Old Lyme, Connecticut (July 30, 2025) – A long week in the sweltering sun at the 91st Connecticut Open presented by Ascend Bank came down to one moment. A five-foot par putt on the final green at Black Hall Club.
A large crowd gathered on the right side of the putting surface and spilled down the fairway as a tension filled afternoon reached its climax. Mike Ballo, Jr. with the weight of family and Connecticut golf history on his shoulders had a par putt to win the Connecticut Open.
As Ballo, Jr. looked over the par putt that could win him a title that had proved elusive for so long it seemed as if everything else was frozen in time. None of the spectators dared move and it even seemed as if mother nature understood the importance of the moment as she stood unmoving in the mid-afternoon sun.
Finally, Ballo, Jr. was still for a moment as well. He stood over a par putt that would erase the pain of numerous close Connecticut Open calls and place his name on a list of winners that included his father Mike Ballo, Sr. and his brother Peter Ballo.
In one quick moment the stillness was broken. Ballo, Jr. pulled the putter back and then swung it through. The ball left the putter pure and then it was over. As the ball dropped into the cup Ballo, Jr. raised his arms in both excitement and relief. He had won the 91st Connecticut Open. A moment later, he was sitting on the fringe just off the green, crying as the gravity of what he had accomplished sank in.
“Honestly, the weight of the world came off my shoulders when I saw it go in. And then it was immediate crying. I’m exhausted from the week. It’s really hot. It was a really stressful round of golf in a good way. It was a privilege to be that stressed but it was a very heavy round of golf. So when the ball finally went in, just the relief that I felt and then the emotions that took over. I had to sit down and cry. And then my family was there to pick me up. It was probably the most special golf moment of my life.”
Ballo, Jr. (Tamarack CC) began the final round of the 91st Connecticut Open tied for the lead at 8-under with Jared Nelson (Rutland, VT) and by the midway point of the final round it became clear that it was a two-horse race to the finish.
Both players birdied the par-4 opening hole, Ballo, Jr. from 30 feet, to move to 9-under. They were still tied after six holes, this time at 1o-under, thanks to a two-putt birdie for Ballo, Jr. on the par-5 second and a birdie by Nelson on the par-4 sixth.
Two holes later, the first real separation of the day was created as Ballo, Jr. birdied the challenging long par-4 eighth hole thanks to a stuffed approach shot while Nelson bogeyed the hole. As the two headed for the tee of the par-3 ninth Ballo, Jr. was 11-under and suddenly two clear of Nelson. The rest of the contenders falling by the wayside.
Between Nos. 9-15 the lead seesawed back and forth between one and two shots. Ballo, Jr. hung steady at 11-under while Nelson birdied No. 10 to move within one, bogeyed No. 13 to fall two back, before birdieing the par-5 14th to once again move back to 10-under and one shot behind.
As the two reached the par-4 16th the tension in the air was thick. Ballo, Jr. missed the fairway with his tee shot and his approach came to rest pin high but in the rough. Meanwhile, Nelson hit a good drive and landed his approach shot 15 feet from the cup. Playing first after missing his first green on the day, Ballo, Jr. ran his chip nine feet past.
Nelson now had the opportunity to pull even for the first time since the seventh hole and he did just that draining the birdie try to move into a tie for the lead at 11-under. Now the pressure was squarely on Ballo, Jr. He needed to convert his par putt to remain in a tie. With ice in his veins despite the heat he dropped the putt in dead center sending play to the penultimate hole tied at 11-under.
Playing with honors, Nelson hit first into the short par-3 17th and it was in this moment that it looked like the former UConn standout was going to take control of the tournament. Nelson launched his tee shot high into the afternoon sky. With all eyes fixated on his ball, it came thundering down five feet short of the hole. Minutes later, when Ballo, Jr’s tee shot came to rest on the fringe 50 feet short of the pin it felt like all the momentum had shifted to Nelson.
Ballo, Jr. hit a good lag putt to four feet but still the door for Nelson was cracked wide open. Then, to the amazement of everyone he missed the birdie bid and after Ballo, Jr. cleaned up a par putt that he said carried “the weight of the world,” the proceedings headed to the 54th hole still deadlocked.
Off the tee of the long demanding par-4 18th both Ballo, Jr. and Nelson pulled their drives into the woods. However, it was Ballo, Jr. who caught a break. Both players found their balls but Nelson had to play out sideways and then missed the green to the right with his third shot.
A little ways ahead Ballo, Jr. found his ball and had a shot.
“I got very, very lucky with my break,” Ballo, Jr. said. “The lie was fine. I had to hit a 30-yard hook to get it back towards the green but I had a window and I was in grass.”
Ballo, Jr’s ball did run through the fairway and into the rough but he had given himself a chance to get up and down from about 20 yards short of the front right pin location on the closing par-4.
“That pitch shot, I think was the best shot I hit all week,” Ballo, Jr. explained. “I was kind of short-sided from rough and then (of course) the tournament (was) on the line. I will remember that shot just as much as the putt (to win).”
After Ballo, Jr. hit his pitch shot Nelson still had a chip for par and he gave it a good run however when it skirted by the stage had been cleared.
“I controlled what I could control and found myself with a five-footer on the last hole to win, and luckily we made that putt. It was probably one of the best rounds of golf I’ve ever played,” said Ballo, Jr. of his final round bogey-free 3-under 68. “It’s really tough to play 18 holes without making a bogey with a tournament on the line.”
With the victory Ballo, Jr. joins his father, Connecticut Golf Hall of Famer Mike Ballo, Sr. (1969 & 1978) and his brother Peter Ballo (2021 & 2022) as a Connecticut Open champion. The victory makes the Ballos the first family to have three members win the title. They had previously held the distinction of being one of two families with two members having won the Connecticut Open, sharing that honor with John A. Gentile (1970) and John Gentile, Jr. (1995).
“How lucky are we, right? Obviously, my dad did this a couple times back in the day. And now me and my brother,” an emotional Ballo, Jr. said. “We have wives that support it, families that are here for it, memberships at home that let us do it. There are a lot of factors outside of playing good golf that allow us to even have this opportunity. It’s a historical thing for Connecticut golf and our family. There isn’t another tournament we can do this so it’s an amazing feat and probably the most special golf thing that our family will ever have in an extensive list of golf stuff that we have.”
Nelson would end up finishing the tournament 10-under and alone in second place, Dylan Newman (Westbury, NY) took third at 8-under, Bradley Sawka (Ellington Ridge CC) finished as the low amateur in fourth place at 7-under, while in a tie for fifth at 6-under it was David Pastore (Fairview CC) and Max Theodorakis (Ridgewood CC).
About the Connecticut State Golf Association
The Connecticut Open presented by Ascend Bank 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.
