Links: Match Play Bracket
After day two of the 75th Connecticut Junior Amateur presented by Cobra Puma Golf and Golf on the Green, only eight players remain with a chance to have their name etched on the state’s most prestigious junior amateur trophy. The championship is being conducted July 11th – 14th on the par-71, 6,423 yard course at Watertown Golf Club in Watertown, Connecticut.
Day one of match play produced some considerable upsets based on seeding, with the #1 seed (Luke Carroll, West Hartford, Conn.), the #2 seed (Jack Boatwright, Brooklawn CC) and the #3 seed (Nicholas Piersal, TPC River Highlands) falling in the Round of 32. In the Round of 32 matches, seven of the sixteen matches were won by the lower seeded player. All eight of the remaining players are seeking to capture their first CSGA Junior Amateur title and just three more match play victories stand between them and the trophy.
Meet the Quarterfinalists
Blake Swiggett
Home Club: Wee Burn Country Club (Darien)
Hometown: Darien, Connecticut
Qualifying Score / Seed Number: 74 (+4) / #17 seed
One Quick Fact: Swiggett was part of a record-breaking Darien High School team that capped off an undefeated regular season by winning the FCIAC Championship at Fairchild Wheeler Golf Course, its first FCIAC title in 1998.
Andrew Franz
Home Club: Ridgefield Golf Course (Ridgefield)
Hometown: Ridgefield, Connecticut
Qualifying Score / Seed Number: 77 (+6) / #25 seed
One Quick Fact: Franz is originally from London, England and trains in Ridgefield, Connecticut at the Golf Performance Center during the summer season. He knocked off both the #8 seed Jackson Fretty and #9 seed Jake Moses on his way to the quarterfinals.
Aaron Montgomery
Home Club: Bulls Bridge Golf Club (South Kent)
Hometown: New York, New York
Qualifying Score / Seed Number: 72 (+1) / #4 seed
One Quick Fact: Montgomery is making his first appearance in the quarterfinals of the Junior Amateur, having advanced to the Round of 16 last year before falling to Runner-Up Connor O’Brien. Since facing a 2-down deficit early in his Round of 32 match against Austin Rupp, he has only lost a total of two holes and won both of his matches on the 16th hole.
Abir Singh
Home Club: Rock Ridge Country Club (Newtown)
Hometown: Newtown, Connecticut
Qualifying Score / Seed Number: 72 (+1) / #5 seed
One Quick Fact: Singh has played a total of 32 holes thus far in match play, and has only trailed in three of them. He won eight of the fifteen holes he played on the back nine on his way to a 5 and 3 victory in his morning match and a narrow 1-up victory in his afternoon match.
Hunter Ramee
Home Club: Bulls Bridge Golf Club (South Kent)
Hometown: Warren, Connecticut
Qualifying Score / Seed Number: 77 (+6) / #31 seed
One Quick Fact: Ramee had perhaps the toughest road to the quarterfinals, knocking off #2 seed and co-medalist Jack Boatwright and #15 seed Spencer Olson of Redding Country Club on his way to his first quarterfinal appearance at the Junior Amateur.
Thomas Durkin
Home Club: Suffield Country Club (Suffield)
Hometown: Suffield, Connecticut
Qualifying Score / Seed Number: 73 (+2) / #7 seed
One Quick Fact: Durkin is looking to become just the second player from Suffield Country Club to win the Junior Amateur. The club, which was established in 1927, produced 1998 Junior Amateur Champion Mark Purrington. He won his two matches by a combined margin of fifteen (9 & 7 and 6 & 5)
Alex Aurora
Home Club: Lyman Orchards Golf Course (Middlefield)
Hometown: Hamden, Connecticut
Qualifying Score / Seed Number: 76 (+5) / #19 seed
One Quick Fact: Aurora played the most golf of any of the quarterfinalists on day one of match play, winning both his matches on the 18th hole by a score of 2-up.
Matthew Bornstein
Home Club: Silver Spring Country Club (Ridgefield)
Hometown: Ridgefield, Connecticut
Qualifying Score / Seed Number: 72 (+2) / #6 seed
One Quick Fact: Bornstein made a total of eight birdies en-route to his Round of 32 and Round of 16 victories, and needed no more than 16 holes in either of his matches to earn his place in the quarterfinals.
Quarterfinal Pairings
8:00 a.m. – Blake Swiggett, Wee Burn CC vs. Andrew Franz, Ridgefield GC
8:10 a.m. – Aaron Montgomery, Bulls Bridge GC vs. Abir Singh, Rock Ridge CC
8:20 a.m. – Hunter Ramee, Bulls Bridge GC vs. Thomas Durkin, Suffield CC
8:30 a.m. Alex Aurora, Lyman Orchards GC vs. Matt Bornstein, Silver Spring CC
Round of 16 Results
Blake Swiggett, Wee Burn CC def. John Ahern, CC of Woodbridge, 4 and 2
Andrew Franz, Ridgefield GC def. Jake Moses, Innis Arden GC, 4 and 3
Aaron Montgomery, Bulls Bridge GC def. Mani Capece, Watertown GC, 3 and 2
Abir Singh, Rock Ridge CC def. Tyler Hahn, GC of Avon, 1 up
Hunter Ramee, Bulls Bridge GC def. Spencer Olson, Redding CC, 3 and 1
Thomas Durkin, Suffield CC def. Lance Johnson, Greenwich, Conn., 6 and 5
Alex Aurora, Lyman Orchards Golf Course def. Finn Boynton, Milford, Conn., 1 Up
Matt Bornstein, Silver Spring CC def. George Garrett, New Canaan, Conn,, 5 and 4
Round of 32 Results
John Ahern, CC of Woodbridge def. Luke Carroll, West Hartford, Conn., 1 up
Blake Swiggett, Wee Burn CC def. Brendan Fagan, Shuttle Meadow CC, 3 and 1
Andrew Franz, Ridgefield GC def. Jackson Fretty, Greenwich CC, 2 and 1
Jake Moses, Innis Arden GC def. Charlie Graham, Southport, Conn., 4 and 2
Aaron Montgomery, Bulls Bridge GC def. Austin Rupp, Suffield CC, 4 and 2
Mani Capece, Watertown GC def. Grant Mellinger, Golf Performance Center, 6 and 5
Abir Singh, Rock Ridge CC def. Arthur Ouimet V, Bloomfield, Conn., 5 and 3
Tyler Hahn, GC of Avon def. Tim Rotermund, Madison CC, 2 up
Hunter Ramee, Bulls Bridge GC def. Jack Boatwright, Brooklawn CC, 7 and 5
Spencer Olson, Redding CC def. Quinn Greene, Middlesex Eclub, 2 and 1
Thomas Durkin, Suffield CC def. Jake Walling, Indian Hill CC, 9 and 7
Lance Johnson, Greenwich, Conn. def. Jason Liu, Wintonbury Hills GC, 6 and 4
Finn Boynton, Milford, Conn. def. Nicholas Piersall, TPC River Highlands, 1 up
Alex Aurora, Lyman Orchards GC def. PJ Gehris, Ellington Ridge CC, 2 up
Matt Bornstein, Silver Spring CC def. Peter Taets, Longshore GC, 3 and 2
George Garrett, New Canaan, Conn, def. Connor Looney, TPC River Highlands, 3 and 2
About the Connecticut Junior Amateur Championship
Conducted by the Connecticut State Golf Association, the Connecticut Junior Amateur Championship presented by Cobra Puma Golf and Golf on the Green is open to all Connecticut junior golfers who have not reached their eighteenth birthday by the start of the event. The challenging format tests the state's best junior golfers over a single round of stroke play to determine the low thirty-two match play qualifiers. Two rounds of match play each day culminate in an eighteen-hole final to crown the top junior player in Connecticut.
