Related Links: 2017 Matches & Pairings
The Connecticut Section PGA and Connecticut State Golf Association Team Captains Dennis Coscina and Roger Everin have released their respective team lineups for the Julius Boros Challenge Cup, being played Thursday, May 4th at New Haven Country Club in Hamden, Connecticut.
This year marks the 46th anniversary of the matches, which first began in 1972 at Tumble Brook Country Club. The Challenge Cup was founded in memory of Julius Boros, a bona-fide Connecticut resident and World Golf Hall of Fame inductee. Boros is perhaps the most successful player in the history of Connecticut golf, having won eighteen times on the PGA Tour including two United States Open Championships and a PGA Championship. The Connecticut Section PGA won the inaugural matches by a score of 33 ½ to 20 ½.
Captain Dennis Coscina is a Challenge Cup veteran, having perhaps the most impressive playing record in Connecticut Section PGA history. Coscina won a total of eight Connecticut PGA Championships and six Section Player of the Year titles, and played in a total of fourteen Challenge Cup Matches, including the first twelve Matches. This will be the seventh year that Coscina has captained the Connecticut PGA squad, and his team will enter this year’s event having won the past five years.
By contrast, this will be the first year that Captain Roger Everin will lead the CSGA team. Everin’s competitive record includes a victory in the 1989 Connecticut Amateur Championship, six Wethersfield CC Club Championships and three Harvard District Amateur Championships. For the CSGA team, 2017 marks an opportunity to snap a streak of five consecutive losses and their first victory since 2011.
“I am very excited to have the opportunity to captain the CSGA Team in this year's Challenge Cup,” said Everin. “It is made even more special since Dennis Cascina and I both attended the same High School and have been friends for many years. Each of our team members earned their way into this year's team because of their outstanding play in CSGA Tournaments and we have a great nucleus of veteran and talented young players. It should be a great day of golf for both teams.”
2017 will mark the forty-second time that New Haven Country Club has hosted the Challenge Cup, having played host to the Matches all but four years. Founded in 1898, New Haven Country Club was first designed by Robert D. Pryde, with the present layout completed by Willie Park, Jr. in 1922. In addition to hosting the Challenge Cup, the club has a rich history of hosting the state’s top amateur and professional events. New Haven Country Club has hosted a total of sixteen Connecticut Amateur Championships, seven Connecticut Open Championships and one Connecticut PGA Championship, and will also host the 2018 Connecticut Open Championship. The course will be set up at approximately 6,560 yards for the Challenge Cup and will play to a par of 34-36—70.
Each team consists of fourteen players, who earned their way onto their respective teams through their accomplishments in the previous season. Each player will play an Individual Match Play competition worth three points, and will also participate in a Four Ball Match worth three points. A total of sixty-three points are available in the Matches, with the Connecticut Section PGA needing 31 ½ points to retain possession of the Cup, and the CSGA needing 32 points to regain possession of the Cup. Last year, the Connecticut Section PGA Professionals captured the Challenge Cup for the fifth consecutive year by a margin of 34 points to 29 points.
The longest consecutive streak of victories by either team belongs to the Connecticut Section PGA, who won the Cup nine times in a row from 1984-92. The Connecticut Section PGA currently owns a 33-12 record over the CSGA.
The Challenge Cup Matches will begin with an Opening Ceremony on the 1st tee at 12:15pm, followed by matches on both the 1st & 10th from 12:30pm to 1:00pm. For more information and live scoring, visit csgalinks.org
About the Associations
The Connecticut Section PGA is one of 41 sections chartered that together comprise the Professional Golfers' Association of America (PGA of America). There are a total of 364 golf professionals affiliated with the section (287 PGA Members, 67 Registered Apprentices and 10 Pre-Apprentices).
Founded in 1899, the Connecticut State Golf Association is the country’s oldest state golf association and provides stewardship for amateur golf in Connecticut. The CSGA functions as an extension of the USGA and is dedicated to providing golfers a full range of services for the good of the game and golf in Connecticut. The CSGA is comprised of over 42,000 members and 183 member clubs, providing and administering handicaps for all of its members throughout the state.
