Links: Tournament Field
On August 18th and 19th, seventy-two of the top female competitors from New England and beyond will compete for a chance to capture the 17th Connecticut Women's Open Championship. The tournament, which will be played at the Golf Club of Avon in Avon, Connecticut, is open to any amateur or professional female golfer regardless of residency.
What’s at Stake: The championship is contested over 36-holes of stroke play, with 72 players vying for the title. Professionals will be playing for a total purse of $10,000, with the champion taking home a winner’s check of $4,000.
Last Year’s Championship: In the 2014 Connecticut Women’s Open Championship at Wampanoag Country Club, Carmen Bandea of John’s Creek, Georgia defeated four-time past champion Liz Caron with a birdie on the third playoff hole. Dara Cummings of Monroe, Conn. claimed low amateur honors with rounds of 78-79—157.
2014 Champion: Carmen Bandea of John’s Creek, Georgia., will not be returning to defend her title at the Golf Club of Avon. Bandea earned status on the LPGA Symetra Tour over the winter and is currently playing professionally on the ladies tour circuit.
About the Course: For the first time in the seventeen year history of the championship, the Golf Club of Avon will host the Connecticut Women’s Open. Located in the scenic Farmington Valley, the Golf Club of Avon is known for its many challenging holes that test both the experienced and novice player. The 27-hole course was designed by Robert J. Ross and the present layout was completed in 1963. The Golf Club of Avon is no stranger to hosting the state’s top amateur and professional golfers; however, having previously hosted eight CSGA Major Championships – the Connecticut Open in 1957, 1967, 1978 and 2001, and the Connecticut Senior Amateur in 1965, 1976, 1991 and 2012.
A total of 72 players will begin their quest for the 17th Connecticut Women’s Open Championship, of which 25 are professionals and 47 are amateurs.
Past Champions:
– Megan Khang, Rockland, Mass. – 2012 and 2013 Champion
– Jordan Lintz, Milford, Conn. – 2011 Champion
– Lynn Valentine, East Lyme, Conn – 2008 Champion
Two-time champion Megan Khang of Rockland, Massachusetts will be returning to play in the Women’s Open for the first time since 2013. Khang won back-to-back Women’s Open titles in 2012 and 2013, becoming the youngest player to win the title at age fourteen. Currently the third ranked junior in the country according to Golfweek, Khang recently qualified for her third U.S. Women’s Open title earlier this year. She went on to shoot rounds of 71-70-73-71—285 to finish in a tie for 35th place, good enough for low amateur honors.
Ashlan Ramsey of Greenville, South Carolina, now a professional, had perhaps the most distinguished amateur career of any player in the field. She was the top ranked amateur in the world according to Golfweek from August, 2013 to June, 2014, and competed in the 2014 US Curtis Cup Team.. She is currently ranked 889 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings and is competing on the LPGA Symetra Tour.
Lynn Valentine of East Lyme, Conn. Valentine will be seeking to capture her second Women’s Open title, having previously won in 2008 at Tumble Brook Country Club. Valentine also took home low professional honors in 2012 and has finished inside the top ten in four of the last five years. She has also competed in numerous events on the national level, including the 2008 United States Women’s Open Championship.
Catherine McEvoy of Riverside, Connecticut enters the Women’s Open with plenty of momentum, having recently won the 50th Connecticut State Women’s Amateur title at Indian Hill Country Club. She shot rounds of 78-76-73—227 to edge Jen Holland of Branford, Conn., also competing in the Women’s Open, by a single stroke.
Bree Arthur of Queensland, Australia had the longest journey of any competitor in the field – an estimated 9,930 miles as the crow flies from her home town. Arthur is a member of the Ladies European Tour, with her best finish on the tour being a fourth place finish at the Deloitte Ladies Open in 2013. She also qualified for the 2014 Ricoh Women’s British Open, and is currently 80th on the 2015 LET Order of Merit.
When professional Jordan Lintz of Milford, Connecticut begins her first round on Tuesday, she will be looking to become just the fourth player in tournament history to win more than one Women’s Open championship. Lintz won her title in 2011 at the Golf Club of Oxford Greens, defeating four-time champion Liz Caron on the second playoff hole. She is currently a Teaching Professional at Oronoque Country Club in Stratford, Connecticut.
Marissa Grillo of Avon, Connecticut will be looking to become the first player since Liz Caron in 2005 to win the Women’s Open on their home course. A member of the Golf Club of Avon, Grillo is a rising sophomore at Boston College where she competes on their Division I golf team.
Nathalie Filler of Bloomfield, Connecticut recently won the New England Women’s Golf Championship at Ledgemont Country Club in Massachusetts. A rising senior at Delaware University, she shot rounds of 75-69-72—216 to win by a single stroke. Her sister, Maisie Filler, is also competing in the Women’s Open at age fourteen and will graduate high school in 2019.
