(April 27, 2022) – The field is deep, the course is difficult, and the conditions will be tough. The Two Man Championship hosted by Black Hall Club on May 2nd will present a stiff early season challenge to everyone in the field. However, the tandem of Rick Dowling and Nick Taylor seem to have figured out a formula for success over the course of the last half decade.
Dowling and Taylor won their first Two Man Championship in 2018 and then defended their title in 2019. Dowling and Taylor did come up short in their quest for a three-peat in 2020 but they came back with a vengeance in 2021 capturing the title by a shot over the team of Cody Paladino and Kevin Josephson.
“We have been playing golf together since 2011 [when I was a junior and Rick joined the Fairfield golf team as a freshman],” said Nick Taylor when asked why the duo has so much success playing together. “We know each other’s games and we think very similarly on the golf course and it helps that Black Hall Club is one of those courses were you have to think and be sharp with your mental game especially given the time of the year and the difficulty of the course.”
The history of the Two Man Championship at the Black Hall Club dates back to 2008 when the course became the yearly home for the tournament. Black Hall Club members, including former CSGA President Peter Bulkeley, pitched the idea of hosting the tournament to the Black Hall Club board on an annual basis in honor of Bill Hermanson and the event has been held at the club ever since.
“Bill is such a great ambassador [for Black Hall Club],” said Head Professional Andrew Campbell of Hermanson, a 2012 Connecticut Golf Hall of Fame inductee and a 27-time Black Hall club champion. “He has such a storied history with the CSGA. We were excited when our offer was accepted.”
The par-71 layout will play at approximately 6,600 yards with the field’s best scoring chances coming on the opening two holes of each nine. The 1st and 10th holes are shorter par-4s while the 2nd and 11th holes are two of the three par-5s on the course.
VIDEO: Black Hall Club Preview
The most difficult stretch at Black Hall Club is Nos. 15-18. The most challenging hole in that stretch is the 415-yard par 4 15th. The tee shot is straight forward but the hole presents arguably the most difficult second shot on the course. Facing an uphill shot players will need to navigate greenside bunkers on the left and right to find a large undulating green that slopes from back to front. Players will be relieved to play the four-hole stretch in level-par.
“For us, it is the start of the season,” Campbell said. “Things get going right around when the Two Man Championship is played so it is nice to have the event and everyone that plays in the event is so appreciative. We are happy to do it for the CSGA and as long as we can do it for Bill we will do it forever. He is so humble he doesn’t even talk about it. Bill did joke that the first few years after the tournament was named in honor of him that people would come up to him and tell him that they were glad to see he was still alive.”
Hermanson and the rest of the field will begin the 2022 Two Man Championship with an 8 a.m. shotgun start, the 36-hole tournament will feature two different formats. In the first round, players will play four-ball while in the second round the format will switch to foursomes with selected drive alternate shot.
Teams to Watch:
Rick Dowling and Nick Taylor (Golf Performance Center): This year the former Fairfield University teammates will be making a bid for their fourth Two Man Championship in the last five years. Dowling won the 2021 Connecticut Mid-Amateur.
Kevin Newlan (Grassy Hill CC) and Kevin Ward (Race Brook CC): In 2020 Ward and Newlan played stellar golf to earn a share of the Two Man title.
Kyle Bilodeau (Blackledge CC) and Drew Brennan (Ellington Ridge CC): For a better part of the last decade Kyle Bilodeau has been one of the best players in the Connecticut Section PGA. He has played in two Travelers Championships and in 2019, his final season as a professional, he was the Connecticut PGA Player of the Year. Fast forward to 2022 and he has regained his amateur status and he is ready for his first CSGA event playing alongside 2021 Connecticut Amateur semifinalist Drew Brennan.
Kevin Josephson (Stanley GC) and Cody Paladino (Hartford GC): Coming off a second-place finish last year the team of Josephson and Paladino are poised to make another run at the title. Last year Paladino won his second consecutive and fourth overall Dick Tettlebach Player of the Year award while Josephson, a two-time Connecticut Amateur medalist, nearly won the Tournament of Champions finishing in a tie for second place behind Paladino.
Bill Hermanson and Phil Perry (Black Hall Club): This year Bill Hermanson, a multiple-time CSGA champion, will be teaming up with fellow Black Hall Club standout Phil Perry. Perry reached the semifinals of the Connecticut Amateur in 2008 and the quarterfinals in 2009 and 2014.
Ben Day (New Haven CC) and Ed Day (Wallingford CC): The Day brothers are teaming up for a third consecutive year at the Two Man Championship. Last year they finished two shots off the pace in a tie for third.
Brad Tilley and Conner McGovern (Brooklawn CC): Brad Tilley and Conner McGovern might be first-time Two Man Championship participants but they are still a team to be reckoned with. Tilley has earned Connecticut Amateur medalist honors each of the last two years and reached the semifinals in 2021. McGovern’s best CSGA finish came at the 2019 Connecticut Mid-Amateur when he finished T7.
James Sheltman (Wallingford CC) and Dan Murphy (H. Smith Richardson): The co-champions in 2020, Sheltman and Murphy had another good showing last year finishing T5. Sheltman had a strong season in 2021 finishing T2 at the Connecticut Mid-Amateur and third at the Connecticut Public Links while Murphy finished tied for fifth and fourth in the same events.
Mike Kennedy (Great River GC) and Tim Murphy (The Stanwich Club): 2017 Connecticut Mid-Amateur champion Mike Kennedy will be teaming up with Tim Murphy just weeks before Murphy heads to the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball to compete with his brother Dan.
About the Connecticut State Golf Association
The Two Man Championship is one of 20 championships conducted by the Connecticut State Golf Association. The CSGA 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.
