summer golf. It is a lot of fun and I am just happy to back here after Covid and taking away some tournaments.”
Lee (Westchester Country Club) got off to a slow start and needed to scramble to stay afloat throughout the first nine holes. “I wasn’t really hitting a lot of fairways and I had to punch out quite a bit but I was able to get up and down most of the time so that really saved me,” Lee said.
Following a 15-foot birdie on the 1st hole Lee battled her way through the remainder of the side to turn in 1-over 37. However, on the back nine Lee found her form carding three birdies against two bogeys.
“I am going to try and be a little more cautious off the tee tomorrow. The holes are pretty short so I can afford to hit a hybrid or a four-wood off the tee and not have to worry about having that long of a shot into the green,” said Lee who played in the Women’s Porter Cup in Lewiston, New York over the weekend.
Melissa Siviter, the lone professional that is part of the first round lead, began her day with a bogey-free 2-under 34 that was highlighted by birdies on the 6th and 9th holes.
“I got off to a pretty shaky start [early on the front nine] but I made some great par putts on the first three holes and then I kind of got into it,” said the 30-year-old who plays on the Women’s All Pro Tour.
Siviter, the first round leader at the 2017 Connecticut Women’s Open at Torrington Country Club, began her back nine with three consecutive pars before suffering her first bogey of the day on the difficult par-3 13gh hole. Two more pars followed before Siviter (Golf Club of Georgia) again found trouble on the par-4 16th carding her second bogey of the round. From there Siviter steadied the ship and parred the last two holes to cap off her even-par opening round.
“The course is pretty tough, especially the greens so I just tried to play to the middle of the greens, two-putt and get out of there,” Siviter said. “I am happy with my round.”
2018 Connecticut Women’s Amateur winner Kyra Cox, a senior on the Furman golf team, and Florida professional Aimee Caligiore are tied for fourth at 1-over while 2011 Connecticut Women’s Open winner Jordan Lintz (Oronoque Country Club), Danielle Bambola (MGA Eclub – Long Island), 2020 Connecticut Women’s Amateur champion Sophia Sarrazin (Patterson Club), and Columbia University’s Alexis Florio are tied for sixth at 2-over just two shots off the pace. Four-time champion Liz Caron is 4-over alone in 12th place.
About the Connecticut State Golf Association
The Connecticut Women’s Open is one of 19 championships conducted by the Connecticut State Golf Association. The CSGA functions as an extension of the USGA and provides stewardship for amateur golf in Connecticut. Founded in 1899, it is the country’s oldest state golf association and conducts over 60 Championships, Qualifiers, and One Day Tournaments throughout the year. For more information, visit csgalinks.org.
