Storylines from the 19th Connecticut Women’s Open

Links: Round 1 Starting Times  | Tournament Field  

On May 30th, eighty of the top female competitors from New England and beyond will begin their quest to capture the 19th Connecticut Women's Open Championship. The tournament, which will be played at Torrington Country Club in Goshen, Connecticut, is open to any amateur or professional female golfer regardless of residency.

What’s at Stake: The championship is contested over 36-holes of stroke play, with eighty players vying for the title. Professionals will be playing for a total purse of $10,000, with the champion taking home a winner’s check of $4,000.

Last Year’s Championship: In the 2016 Connecticut Women’s Open Championship hosted by Round Hill Club, Jessica Carafiello of Stamford, Connecticut and Innis Arden Golf Club captured her first Women’s Open victory with birdies on the final two holes to claim the title. Carafiello fired rounds 69-71—140 to win by two strokes over Elizabeth Breed of Waynesboro, Pennsylvania. Catherine McEvoy of Riverside, Connecticut captured low amateur honors with rounds of 75-74—149 on her way to a T8 finish.

Carafiello followed her Connecticut Women’s Open victory last summer by capturing the 2016 MET Women’s Stroke Play Championship and recording a 3rd place finish at the MET Women’s Open. Carafiello successfully qualified for the LPGA’s KPMG Women’s PGA Championship for the second consecutive year and her fourth overall appearance via her 5^th place finish at the LPGA Teaching and Club Professional’s National Championship last August, and was named the MET PGA Women Player of the Year for 2016.

About the Course: The 2017 Connecticut Women's Open Championship will be hosted at Torrington Country Club for the first time in the event's history. This will mark Torrington Country Club’s twelfth CSGA major championship, having most recently hosted the 2015 Connecticut Senior Amateur Championship. The club has previously hosted the 2005 Connecticut Women’s Amateur and the 2013 Connecticut Open, and will play host to the 2019 Connecticut Open.

A total of eighty players will begin their quest for the 19th Connecticut Women’s Open Championship; of which forty-two are professionals and thirty-eight are amateurs.

There are five Past Champions in the field. They are:

–          Jessica Carafiello, Stamford, Conn. – 2016 Champion

–          Elizabeth Caron, Greenlawn, NY. – 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 Champion

–          Jordan Lintz, Milford, Conn. – 2011 Champion

–          CJ Reeves, Bedford, N.Y. – 2009 Champion

–          Lynn Valentine, East Lyme, Conn. – 2008 Champion

The Connecticut Women’s Open is the only CSGA event that is open to all players regardless of residency. This year’s field is represented by 18 states (Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Virginia), as well as 3 countries (USA, Canada and Puerto Rico). Connecticut is the most represented in the field, with a total of thirty-four players hoping to capture the title in their home state.

Elizabeth Caron returns to the Connecticut Women’s Open looking to capture her fifth title. Caron graduated from Duke University where she was named both the NCAA and ACC Player of the Year and won a total of seven collegiate tournaments and two NCAA team titles. In addition to her four Women’s Open championships, she also captured five straight Connecticut Women’s Amateur Championship (1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001). She was recently honored as the namesake of the CSGA’s Women’s Player of the Year award.

Lynn Valentine of East Lyme, Conn. Valentine will be seeking to capture her second Women’s Open title, having previously won in 2008 at Tumble Brook Country Club. Valentine also took home low professional honors in 2012 and has finished inside the top ten in five of the last six years. She has also competed in numerous events on the national level, including the 2008 United States Women’s Open Championship.

When professional Jordan Lintz of Milford, Connecticut begins her first round on Tuesday, she will be looking to become just the fourth player in tournament history to win more than one Women’s Open championship. Lintz won her title in 2011 at the Golf Club of Oxford Greens, defeating four-time champion Liz Caron on the second playoff hole. She is currently a Teaching Professional at Oronoque Country Club in Stratford, Connecticut.

Only one player (Elizabeth Caron) has successfully captured the Women’s Open title on their home course, winning the third of her four titles at Wampanoag Country Club. Amateur Sharon Ober is the only player in the field to call Torrington Country Club home and will be looking to equal Caron’s feat from 2005 in front of the home crowd.

Catherine McEvoy of Riverside, Connecticut enters the Women’s Open hoping to become the fourth player in history to win the Women’s Open as an amateur. She has won the past two Connecticut Women’s Amateur titles at Indian Hill Country Club in 2015 and Heritage Village Country Club in 2016. McEvoy just finished her freshman season at Michigan State University.

At age 10, Gianna Papa of Foster, Rhode Island is the youngest player in this year’s field. In 2016 Papa became the youngest player to win the Women’s Club Championship at Connecticut National Golf Club, as well as being the youngest participant in the history of the Connecticut Women’s Amateur.

After finishing runner-up in 2016, Elizabeth Breed of Waynesboro, Pennsylvania will be looking to win her first Connecticut Women's Open title. Breed, a Symetra tour player will be seeking to gain some momentum at Torrington before heading to Albany to play the Fuccillo Kia Classic of NY June 2-4.

CJ Reeves, the 2009 Connecticut Women’s Open Champion, will be seeking to capture her second Women’s Open title. A PGA and LPGA Professional at Century Country Club, her list of accomplishments includes winning the Metropolitan PGA Women’s Match Play title in 2014 en-route to earning Women’s Player of the Year honors, and qualifying for the LPGA Championship in 2001. She was also named the Metropolitan PGA Teacher of the Year in 2001.

Top amateurs vying for the title include: recent University of Alabama graduate Mia Landegren, 2016 Connecticut Women’s Amateur runner-up Maisie Filler, current University of Virginia player Julia Ford, and New York’s top amateur Kyra Cox.

Par and Yardage – The tournament will be contested at Torrington Country Club, which will play at approximately 5,803 yards and a par of 36-36–72.

Hole-By-Hole –

Holes 1-9 will play at 2,870 yards and a par of 36

Holes 10-18 will play at 2,873 yards and a par of 36

Social Media:

In addition to full championship coverage on our website at csgalinks.org and CTWomensOpen.com, players and spectators can join the conversation using the hashtag #CTWomensOpen.

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– Championship Photos on our Flickr page – Flickr.com/csgalinks