Wallingford, Connecticut (August 22, 2024) – On a spectacular late August day Rick Dowling and Mike Kennedy combined to finish 8 under and win the 84th Four-Ball Championship presented by Middlesex Health by one shot over four other teams.
Playing at Wallingford Country Club and competing together for the first time in a CSGA event the duo was even-par through the first four holes before beginning their run with a birdie on the 544 yard par-5 fifth. Once in the red Dowling (Golf Performance Center) and Kennedy (Tashua Knolls GC) were off to the races.
Dowling, who will look to four-peat next week at the Connecticut Mid-Amateur, kept the momentum going with a long birdie putt on the par-3 sixth and then Kennedy pushed their tally to 3 under with a birdie on the par-4 ninth hole.
“Going 3 under through nine holes was huge,” Kennedy, a past Connecticut Mid-Amateur winner said. “Everyone knows you can tear up the back nine so if you can get two, three, or four under on the front you know you got a chance.”
Birides on Nos. 10 and 11 moved the tandem to 5 under however the moment of the day came courtesy of Kennedy on the 465 yard par-5 13th. In the right rough off the tee Kennedy had 220 yards left for his second shot. In between clubs and with a changing wind to deal with Kennedy stepped into the shot and stripped it leaving himself 20 feet for eagle. After surveying the putt Kennedy dripped it in moving the duo to 7 under.
Following birdies on Nos. 15 and 17 Dowling and Kennedy would get as low as 9 under however they would give a shot back with a bogey on the difficult closing par-4 18th to post 8 under 63.
Among the first groups on the course Dowling and Kennedy had to wait nearly six hours to see if their score would stand up. A number of teams had a chance to tie but nobody could produce the birdie or in some cases the par needed to force a playoff.
“It is sweet to win,” said Dowling who was playing in his first career Four-Ball Championship. “It’s a one round shootout so you never know if you’re going to make the putts or not. We both played really well and it feels really good to win.”
Four teams finished one shot back at 7 under in second place – Bradley Sawka (Ellington Ridge CC)/Jack Snyder (Ellington Ridge CC), past champions David Flint (Wallingford CC)/Tim Bickford (Wallingford CC), Eric Bleile (Great River GC)/Ben Conroy (New Haven CC), and John Steinberg (New Haven CC)/Matthew French (New Haven CC).
About the Connecticut State Golf Association
The Four-Ball 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.
