Goshen, Connecticut (June 25, 2021) – In a tense title match that saw 11 holes tied and neither player lead by more than one hole it was Craig Platt (Mill River CC) who pulled out a 1 up victory over Bob Murphy (Brownson CC) to claim the 15th Senior Match Play title.
“This is great. This is my first CSGA win, this is awesome,” said Platt who was playing in only his third CSGA senior event. “I was excited yesterday to come out and play and I was excited today to come out and play. I just kind of proved to myself that I can hang with these guys.”
On a cloudy, chilly Friday morning at Torrington Country Club Platt and Murphy came to the final hole tied. Both players put themselves in a good position off the tee. Platt played his approach shot into the uphill closing par-4 first and hit a wedge to the center of the green. Murphy took a more aggressive line firing at the flagstick tucked behind the front right bunker. The shot looked good until the ball bounced high off the face of the deep bunker and nestled along the back edge.
Platt barely away played first and hit potentially his putt of the week. Facing a 40-foot hard swinging left to right putt Platt nearly holed it coming up inches short and earning a conceded par.
“That was one of the hardest putts I have ever had but it just came off the putter perfect,” Platt said. “My putter has been my strength this week, I made a lot of really good putts.”
Murphy with his ball close to the back edge of the bunker, had an opportunity to get up and down to force extra holes however his shot flew over the green. A few moments later Murphy was congratulating Platt on a hard fought victory.
“Today was a great match. We both played some really good golf,” Murphy said. “But my hats off to Craig he really played great. He hit some quality shots down the stretch but anytime you have a match like this that goes down to the last hole it is always a good match. We have been friends for a long time so I was happy for him.”
Murphy took a 1 up lead with a birdie on the par-5 second. The lead was short lived as Platt won the fourth and fifth holes to take his first lead of the match. One hole later Murphy squared the tilt with a par to capture the par-3 sixth hole.
Matching pars on the next four holes sent the match to the par-3 11th still tied. Murphy found the green with his tee shot and was able to two-putt for par. After missing the green right and sending his second shot long Platt needed to chip in to tie the hole but came up short allowing Murphy to regain the lead at 1 up.
Murphy maintained his advantage until the par-5 16th where Platt had closed out his semifinal match the day before. Platt went for the green in two leaving himself a chip from the left side of the green while Murphy was forced to lay up and then came up short with his third shot.
Seeing his chance to tie the match Platt lofted a gorgeous pitch shot to inches and was rewarded with a conceded birdie. When Murphy’s birdie chip raced by the match was tied with two holes to play. The par-3 17th was tied with pars setting the stage for the final hole.
About the Connecticut State Golf Association
The Senior Match Play is one of 19 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.
