(September 2, 2025) – The CSGA will close out its 2025 major championship calendar with the 80th Connecticut Senior Amateur at Wallingford Country Club. Set to begin on September 8 with the final round to follow the next day, the field will include 11 past champions.
Among the 10 past champions in the field are defending champion Michael Hooper. The winner last year at The Country Club of New Canaan, Hooper said of having a chance to defend his title, “I love playing in the Connecticut Senior Amateur (each year) and I was extremely grateful to have won last year. The field is always extremely competitive and I look forward to the challenge (of defending).”
The challenge the players will face comes in the form of the 1898 designed Wallingford CC. Always in pristine condition, Wallingford CC is one of the oldest courses in the state. From the opening tee shot that looks towards the mountains in the distance, players are taken on a classic New England golf journey that meanders through tree-lined fairways and past stone walls.
“The course is always in tremendous shape,” longtime head professional Stephen Birkmeyer said. “The greens are always fast. We try to keep our rough at a challenging height. The front nine is difficult because it is long and it plays long because it is a little bit soft. The back nine is challenging because it has some doglegs that require players to hit some different shots. It is a good test of golf.”
Said Hooper of the par-71 6,250-yard layout, “I think the key to Wallingford and any course, for that matter, is to hit the fairways and greens and then putt and chip well. Putting always seems to be a deciding factor. My putting helped me last year.”
The 80th Connecticut Senior Amateur will begin on Monday, September 8, with the first group set to tee off at 8 a.m. Following play on Monday, the field will be cut to the top 39 and ties for Tuesday’s final round.
Notes on the Field
Number of Players: 83
Past Champions (11): Michael Hooper (2024), Bob Murphy (2023), Dave Szewczul (2011, 2012, 2016, 2022), Donal Reilly (2021), Richard Stevens (2007 & 2020), Bill Hermanson (2015 & 2019), Ray Underwood (2018), Patrick McGuiness (2017), Mark Vasington (2014), Jack Bracken (2013), James Bango (2005)
Players to Watch:
Brian Hedstrom (Indian Hill CC): The 2024 Senior Match Play runner-up reached the Round of 16 this year in the same event. Hedstrom is a two-time Connecticut Amateur winner.
Michael Hooper (Brooklawn CC): The defending champion will be looking to become the first player since Dave Szewczul in 2011 and 2012 to win back-to-back titles.
Dave Jones (Mohegan Sun GC): The 2022 Senior Match Play winner was the runner-up this year. Jones is always a threat anytime he tees it up.
Rick Malafronte (New Haven CC): In July, Rick Malafronte, after years of knocking on the door broke through winning the Senior Match Play Championship to earn his first CSGA major. Malafronte nearly won the Connecticut Senior Amateur in 2020 losing in a playoff.
Patrick McGuiness (Keney GC): The 2017 champion has finished in a tie for second each of the last two years at the Connecticut Senior Amateur.
Bob Murphy (Brownson CC): The 2023 champion returns to the event after not competing last year. Earlier in the year, Murphy reached the semifinals of the Senior Match Play Championship and in 2024 he was a quarterfinalist.
Dave Szewczul (TPC River Highlands): The four-time champion is always a threat. Szewczul most recently won the Connecticut Senior Amateur in 2022.
About the Connecticut State Golf Association
The Connecticut Senior Amateur 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.
