Waterbury, Connecticut (October 4, 2022) – On a cold, windy, and brutally difficult day one of the 77th Connecticut Senior Amateur Dave Jones battled his way to a 5-over 74 and the top of the leaderboard.
6-over and in a tie for first place Jones stood in the middle of the par-4 18th fairway contemplating his options. He was one of three players remaining on the windswept golf course that had bruised and battered the best players in the state since play began nearly ten hours earlier.
Faced with a 122-yard approach shot into the challenging closing green Jones sent a 9 iron soaring through the air and watched as it came to rest a foot away from the cup. Moments later Jones tapped in for birdie and the overnight lead by one.
The round might have ended on a positive note however the rest of the day wasn’t so easy for the 2022 Senior Match Play winner. Jones, a teacher at the Sprague School in Baltic took a half day and arrived at the course at 12:45 p.m. for his 1 p.m. tee time, the final starting time of the day. With only a few moments to hit some putts Jones began his round double-bogey, bogey to drop to 3-over right out of the gate.
“I knew it was going to be playing tough and I wanted to stay patient all day,” the reigning Dick Siderowf Player of the Year said. “I knew people would be making bogeys, doubles, and even triples. I just wanted to stay patient and hang in there.”
After a round settling par on the third hole Jones rolled in a six-footer for birdie on No. 6. Now into the flow of the round Jones played the remainder of the day in just 2-over recording additional birdies on the 6th and 12th holes.
“This was some of the most difficult conditions I have ever played in,” Jones said following his round. “The pins were tough, the greens were fast, it was cold. It was very tough.”
Jeff Toni (Tradition GC at Wallingford), playing in the second group out shot a 6-over 75 and finds himself in a tie for second place. Toni started slowly with bogeys on his first two holes before carding his first of three birdies on the par-4 fourth. An additional birdie on the par-4 sixth and two bogeys followed as Toni made the turn in 2-over 37.
“I’ve been driving and putting well lately so a mindset of knowing par is a good score really helped,” Jeff Toni said.
With conditions deteriorating as the wind picked up Toni continued to hold steady. He bogeyed Nos. 11, 12, and 14 but birdied the par-4 15th to right the ship. Toni had a chance to par his way to the house only to slip up with a double-bogey on the closing hole.
“The CC of Waterbury is a great challenging course,” Toni said. “The speed of the greens and extremely blustery wind conditions were the challenges.
Keith Kelly (Rock Ridge CC) played himself into a share of second place with a four bogey, one double-bogey round.
“I tried to keep the ball in the fairway and hit as many greens as possible. I only had one three-putt double-bogey late in the round on the 16th hole,” Keith Kelly said. “It was tough all day long, on shots into the wind you were hitting 2-3 more clubs and trying to flight it down.”
Kelly maintained momentum throughout his round with a number of stellar up and downs including a sand save on the par-3 third, then two saves from off the green on Nos. 13 and 17.
With similar temperatures, wind, and rain forecasted for the final round six players will begin the round in a tie for fourth place at 7-over. The group includes Patrick McGuiness (Keney GC), Paul Flament (Orange Hills CC), Bruce Kraczkowsky (Rockledge CC), Jim Ezold (Black Hall Club), Bill Hermanson (Black Hall Club), and Tony Susi (Mohegan Sun GC).
The final round of the 77th Connecticut Senior Amateur will begin Tuesday morning at 8 a.m. The top-39 players and ties made the cut.
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.
