Bracket Set; Scott Newman Claims Medalist Honors

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Hop Meadow Country Club in Simsbury, Conn. welcomed the state’s top senior amateur golfers for the 10th playing of the CSGA’s Senior Match Play Championship presented by the Lincoln Motor Company. A total of ninety two players began the stroke play portion of the championship vying for one of sixteen coveted spots in match play. Scott Newman of Wampanoag Country Club fired the low round of the day, an even-par score of 72 that earned him medalist honors and the number one overall seed.

Conducted by the Connecticut State Golf Association, the Senior Match Play Championship is open to Connecticut senior golfers who are fifty five years of age and over. The tournament challenges competitors with a round of stroke play to determine the low sixteen match play qualifiers. Following the qualifying round, four rounds of match play are conducted over consecutive days, culminating in an eighteen-hole final match on Thursday, June 8th.

Newman's round was no doubt the steadiest of the day – he battled afternoon winds and a challenging golf course to make just two bogies on his round, finishing two under-par in his final seven holes to lock in his spot in match play.

“I played very steady today – two bogies and two birdies,” said Newman. “I hit the ball pretty well off the tee and hit a lot of greens, but the key to my round was my putting.  I didn't make any long putts, but I also didn't have any three-putts and the putts that didn't go in were all right around the hole.”

Newman will face off against Richard Wilczewski, the 2002 Public Links Champion, in the Round of #16 match. Wilczewski shot 76 and earned one of the final seven spots on the cut number. Newman is searching to capture his first CSGA major championship, having advanced to the quarterfinals in last year’s Senior Match Play Championship.

Also advancing to match play was a pair of Connecticut Golf Hall of Fame inductees in defending champion Bill Hermanson of Black Hall Club and four-time Senior Match Play Champion Dave Szewczul of Tunxis Plantation Country Club. Both players shot rounds of 76 to secure their spots in match play. Szewczul will face off against CSGA Executive Director Michael Moraghan of the Country Club of Waterbury, and Hermanson will face CSGA Team Captain Jack Bracken of Hartford Golf Club.

The 2016 Connecticut Senior Match Play Championship is being played at Hop Meadow Country Club for the first time in tournament history. The club has hosted numerous CSGA championships and qualifiers, most notably the 1995 Connecticut Amateur, the 1999, 2005, 2012 and 2014 Connecticut Mid-Amateur, and the 2009 and 2011 Russell C. Palmer Cup. It boasts a unique finish of back-to-back par 5’s that both measure under 500 yards and is sure to provide some dramatic finishes to the matches.

The match play portion of the Senior Match Play Championship begins tomorrow, June 7th, with the Round of 16 beginning at 7:30 a.m., followed by the quarterfinals in the afternoon. The tournament will conclude Wednesday, June 8th, with the semifinal and final matches. For more information and Live Scoring, visit CTSrMatchPlay.com.

Round of 16 Matches