ROCKY HILL, Conn. – The Connecticut State Golf Association and Connecticut Section PGA Team Captains Bob Ruby and Dennis Coscina met and released their respective team lineups for the Julius Boros Challenge Cup, being played Thursday, May 2nd at New Haven Country Club in Hamden, Connecticut.
This year marks the 42nd anniversary of the matches, which first began in 1972 at Tumble Brook Country Club. The matches are an annual gathering of the state’s top amateur and professional golfers, which showcases Connecticut PGA Section Professionals against amateurs from the Connecticut State Golf Association in a match play format. The Challenge Cup was founded in memory of Julius Boros, a bona-fide Connecticut resident and World Golf Hall of Fame inductee. Boros is perhaps the most successful player in the history of Connecticut golf, having won eighteen times on the PGA Tour including two United States Open Championships and a PGA Championship. The Connecticut Section PGA won the inaugural matches by a score of 33 ½ to 20 ½.
Each team consists of fourteen players, who earned their way onto their respective teams through their accomplishments in the previous season. Each player will play an Individual Match Play competition worth three points, and will also participate in a Four Ball Match worth three points. A total of sixty-three points are available in the Matches, with the Connecticut Section PGA needing 31 ½ points to retain possession of the Cup, and the CSGA needing 32 points to regain possession of the Cup. Last year, the Connecticut Section PGA Professionals captured the Challenge Cup by a narrow margin of 32.5 to 30.5.
Hole #9 – New Haven Country Club |
2013 will mark the thirty-eighth time that New Haven Country Club has hosted the Challenge Cup, having hosted the Matches all but four years. Founded in 1898, New Haven Country Club was first designed by Robert D. Pryde, with the present layout completed by Willie Park, Jr. in 1922. In addition to hosting the Challenge Cup, the club has a rich history of hosting the state’s top amateur and professional events. New Haven Country Club has hosted a total of fifteen Connecticut Amateur Championships and seven Connecticut Open Championships, and will add to that total when it hosts the 111th Connecticut Amateur later this year. The course will be set up at approximately 6,686 yards for the Challenge Cup and will play to a par of 34-36—70.
Captain Dennis Coscina is a Challenge Cup veteran, having perhaps the most impressive playing record in Connecticut Section PGA history. Coscina won a total of eight Connecticut PGA Championships and six Section Player of the Year titles, and played in the total of fourteen Challenge Cup Matches. By contrast, this will be the first year that Captain Bob Ruby will lead the CSGA team. Ruby’s competitive record spans nearly five decades and includes a runner-up finish in the 1965 Connecticut Junior Amateur and a semifinalist finish in the 2001 Connecticut Amateur Championship. Dr. Ruby is widely regarded as an expert on the Rules of Golf, having worked as a Rules Official at twenty USGA Championships and accomplishing the rare feat of a perfect score on the USGA Rules Test.
The Challenge Cup Matches will begin with an Opening Ceremony on the 1st tee at 12:15pm, followed by matches on both the 1st & 10th from 12:30pm to 1:00pm. Spectators are welcome and encouraged to attend.
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42nd Julius Boros Challenge CupNew Haven Country Club – Hamden, Conn.
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Match | Time | Connecticut State Golf Assoc. | Connecticut PGA | |
1 |
12:30pm |
Dave Szewczul, Tunxis Plantation CC* |
Vs. |
Bob Kay, Tumble Brook CC* |
2 |
12:30pm |
Ben Conroy, eClub River Valley |
Vs. |
Mark Farrell, H.S. Richardson GC |
3 |
12:40pm |
Benjamin Day, New Haven CC |
Vs. |
Fran Marrello, Quaboag CC |
4 |
12:40pm |
Glen Boggini, Twin Hills CC |
Vs. |
Dave Dell, Springfield CC ** |
5 |
12:50pm |
Cody Paladino, Wethersfield CC ** |
Vs. |
Joe Mongillo, Dick’s Sporting Goods |
6 |
12:50pm |
Raymond Floyd, Jr., Innis Arden GC |
Vs. |
Tony Kelley, Wyckoff CC |
7 |
1:00pm |
Brian Ahern, Wampanoag CC |
Vs. |
Bill Wallis, New Haven CC |
* Seniors
** Captain’s Picks
About the Associations
The Connecticut State Golf Association functions as an extension of the USGA and provides stewardship for amateur golf in Connecticut. Founded in 1899, it is the country’s oldest state golf association and conducts over 50 Championships, Qualifiers and One-Day Tournaments throughout the year. The Connecticut Section PGA is one of 41 sections of the PGA of America. Over 370 PGA Professional members are employed as the business and golf leaders at over 170 golf facilities within Connecticut and Western Massachusetts. Both associations are headquartered at the Connecticut Golf House in Rocky Hill, Connecticut.
For more information, visit the CSGA website at www.csgalinks.org or the Conn. PGA website at www.ctpga.com.