There are a total of 86 players in the field competing for the 12th Russell C. Palmer Cup, of which 56 players earned their way in by Qualifying and 30 players were exempt via the Exemption Criteria.
The winner of the Championship will have their name engraved on the permanent Russell C. Palmer Cup Quaich. The Scottish Quaich, from which this trophy is derived, is a special kind of shallow two-handled drinking cup that traces back to the 17th century.
The Russell C. Palmer Cup is branded as the CSGA's Stroke Play Championship. Of the 86 players in the field, only 4 have captured the Connecticut Amateur Championship, which is contested over Match Play. They are:
Zach Zaback, TPC River Highlands – 2014 Champion (Lake of Isles)
Brian Ahern, Wampanoag CC – 1999 Champion (CC of Waterbury)
Bill Hermanson, Black Hall Club – 1991 Champion (Patterson Club)
Dave Szewczul, Tunxis Plantation CC – 1978 Champion (Brooklawn CC)
Nathaniel Dong, 17, of Tallwood Country Club, is the youngest player in the field. Dong was a member of the 2014 New England Junior Team and was a quarterfinalist in the Connecticut Junior Amateur Championship in 2013 and 2014.
On the opposite end, Jack Bracken, 67, is the oldest player in the Russell C. Palmer Cup field and the CSGA Team Captain. Playing out of Hartford Golf Club, Bracken made history in 2013 by capturing the 68th Connecticut Senior Amateur Championship at Tallwood CC, his first CSGA Major Championship victory.
There are 2 past Palmer Cup Champions in the field:
– Tom McCarthy,Twin Hills Country Club – 2009 Champion
– Philip Perry, Black Hall Club – 2008 Champion
Also in the field is the six-time defending Senior Player of the Year Dave Szewczul of Tunxis Plantation Country Club. Szewczul, who also captured the 2014 Senior Match Play Championship title, is looking to win his first Palmer Cup title.
Last year’s Champion, Blake Morris of the Country Club of Waterbury, will not be returning to defend his title this year. Morris, a graduating senior at Ole Miss, completed his collegiate career with a 7th place finish at the NCAA Regional Golf Championship in Rancho Santa Fe, California.
In capturing the 2014 Russell C. Palmer Cup title, Morris defeated John Flaherty and Monte Mullen, both of TPC River Highlands, on the 4th playoff hole. Both Flaherty and Mullen are in the field this week and are hoping to win their first Palmer Cup title. Flaherty, a rising senior at the University of Connecticut, went on to advance to the quaterfinals at the 2014 Connecticut Amateur, and Mullen, a recent graduate of Central Connecticut State University, was recently named First Team All-Northeast Conference.
12 of the 14 members of the 2014 Julius Boros Challenge Cup Team are playing. They are: Glen Boggini, Brent Dietz, Raymond Floyd, Chet Hrostek, Kevin Josephson, Ross Kronberg, Addison Owens, Greg Reilly, Jim Romaniello, Dave Szewczul, Rob Violet, and Christopher Wiatr.
Schedule of Events
Tuesday, May 18th – Round 1 of stroke play. Cut to the low 39 scores (including ties).
Wednesday, May 19th – Rounds 2 and 3 of stroke play. The players with the lowest cumulative total will be declared Champion .In the event of a tie for the championship, there will be a hole by hole playoff immediately following the conclusion of all rounds beginning on hole 18, then 1, 18, 1, 18, etc.
