Links: Match Play Bracket
Luke Carroll of the CT PGA Junior Golf Association (pictured above) and Jack Boatwright of Brooklawn Country Club both shot rounds of even-par 71 to earn medalist honors at the 75th Connecticut Junior Amateur Championship. The state’s oldest junior amateur championship is presented by Cobra Puma Golf and Golf on the Green and is being held July 11th – 14th at the 6,423 yard, par 71 Watertown Golf Club.
Boatwright recorded the fewest bogies of any player in the field, making two birdies matched with a pair of bogies on his way to an even-par round. In much the same steady fashion, Carroll recorded three birdies and three bogies for his round of 71. Both Carroll (#1 seed) and Boatwright (#2 seed) will try to become the sixth medalist in the extensive history of the Junior Amateur to win both the stroke play qualifying and match play championship trophies in the same year. The feat was last accomplished by John VanDerLaan of Heritage Village Country Club in 2012.
Mani Capece, representing Watertown Golf Club, was the lone player to advance to match play from the host club, shooting a round of four over-par 75 to earn the #13 seed. Capece will look to become the first player since William Salvatore in 1957 to win the Junior Amateur at their home club.
Jason Liu of Wintonbury Hills Golf Course, who entered the Junior Amateur as the highest ranked junior golfer in the field, also advanced to match play with a round of 74 (+3). Last year’s medalist at the Junior Amateur and 2015 Connecticut Junior PGA Champion, Liu will be seeking to capture his first Junior Amateur title.
This year’s starting field of ninety-three players began the stroke play qualifying portion of the championship with hopes of earning one of the coveted thirty-two spots in match play. At the conclusion of Monday's play, the cut fell at 78 (+7), with a five person playoff needed to determine the final spot. John Ahern of the Country Club of Woodbridge earned the final spot, making an eagle on the first playoff hole to earn the #32 seed.
Watertown Golf Club is hosting the Connecticut Junior Amateur Championship for the sixty-first year, the most by any Connecticut Club, and since 1952 has hosted the Junior Amateur all but two years (1959 and 1978). The club was established in 1915 and was originally a nine-hole course on the property of the Taft Boarding School. In 1970, an additional nine holes were crafted into the hillside north of the Clubhouse and nine holes were built adjacent to the Clubhouse to replace the original nine-hole course.
The Round of 32 and Round of 16 Matches will be played on Tuesday beginning at 7:30 a.m. The championship will conclude on Thursday morning with an 18-hole final. For more information and live scoring, visit CTJunior.com.
Round of 32 Matches & Pairings
7:30 am Luke Carroll, Ct PGA Junior GA (71) vs. John Ahern, CC of Woodbridge (78)
7:39 am Brendan Fagan, Shuttle Meadow CC (75) vs. Blake Swiggett, Wee Burn CC (75)
7:48 am Jackson Fretty, Greenwich CC (74) vs. Andrew Franz, Ridgefield GC (77)
7:57 am Jake Moses, Innis Arden GC (74) vs. Charlie Graham, CT Club for Schools (77)
8:06 am Aaron Montgomery, Bulls Bridge GC (72) vs. Austin Rupp, Suffield CC (77)
8:15 am Mani Capece, Watertown GC (75) vs. Grant Mellinger, Golf Performance Center (76)
8:24 am Abir Singh, Rock Ridge CC (72) vs. Arthur Ouimet V, CT Club For Schools (77)
8:33 am Tyler Hahn, GC of Avon (75) vs. Tim Rotermund, Madison CC (76)
8:42 am Jack Boatwright, Brooklawn CC (71) vs. Hunter Ramee, Bulls Bridge GC (77)
8:51 am Spencer Olson, Redding CC (75) vs. Quinn Greene, Middlesex Eclub (75)
9:00 am Thomas Durkin, Suffield CC (73) vs. Jake Walling, Indian Hill CC (77)
9:09 am Jason Liu, Wintonbury Hills GC (74) vs. Lance Johnson, CT Clubs for Schools (77)
9:18 am Nicholas Piersall, TPC River Highlands (72) vs. Finn Boynton, Ct PGA Junior GA (77)
9:27 am PJ Gehris, Ellington Ridge CC (75) vs. Alex Aurora, Lyman Orchards GC (76)
9:36 am Matt Bornstein, Silver Spring CC (72) vs. Peter Taets, Longshore GC (77)
9:45 am George Garrett, CT Club for Schools (74) vs. Connor Looney, TPC River Highlands (76)
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.
