Wallingford, Connecticut (August 11, 2022) – On the second playoff hole with darkness quickly falling Brett Shulick stood over an 8-foot birdie putt to win the 82nd Connecticut Four-Ball Championship. 15 minutes earlier Shulick had a similar opportunity from 15 feet but the putt slid by the hole on the low side, this time it was a different story. Shulick struck the putt firmly and even before it fell into the bottom of the cup he was striding over to teammate Matt Fuller to celebrate.
“It definitely means a lot,” Brett Shulick said of the victory. “We have come close so many times, we almost won the Four-Ball last year, we have come close at the Two Man Championship as well. We play a lot of golf together and we push each other and fortunately it was our day.”
With a birdie on the second playoff hole by Brett Shulick the 82nd Connecticut Four-Ball goes to Shulick and Matt Fuller #csga #csgalinks pic.twitter.com/sjGL1S24gT
— CSGA (@CSGALinks) August 12, 2022
After grinding for par on the first four holes of their round last year’s Four-Ball runners-up began to ascend the leaderboard. Beginning with a birdie by Shulick on No. 5 they birdied three in a row and made the turn in 3-under 32. On the back nine Shulick and Fuller, friends since they met while Shulick was playing baseball with Matt’s brother at UConn Avery Point, traded birdies as they played the back nine in 5-under 31 to sign for an 8-under 63.
“I think we were a little deflated after we made par on the par-5 15th to remain at 6-under,” Matt Fuller said. “At that point, we were at 6-under and we knew the leaders were at 8-under but then we made two birdies in a row and got into the playoff. Then once we were in the playoff we felt pretty good about our chances because we have been here a million times.”
In the playoff, Shulick and Fuller were met by two other teams including Anthony Guerrera and AJ Ouimet. 7-under following a birdie on the par-4 17th they needed a birdie on the final hole to earn a spot in the playoff and the tandem delivered. After Guerrera missed the green with his approach shot into the closing par-4 it was up to Ouimet. His drive missed the fairway to the left but with an opening through the trees he sent his ball soaring through the air and watched as it came to rest 8 feet from the hole. Needing the putt to join the playoff Ouimet rolled in the birdie to reach 8-under and unleashed a vicious fist pump.
The final tandem in the playoff were Brooklawn Country Club members, Jason Longo and Brian Kehoe. Powered by Longo on the front nine the recent U.S. Mid-Amateur qualifying medalist at Keney Park GC rolled in four birdies as the team turned in 4-under 31.
“I think that we both did well keeping the ball in play and having looks at birdie together,” Jason Longo said. “There were only a couple of holes that we needed to be bailed out by our partner.”
On the back nine, Kehoe competing in his first CSGA tournament, played a stellar side carding five birdies pushing the team as low as 9-under before they finished as the first team in the house at 8-under.
In the playoff all three teams parred the par-4 first sending the proceedings to the par-4 second hole. Fuller was the only player to find the fairway with his tee shot and he knocked his approach shot to 4 feet. Now freed up and playing from next to a tree in the left rough Shulick, a former pitcher for Fairfield University, hit a wonderful shot from 60 yards that hit near the front of the green and released to within 8 feet of the pin. Long birdie tries from the other two teams resulted in pars setting the stage for Shulick’s heroics.
“We play well so in these team events because I think we have a good chemistry,” Shulick said. “I think of Matt as my brother just like I think of his brother Ryan as my brother and I think that helps you when you are in these events. Especially when you are in something like the playoff we just vibe better.”
Three teams tied for fourth at 7-under to complete the top five. The groups included Guy Antonacci/Pat Pio, Jeff/Chris Delucia, and Jason Jaworoski/Eric Bleile.
About the Connecticut State Golf Association
The Connecticut 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.
