Old Lyme, Connecticut (May 2, 2022) – As the weather deteriorated steadily throughout a wet and raw day at the 2022 Two Man Championship hosted by the Black Hall Club it was the consistent play of Dan Murphy and Jamie Sheltman that carried the day. Murphy (H. Smith Richardson) and Sheltman (Wallingford CC) were the only team to finish under-par at 1-under (68-73) as they finished two shots clear of two teams in a tie for second.
“It is a perfect start to the season because it rolls us into all the other stuff,” said Jamie Sheltman. “It will roll me into the Russell C. Palmer Cup and it will roll Dan into the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball in Alabama.”
Beginning on the 10th hole in the morning four-ball Murphy and Sheltman were 1-over after four holes before turning their day around beginning with a birdie by Murphy on No. 14. A hole-out par from the bunker by Sheltman followed on the par-4 15th and from that moment on the duo was in complete control.
Sheltman put the tandem in red figures for good with a birdie on No. 1 and then Murphy took the reins for a stretch with birdies on Nos. 2, 4, and 5 to jump the 2020 Two Man Championship co-champions to 4-under. The run of birdies by Murphy was highlighted by a chip-in birdie from behind the green of the par-4 4th.
“It was nice to win outright because in 2020 when we shared the title we wanted to have a playoff so it was nice to finally get it done,” Murphy said.
Following the birdie barrage Sheltman and Murphy did slip up with bogeys on Nos. 6 and 7 however Sheltman righted the ship with a birdie on the difficult par-3 9th to cap an opening round 3-under 68 that was good for a one-shot lead over four other teams.
In the afternoon with the rain steadily increasing in intensity, the format switched to alternate shot and again it was a slow start for Sheltman and Murphy with bogeys on two of their first three holes. Unfazed by the early round slip-ups the tandem converted birdies on Nos. 14 and 16 to return to 3-under and push their lead to two shots where it remained for the majority of the afternoon.
“We are a good duo because we know each other’s games so well,” Sheltman said. “On the greens, we don’t even have to ask each other what the read is going to be because we look at putts exactly the same.”
Ben Day (New Haven CC) and Ed Day (Wallingford CC) made a late run before settling for a second-place tie along with the team of Conner McGovern (Brooklawn CC) and Brad Tilley (Brooklawn CC) at 1-over. A trio of teams finished one shot further back in a tie for fourth at 2-over. That group included three-time winners Rick Dowling (Golf Performance Center) and Nick Taylor (Golf Performance Center), Joe Serrantino (Wallingford CC) and Chris Sica (Wallingford CC), Mike Kennedy (Great River GC) and Tim Murphy (The Stanwich Club).
About the Connecticut State Golf Association
The Two Man Championship 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.
