Links: Results
Day two of the 9th Senior Match Play Championship concluded at the Golf Club at Oxford Greens, with only four players left with a chance to capture the title. Dave Szewczul, Mark Vasington, Bill Hermanson and Frank Geiger each won their respective quarterfinal matches to successfully advance to the semifinals.
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 by the start of the event. 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.
The four semifinalists are highlighted by the #1 seed and four-time defending champion Dave Szewczul of Tunxis Plantation Country Club, who claimed medalist honors on Tuesday with a qualifying round of one over-par 73. Szewczul, a six-time CSGA Senior Player of the Year, avoided seeing the 18th hole in both his quarterfinal and semifinal matches. In the Round of 16, Szewczul faced David Blovish of Ellington Ridge CC, who was the final player to earn his spot in the bracket in a playoff. Blovish jumped out to an early 2-up lead through two holes, but Szewczul would fight his way back, pulling all-square through 9 before winning holes #10, 13 and 15 to go on to an eventual 2 and 1 victory. In his afternoon quarterfinal match, Szewczul cruised to a 5 and 3 victory over Shawn McLoughlin of Ridgewood CC, making a remarkable six birdies in fifteen holes to knock off the two-time New England Senior Amateur Champion.
Szewczul will face Mark Vasington of Wampanoag Country Club, the #4 seed who is making his first appearance in the semifinals of the Senior Match Play. He calmy advanced through the Round of 16 by defeating Rod McCorkill of Cedar Knob Golf Course, 3 and 2, before facing fellow Wampanoag CC member Scott Newman. The two traded blows throughout the match, with neither holding more than a 1-up lead at any point during the afternoon. Heading into the 18th hole all square, both players found trouble off the tee and halved the hole with a pair of bogey 5's. The two headed back to the 1st hole, and Vasington calmly made a par four to earn his coveted spot in the semifinals. Vasington is no stranger to pressure-packed situations, having played collegiate soccer at the University of Massachusetts. Last fall, he captured his first CSGA major championship by winning the 69th Connecticut Senior Amateur Championship at Wethersfield Country Club.
On the other side of the bracket, the #2 seed Bill Hermanson of Black Hall Club advanced to his first Senior Match Play semifinal. Hermanson, a member of the Connecticut Golf Hall of Fame, is seeking to add the title to his impressive list of accomplishments which include nine CSGA major championships. In his Round of 16 match, he needed a par on the par-4 18th to knock off 2013 Connecticut Senior Amateur Champion Jack Bracken of Hartford Golf Club. His quarterfinal match would prove to be far less stressful for Hermanson, who defeated Jon Groveman of Connecticut Golf Club, last year’s Runner-Up, 5 and 4. Hermanson played bogey-free in the afternoon and made only two bogies in the morning, a trait that will likely be the key to his success on a course where bogey and double-bogey lurks on every hole.
The last player to claim their spot in the semifinals was the #3 seed Frank Geiger of H.S. Richardson Golf Course, who is seeking to capture his first CSGA major championship. In the Round of 16, Geiger cruised to a 6 and 5 victory over John Palmer of Grassy Hill Country Club. However, his afternoon match would prove to be much tighter, as he narrowly defeated Richard Wilczewski of Shennecossett Golf Course 1-up. While Geiger held the lead for virtually all of the match, it was never more than a two hole advantage. The pair halved the final five holes, and although Wilczewski had a chance on the last to send the match of extra holes, it wasn’t meant to be for the 2002 Connecticut Public Links Champion, and the fourth and final spot belonged to Geiger.
Interestingly enough, Szewczul and Hermanson teamed up earlier this year to win the Two Man Team Championship at Black Hall Club, and should either player go on to win the title, a piece of CSGA history would be made. Should Szewczul go on to win his fifth Senior Match Play title, he would become the third player in history that has won the same CSGA amateur championship five or more times, matching Bill Hermanson’s five Connecticut Mid-Amateur titles (1988-91 and 2001) and Dick Siderowf’s five Connecticut Amateur titles (1955, 60, 65, 84 and 85). Equally as remarkable, a win for Hermanson would be his tenth CSGA major championship, the second most by any player in the one hundred sixteen years of CSGA tournamernt history.
This also marks the first time in tournament history that all four top seeds advanced to the semifinals of the Senior Match Play Championship. Szewczul, the #1 seed, shot a round of 73 in stroke play qualifying, while Vasington, Hermanson and Geiger, the #2, 3 and 4 seeds, all shot 76 to earn their spot in the bracket.
The Senior Match Play Championship concludes Thursday, June 4th, with the semifinal matches beginning at 7:30 a.m., followed by the final match in the afternoon. For more information and Live Scoring, visit CTSrMatchPlay.com or csgalinks.org.
Semifinal Pairings
7:30 a.m. – (1) Dave Szewczul, Tunxis Plantation CC vs (4) Mark Vasington, Wampanoag CC
7:40 a.m. – (2) Bill Hermanson, Black Hall Club vs. (3) Frank Geiger, H.S. Richardson GC
Quarterfinals Results
Dave Szewczul, Tunxis Plantation CC def. Shawn McLoughlin, Ridgewood CC, 5 and 3
Bill Hermanson, Black Hall Club def. Jon Groveman, Connecticut GC, 5 and 4
Round of 16 Results
Dave Szewczul, Tunxis Plantation CC def. David Blovish, Ellington Ridge CC, 2 and 1
Shawn McLoughlin, Ridgewood CC def. Steve Shepard, Burning Tree CC, 5 and 3
Mark Vasington, Wampanoag CC def. Rod McCorkill, Cedar Knob GC, 3 and 2
Scott Newman, Wampanoag CC def. Tom Yellin, The Stanwich Club, 3 and 1
Bill Hermanson, Black Hall Club def. Jack Bracken, Hartford GC, 1 Up
Jon Groveman, Connecticut GC def. Douglas Shildneck, Great River GC, 4 and 3
Frank Geiger, H.S. Richardson GC def. John Palmer, Grassy Hill CC, 6 and 5
Richard Wilczewski, Shennecossett GC def. Ray Underwood, Torrington CC, 19 holes
