(August 5, 2022) – The 2022 New England Junior Amateur will be contested from August 8-10 at Manchester Country Club in Vermont. On the boy’s side Connecticut will be represented by Alex Elia, Connor Goode, Will Gregware, Elias Kennon, Will Lodge, Bradley Sawka, and Luke Stennett while CC Kaplan, Arabella Lopez, and Yvette O’Brien will make up the girl’s team.
Last year the boy’s team, seeking a third consecutive title, finished in second place with the girls earning a fifth-place showing.
Connecticut Boys Team:
Alex Elia (Silver Spring CC): The 2021 Borck Junior winner is putting together a strong summer reaching match play at both the Connecticut Amateur and Connecticut Junior Amateur. At the end of July he made the cut at the Connecticut Open and in June he finished T3 at the Connecticut Junior PGA Championship.
Connor Goode (Glastonbury Hills CC): Heading to UConn to join the golf team later this month Goode won the 2021 Connecticut Junior Amateur.
Will Gregware (Farmington Woods GC): At the Connecticut Junior Amateur in July Gregware reached the semifinals only to fall to eventual champion Will Lodge. In June he shared third place at the Connecticut Junior PGA Championship. Gregware has also recorded two top-10 finishes in AJGA events this year to go along with a fourth place showing at the Computer Merchant Cup.
Elias Kennon (Golf Performance Center): The runner-up at this year’s Connecticut Junior Amateur, Kennon recently finished T9 at the AJGA Junior at Chicopee and T4 at the UHY New York Junior. In 2021 Kennon fired a 9-under 62 to tie the course record on his way to winning the AJGA’s Junior Golf Hub Championship presented by the John D. Minmeck Foundation.
Will Lodge (CC of Darien): It has been a successful summer for Lodge. First, he reached match play at the Connecticut Amateur and then in July he won the Connecticut Junior Amateur. Lodge will begin his career on the Yale golf team this fall.
Bradley Sawka (Ellington Ridge CC): At the Connecticut Junior Amateur Sawka earned the four-seed and reached match play. In May he competed in the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball. At the Connecticut Junior PGA Championship he finished sixth. Last year he won the AJGA’s UHY Albany Junior.
Luke Stennett (EClub of Connecticut): So far this year Stennett has reached match play at the Connecticut Junior Amateur and recorded a top-10 finish at the Connecticut Junior PGA Championship. In April Stennett won the Challenge Cup Championship and then followed up that victory with a win at the Computer Merchant Cup in May.
Connecticut Girls Team:
CC Kaplan (Burning Tree CC): Last month Kaplan was the runner-up at the 1st Connecticut Girls Junior Amateur, Kaplan also finished T3 at a June Future Series event hosted by the PGA Metropolitan Section.
Arabella Lopez (Redding CC): It has been an impressive year for the 12-year-old. At the Connecticut Women’s Open she was around the lead on day one before finishing T17, at the Connecticut Girls Junior Amateur she was T7, and most recently she finished T8 at the Hartford Women’s Open.
Yvette O’Brien (EClub of Connecticut): In July O’Brien won the inaugural Connecticut Girls Junior Amateur by an impressive four shots.
About the New England Junior Amateur
Format: Seven boy golfers and three girl golfers from each of the New England state golf associations are selected to compete in a 54-hole team and individual stroke play competition. Boys and girls will compete for separate team and individual titles. Team scores are calculated by taking the best five out of seven scores each day for the Boys Division and the best two out of three scores for the Girls Division. The low 54-hole team score will be named the team champion(s) while the low 54-hole individual will be named the individual champion(s).
Schedule:
Day 1 – Practice round and dinner
Day 2 – Morning shotgun, lunch, afternoon shotgun, followed by dinner
Day 3 – Morning shotgun, followed by lunch and awards
About the Connecticut State Golf Association
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 60 Championships, Qualifiers, and One Day Tournaments throughout the year.
