Gentile won his first significant tournament in 1969 when he beat another Hall of Famer, Fred Kask, for the Connecticut Amateur Championship at Hartford GC. The following year he won the Connecticut Open by a comfortable six strokes.’ ‘My greatest thrill in Connecticut golf was winning the Open for the second time 25 years later,’ Gentile said. That win came in 1995 at Woodway CC where he won by seven shots. John won ‘ the PGA National Club Pro Championship at Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, GA, and the PGA Stroke Play Championship at Disney World in Florida in the same year 1978. His other wins include the Met Senior Open in 1997, the New England Senior Open in 1998 and the Connecticut Senior Open in 2003.