On June 15th – 19th, one of the oldest amateur events in the country heads to Black Hall Club in Old Lyme, Conn. for the 113th Connecticut Amateur Championship. This will mark the first time since the founding of the club in 1965 that the state's top amateurs have come to Black Hall Club to crown a champion. The club, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary, previously hosted the 2003 Connecticut Open Championship and annually hosts the Two-Man Team Championship in honor of Bill Hermanson.
Last Year’s Championship: In the 2014 Connecticut Amateur Championship, 20 year-old Zach Zaback of TPC River Highlands, held off a late charge from Kevin Josephson, 24, of the Country Club of Farmington, to capture the 112th Connecticut Amateur Championship at Lake of Isles in North Stonington, Conn. Zaback, who also finished 6th at the 2014 Russell C. Palmer Cup and 11th at the 2014 Connecticut Open, went on to capture the Dick Tettelbach Player of the Year award.
By the Numbers: By Friday afternoon, one of the 121 players in the field will be holding the Connecticut Amateur trophy, having endured one of golf’s sternest tests to capture the title. The winner will have played a total of eight rounds of golf and approximately 144 holes in five days.
About the Course: Named after a historically important section of Old Lyme, Black Hall Club was incorporated in March of 1965. The founders were steadfast to create a new golf club in Old Lyme that would be devoted exclusively to the ownership, operation and maintenance of a superior golf course of championship caliber. To that end in 1962, Robert Trent Jones was retained to design and supervise the construction of the course. Jones is one of the most famous golf course architects in history, having designed over 500 courses in his career. The present clubhouse was built in 1980 and the championship layout has quietly become one of the highest regarded layouts in the state of Connecticut.
Familiar Territory: Although 2015 will mark the first Connecticut Amateur Championship, the club is no stranger to hosting the state’s best amateur and professional golfers. Black Hall Club has hosted the Connecticut Mid-Amateur seven times in the twenty-eight year history of the event, and also hosted the 2003 Connecticut Open Championship. In addition, the club annually hosts the CSGA Two-Man Team Championship, conducted in honor of Bill Hermanson, longtime member and storied champion.
Player Storylines:
A total of 121 players will begin their quest for the 113th Connecticut Amateur Championship. 91 players earned their way to Black Hall Club by qualifying at one of four sites across the state, and 30 players were exempt based on previous accomplishments.
Last Year’s Champion and 2014 CSGA Player of the Year, Zack Zaback of TPC River Highlands, will look to become the first player since 2008 to successfully defend their Connecticut Amateur title ( Will Strickler 2007-08 ). Zaback, a rising senior at the University of Connecticut, nearly advanced to his first U.S. Open Championship last week at Century CC and Old Oaks CC, finishing just two shots out of a playoff at Sectional Qualifying with a two-round total of 142.
A total of 6 past Connecticut Amateur Champions are in the 2014 field. They are:
– Zach Zaback (TPC River Highlands) – 2014 Champion
– RJ Zielinski (Great River CC)- 2009 Champion
– Brian Hedstrom (Indian Hill CC) – 1997 and 2000 Champion
– Brian Ahern (Wampanoag CC) – 1999 Champion
– Bill Hermanson (Black Hall Club) – 1991 Champion
– Dave Szewczul (Tunxis Plantation CC) – 1978 Champion.
Bill Hermanson of Black Hall Club enters the Connecticut Amateur after recently adding to his already impressive CSGA championship record. Hermanson recently won the 2015 Senior Match Play Championship, defeating longtime friend, Dave Szewczul, in the final match. Among his many accomplishments are five Connecticut Mid-Amateur Championships (1990, 91, 92, 93 and 2001), one Connecticut Amateur Championship (1991), one Player of the Year title (1991) and a victory at the Tournament of Champions (2006). Hermanson was inducted to the Connecticut Golf Hall of Fame in 2012 for Distinguished Golf Achievement.
Dave Szewczul of Tunxis Plantation Country Club, the 1978 Amateur Champion, is seeking to capture his fourteenth CSGA major championship this week. Szewczul won his record sixth consecutive CSGA Senior Player of the Year title last year. His wins include four Senior Match Play titles, four Public Links titles and two Senior Amateur titles. Earlier this spring, he teamed up with Bill Hermanson to win the 2015 Two Man Team Championship, a 36-hole team event contested at Black Hall Club.
Local qualifying was conducted at four sites across the state for those players who were not exempt. The qualifying medalists at the respective sites were:
– Dan Simons (GC at Oxford Greens) – 71 at Mill River Country Club
– Steve Chevalier (Lake of Isles) – 73 at Great Neck Country Club
– Jacob Henny (Oak Hills Park) & Michael Savitt (Round Hill Club) – 73 at Oak Hills Park Golf Course
– Conner Beakey (GC of Avon) – 68 at Timberlin Golf Course
Ben Day of New Haven Country Club enters the tournament looking to become only the third player in CSGA championship history to win both the Russell C. Palmer Cup and Connecticut Amateur titles (Cody Paladino & Bill Hadden). Day captured the Palmer Cup earlier this spring at the Country Club of Waterbury by executing a second day charge from eight strokes behind the leaders and defeating John Flaherty on the first playoff hole.
John Flaherty of TPC River Highlands, a semifinalist in last year’s Amateur, is seeking to capture his second CSGA major championship after a pair of near misses at the Russell C. Palmer Cup. The 2011 Junior Amateur Champion lost in a playoff in both 2014 and 2015 to Blake Morris and Ben Day, respectfully.
The last player to win the Connecticut Amateur when it was contested at their home club was Fred Kask in 1987, who won for the second time at his home club of Wethersfield Country Club (1977). The host club is represented by a total of 3 players, who are looking to become just the eighth player in the 113-year history of the championship to achieve this unique feat. They are: Scott Farrell, Bill Hermanson and Philip Perry.
Of the 47 Club Championships that have been contested at Black Hall Club, 3 players in this year’s field have won a combined 32 of them. Bill Hermanson has won the championship 23 times, Philip Perry has won it 8 times, and Ron Soccoli, Jr. (New Haven CC) won it once.
The Connecticut Amateur Team Championship is conducted concurrently with the Connecticut Amateur. Any golf club represented by three or more contestants in the Amateur Championship is automatically entered into the team championship, with the three lowest 18-hole scores per club thus counting toward the team total. In 2014, the team of TPC River Highlands, host of the PGA Tour’s Travelers Championship, successfully captured their first Connecticut Amateur Team Championship. The club will look to defend their title this year and is represented by a total of 6 players. They are: Denis Biglin, John Flaherty, Evan Grenus, Patrick Hallisey, Monte Mullen and Zach Zaback.
Out of the total field of 122 players, 12 of them (10%) bear a familial relationship to another player in the field. There are five pairs of brothers in the field:
– David Boggini (Manchester CC) and Glen Boggini (Twin Hills CC – 2014 Public Links Champion)
– Brian Hedstrom (Indian Hill CC – 1997 & 2000 Champion) and Kevin Hedstrom (Indian Hill CC)
– Ed Hilario (Norwich CC) and Shawn Hilario (Wampanoag CC)
– Paul Pastore (Eclub of Farifeld County) and Stephen Pastore (Eclub of Fairfield County)
– Alex Taylor (GC at Oxford Greens) and Nick Taylor (GC at Oxford Greens)
And one Father/Son pair: Steve Robinson (Ellington Ridge CC) and Clark Robinson (Ellington Ridge CC)
2014 marked a banner year for Connecticut in New England Golf Association events, with both John VanDerLaan (Eclub of New Haven) winning the New England Amateur and Jim Romaniello (Shorehaven GC) winning the New England Senior Amateur title. Romaniello is in the tournament field and is seeking his first CSGA major championship, while VanDerLaan, who also won the 2012 Connecticut Junior Amateur, was forced to withdraw from the tournament field after gaining entry into the 2015 Northeast Amateur.
The Connecticut Junior Amateur, open to junior golfers under the age of eighteen, has long represented the foundation for building lifelong CSGA champions. The Junior Amateur closely mimics the format of the Connecticut Amateur, with one round of stroke play to determine the 32 match play qualifiers. A total of 5 past Connecticut Junior Amateur champions are in the field, all of whom are seeking to win their first Connecticut Amateur title. They are:
– Evan Grenus (TPC River Highlands) – 2014 Champion
– Connor O’Brien (Oak Hills Park GC) – 2013 Champion
– John Flaherty (TPC River Highlands) – 2011 Champion
– Monte Mullen (TPC River Highlands) – 2010 Champion
– K.J. Camera (Ellington Ridge CC) – 2002 Champion
Championship Facts:
Schedule of Events: All players will play 18 holes on Monday, June 15th and Tuesday, June 16th. The low 32 players will advance to match play, culminating with a 36-hole final on Friday, June 19th.
Monday, June 15th – Round 1 of Stroke Play Qualifying
Tuesday, June 16th – Round 2 of Stroke Play Qualifying
Wednesday, June 17th (AM) – Round of 32
Wednesday, June 17th (PM) – Round of 16
Thursday, June 18th (AM) – Quarterfinals
Thursday, June 18th (PM) – Semi-Finals
Friday, June 19th – Finals (36-Holes)
Social Media:
In addition to full championship coverage on our website at csgalinks.org and CTAmateur.com, players and spectators can join the conversation using the hashtag #CTAmateur.
– Like Us on Facebook at Facebook.com/CSGALinks
– Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @CSGALinks
– Championship Photos on our Flickr page – Flickr.com/csgalinks
About the Championship: The Connecticut Amateur Championship is the eldest events conducted by the CSGA and is one of the nation's oldest state amateur golf championships. The first winner of the Connecticut Amateur was Thomas L. Cheney. Since Cheney's inaugural victory, past champions have included Robert M. Grant, whom the medalist honor is named, and current PGA tour player, J.J. Henry.
Eligibility: Amateur competitors for this year’s championship must have an active USGA handicap at a CSGA member club not exceeding 6.4,.
Qualifying: The championship field consists of 122 players, with 91 of those players gaining entry through one of four 18-hole qualifiers. The remaining 31 players are exempt from qualifying based on the criteria set forth by the CSGA Competitions Committee.
