Beginning with the 2014 championship season, the Connecticut State Golf Association will adopt a new system for determining the Dick Tettelbach Player of the Year and Dick Siderowf Senior Player of the Year.
The CSGA Competitions Committee thoroughly evaluates the Player of the Year Points System at the end of each season. With the help of players and officials at the Players Council meetings over the past few years, the committee was able gather valuable input and statistics that resulted in the new system. Major changes are highlighted below:
– Points for many CSGA championships have been expanded to include the Top 15 finishers (previously Top 10).
– All tournaments have a set point value and points will be awarded based on a percentage of the Champion Point Value (CPV). These percentages were determined based on research through other state and regional golf associations, as well as the PGA Tour’s Fed-Ex Cup.
– Players will now split points for tied positions, giving the Champion his full percentage of points awarded for a particular event. Events that do not have a playoff for the champion (One Day Tournament Series, USGA Qualifier, etc…) will continue to award full point values for champion, medalist, runner-up, etc…
View 2014 Dick Tettelbach Player of the Year Points Breakdown
View 2014 Dick Siderowf Senior Player of the Year Points Breakdown
“We believed that it was time to take a hard look at our system and determine a way that fairly and accurately determines the state’s top amateur player,” said Ryan Hoffman, Director of Operations. “With this system, we feel that it will encourage participation throughout the year and add a new level of excitement to the Player of the Year race.”
The Dick Tettelbach Player of the Year award recognizes the state’s top amateur golfer each year and has been presented annually since 1980. The award is given to an amateur competitor of a CSGA member club who compiles the most points during the course of the year, and is named for the late Dick Tettelbach, past president of the CSGA and member of the Connecticut Golf Hall of Fame. Past recipients of the award include many of the most prominent names in the history of Connecticut golf, including Richard Siderowf, William Hadden, Rev. William T. Lee, Dave Szewczul and J.J. Henry. In 2013, Cody Paladino captured both the Russell C. Palmer Cup and the Connecticut Amateur Championship in the same year en-route to his second Player of the Year title.
The changes will also be reflected in the Dick Siderowf Senior Player of the Year, which was instituted in 2007 to recognize the top senior amateur golfer in Connecticut. Since its inception, the race has been dominated by Dave Szewczul of Tunxis Plantation Country Club, who won a record fifth straight title in 2013. In the span of his five Senior Player of the Year titles, he captured six CSGA major championships, two New England Senior Amateur Championships and qualified for five USGA national championships, winning his titles by a combined 4,070 points.
The 2014 CSGA Championship season kicks off on Monday, April 14th at Wethersfield Country Club with the opening One-Day Tournament sponsored by Chris Cote’s Golf Shop.
